We’re having Alabama spring outside. The past few days were right out of July with temperatures in the 80s and then a major band of storms swept through last night, dumping gouts of rain and dropping the temperature significantly. One of the nice things about living in a concrete bunker of a condo building it that when storms do come through and rain is lashing against the windows in the wee hours, I just roll over and go back to sleep. I’m only going to get worried if I hear windows splintering and I’m only a few steps from the bathroom which is interior and right up against all of the reinforced pipe alleys running ten stories so I should be pretty safe. There are reports of spot flooding locally but that happens pretty much anytime we have a significant rainfall.
Yesterday, well before the storms blitzed through, there was a massive (at least for Birmingham) protest rally against the actions of the current administration. It was part of the national ‘Hands Off’ movement which scheduled rallies and marches in most American cities to give those who do not agree with current policies a chance to make their voices heard. There were 1200 scheduled nationwide taking various forms. A quick perusal of this morning’s newsfeed shows a couple of ugly confrontations from supporters of MAGA but no major violence so it will be difficult for the administration to claim lawlessness in the streets as a pretext for further ratcheting down or descent or the imposition of martial law.
I think yesterday was important. It reminded people that they are not alone in their feelings that current federal policy does not represent bedrock American values. When people see institution after institution capitulate to the whims of those in power, threatened with insolvency due to mob boss economic negotiating tactics, its sometimes hard to remember that there are plenty of people out there who share your worldview and seeing them gathered together can bring the endorphins up a bit. We are all in this together and the portion of the population which is in disagreement with current economic policies, DOGE’s erratic destruction of federal agencies, and the administration’s stance on civil liberties and personal rights, is too large to be made to disappear. It may not be able to get the press coverage it once would have as the leaders of corporate media are forced to pay lip service to the throne, but there are other ways of communicating and getting the word out which are not yet under government control.
However, I think there’s a few things that should be noted. First, there’s really no unifying message behind yesterday’s rallies. Everyone is bringing a different kind of ‘Hands Off’ to the table. The opposition needs to shape and focus the message. Is it hands off my rights? Hand off my money? Hands off shipping innocent people to foreign gulags? Hands off censoring and rewriting history and literature? They are all laudable but you can’t fight every battle at the same time. How is the energy unleashed by a day like yesterday going to be directed into effective action? If you let everyone take a reinvigorated commitment each in his or her own way, you’ll get nowhere. Personally, I feel we need to begin structuring movement progressivism to counterbalance movement conservatism which is currently ascendant. The conservatives played a long game of forty plus years with determined focus and are now reaping the fruits of those labors. Progressives need to take a page or two from that playbook and infiltrate the organized Democratic party, volunteer for the low level precinct work, select and run young candidates for obscure elected offices, bring Millennials and Gen Z into policy planning meetings as they will be the ones who will have to eventually craft the society we want. It’s going to take a long time but those are the rules of the game and how the system works.
Progressives also need to take the focus off people and personalities and put it squarely on policies. It’s easy to get mad at or make fun of Trump or Elon or MTG or any of the dozens of other visible high level individuals inhabiting MAGAland. But it doesn’t help anything. The work isn’t being done by those at the top, it’s being done by a small army of true believers who are focused on and carrying out policy directives. The messaging needs to be about what these policies actually do and mean to ordinary Americans and that information needs to be magnified in public discourse. When you’re the coach of a losing football team, you study the oppositions playbook and coaching methods. you don’t go out to the field on Friday night and tackle the opposing team’s mascot.
Back to work in the morning. I used to sort of enjoy that feeling, but not these days. Now it’s a feeling of walking in and knowing you’ll be blindsided by some new development rooted in the rapid federal policy changes that are rocking the world of medicine and science. I roll with the punches. I always have. Geriatrics is one of those fields that is first to suffer when the economic chips are down as it isn’t a high volume high revenue area. I’ve learned a lot about advocacy inside systems and simple survival tools over a forty year career.
I do have one bright spot. I’m getting a tax refund this year so I’ve decided to treat myself to a late spring/early summer break. I have no idea what I’m doing yet but I did schedule the time off. In the meantime, I have a Alabama Symphony Orchestra to perform in next weekend, a play in mid May and a play reading in late May so my dance card is filling up again after the winter of the never ending bronchitis. Must learn lines.
Life, The Universe, and Everything 