Opinion|A 12-Step Program for Responding to President-Elect Trump
A 12-Step Program for Responding to President-Elect Trump
By Nicholas Kristof
A peaceful protest at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday in response to the election of Donald Trump.CreditCreditJim Wilson/The New York Times
Traumatized by the election results, many Americans are asking: What now? Here are steps that any of us can take that can make a difference at the margins. Onward!
1. I WILL accept that my side lost, but I won't acquiesce in injustice and I will gird for battle on issues I care about. I will call or write my member of Congress and express my opposition to mass deportation, to cutting 22 million people off health insurance, to nominations of people who are unqualified or bigoted, to reduced access to contraception and cancer screenings. Better yet, I'll attend my representative's town meeting and put him or her on the spot.
2. I WILL try to do small things in my own life, recognizing that they are inadequate but at least a start: I will sign up on the Council on American-Islamic Relations website, volunteering to fight Islamophobia. I'll call a local mosque to offer support, or join an interfaith event. I will sign up for an "accompany my neighbor" list if one exists for my area, to be an escort for anyone who is now in fear.
3. I WILL avoid demonizing people who don't agree with me about this election, recognizing that it's as wrong to stereotype Trump supporters as anybody else. I will avoid Hitler metaphors, recognizing that they stop conversations and rarely persuade. I'll remind myself that no side has a monopoly on truth and that many Trump supporters are good people who want the best for the country. The left already has gotten into trouble for condescending to working-class people, and insulting all Trump supporters as racists simply magnifies that problem.
4. I'LL DO my part to support the society I'd like to see. I'll eat Chobani yogurt because its owner has been subjected to racist attacks for his willingness to hire and promote refugees. Likewise, I will give blood and register for organ donation — for at least they'll make me feel better. As will a tub of Chobani.
5. I WILL support groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center that fight hate groups, and back the center's petition calling on Donald Trump to disavow bigotry. Depending on my interests, I'll support an immigration rights group, the A.C.L.U. or Planned Parenthood. And I'll subscribe to a newspaper as one way of resisting efforts to squelch the news media or preside over a post-fact landscape — and also to encourage journalists to be watchdogs, not lap dogs.
6. I WILL support refugees, one of the most demonized groups in the world. The International Rescue Committee's work for refugees can for the first time be supported through donations to The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. In many cities in America and abroad, volunteer can help refugees through this I.R.C. portal. More refugee resettlement agencies are here.
7. I WON'T let it slide if a friend makes degrading comments about a minority or women. Even if it's over Thanksgiving dinner, I'll push back and say something like: "Come on! You really think that?!" Similarly, I may not be able to prevent a sexual predator from reaching the White House, but at events I attend, I may be able to prevent a sexual predator from assaulting a drunken partygoer.
8. I WILL resist dwelling in an echo chamber. I will follow smart people on Twitter or Facebook with whom I disagree. I will also try to enlarge my social circle to include people with different views, recognizing that diversity is a wonderful thing — and that if I know only Clinton supporters, then I don't have a clue about America.
9. I WILL do what I can in my own life to make sure that the needy aren't forgotten in the next four years amid paroxysms of tax cuts for the wealthy. I can support Reach Out and Read, an outstanding program that helps at-risk kids learn to read: A $20 donation covers one child for a year, or one can serve as a reader. Or I can be a Big Brother or Big Sister or help through iMentor.
CreditLiza Donnelly
10. I WILL understand that progress may unfold at the state or local level, and I will engage there. It's encouraging that voters in four states passed minimum wage measures, and in three states approved gun safety measures, while other states and localities are wrestling with climate change. And, of course, a starting point is to get my friends to vote.
11. I WILL take on sexism and misogyny, which in forms like domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking affect women and girls across the country. Even today, Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together to get funding for women's shelters or to prosecute pimps.
12. I WILL not lose hope. I will keep reminding myself that politics zigs and zags, and that I can do more than shout in the wind. I can fight for my values even between elections, and even at the micro level I can mitigate the damage to my neighbors and attempt to heal a social fabric that has been rent.
I invite you to sign up for my free, twice-weekly email newsletter. Please also join me on Facebook and Google+, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter (@NickKristof).
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 31 of the New York edition with the headline: 12 Steps for Voters in Despair. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe