Yes you can

In an era of unified Republican control of government, where the main levers of power are manned exclusively by factions of Ayn Rand conservatives and authoritarian populists, there is certainly much cause for wallowing in defeat. Constitutionally and procedurally, this defeatism is rational — aside from filibustering major legislation and Supreme Court nominations, there truly is little liberals in and out of government can do to stop the privatization of public education under the bafflingly incompetent Betsy DeVos, the almost-certain rollback of civil rights enforcement under the once-too-racist (for a federal judgeship)-but-now-apparently-not Jeff Sessions, or the unabashed and admitted “destruction of the state” under “alt” white supremacist Steve Bannon.

The visceral anger and sense of defeat resulting from this reality can be seen in the massive, diverse, and sustained protest movement that has erupted since Jan. 20. The Women’s March on Washington and associated marches in almost every major city and on all seven continents marked the largest single day of protest in American history, eclipsing the civil rights movement or the anti-Vietnam War protests. When President Trump’s probably illegal (under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965) and surely unconscionable executive order (temporarily) banning all refugees as well as citizens of various Muslim-majority countries went into effect, leading to dozens of leading doctors, knighted Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, and a two-year-old Iranian girl in need of a heart transplant being barred from our shores, protests at airports were not just concentrated in large liberal cities like New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Protests were truly national, reaching deep into the heartland as Americans of all creeds, parties, and backgrounds recognized that this truly was a fundamental betrayal of who we are as a people, and the governing values that once made us the greatest country on earth. Indeed, Sabrina Sidiqqui of The Guardian recently said that “protest is the new brunch,” as people who never before saw themselves as activists or protesters were stirred to action by the morally bankrupt actions of this bungling administration.

However, one criticism of this sustained protest movement is that it will not actually translate into real change, that it’s an outlet for frustration and sadness, but not an actual mechanism for influence. While it’s true that, from a governing perspective, there is almost no room for progressives to influence policy under the Trump administration, recent evidence has shown that grassroots citizen activism still can make a difference. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, for example, specifically credited the overwhelming deluge of calls opposing Betsy DeVos’s nomination as Secretary of Education as the critical reason they ultimately decided to vote against DeVos's confirmation. Efforts to privatize Medicare and public lands have stalled, and Republicans are now speaking of “repairing” Obamacare rather than repealing it. Thousands of women who participated in the Marches have since signed up to run for office, especially in local and state elections where much of day-to-day governance is actually done.

The message of these past weeks is that yes, you are relatively powerless through formal channels of governance. But also yes, you can still make a difference. Calls and in-person visits to congressional town-halls can in fact pressure members on the fence to flip their votes. Organizing and protesting, using public opinion and civil disobedience as leverage, can in fact translate to real policy change, if only on the margins. So get involved yourself; yes, you personally. Donate to organizations like the International Rescue Committee and the ACLU (and their local equivalents far more in need of cash recently). Go to a march. Go to your congressman’s town hall on healthcare when you’re home, and make a fuss that will get coverage on the local news. Even if we won’t win every fight, or even win that many, we will win some, and we will at least make them fight before taking away fundamental rights, benefits, and values that make us who we are. Political capital is a finite resource, and every ounce of it they have to spend defending a wannabe Muslim ban is an ounce they can’t spend repealing Obamacare, voting for Betsy DeVos, or shredding the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Losing 60-40, as opposed to 80-20, matters, and we should make them fight for it, tooth and nail, at every turn where debates over policy turn into debates over our national character.

Ryan Dukeman is a Wilson School major from Westwood, Mass. He can be reached at rdukeman@princeton.edu.