I don’t understand the “resistance.”
Can someone please define for me who or what we are resisting? Trump’s behaviour, his values, his cabinet, his policies, his tweeting, or the man himself? Is it the Republican party, Paul Ryan, their policies, their inconsistencies, what they stand for? The people who voted for Trump and their needs? And what about the corporations? All of the above? If you picked any of the above then I am very concerned that you miss the point.
Let’s step back and start with the definition of resistance (from the OED):
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The refusal to accept or comply with something;
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The use of force or violence to oppose someone or something;
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A secret organization resisting authority, especially in an occupied country;
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“The Resistance”: The underground movement formed in France during the Second World War to fight the German occupying forces and the Vichy government; or,
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The ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely.
So far so good.
However, a quick search on the internet reveals the current “resistance” is a frequently capitalized noun as “Resistance,” #Resistance and #theResistance. Such capitalization implies solidarity and an association with the heroic efforts of La Résistance against the Nazis.
La Résistance were small groups of men and women who risked their lives to engage in sabotage, guerrilla warfare, published underground newspapers, provided the allies with intelligence, and assisted refugees and soldiers escape from the Nazi occupation. Members of La Résistance were from all economic classes and political leanings in France. They had two enemies: the Nazi occupiers and their collaborationist Vichy régime. They were heroic, risked their lives, and many died for their beliefs.
Any association with La Résistance reeks of smug liberalism. I find it profoundly disrespectful of their valour and determined struggle against foreign occupiers and a puppet government. An estimated 30,000+ french citizens were executed to intimidate members of La Résistance. La Résistance is estimated to have lost 8,000 killed in action, another 25,000 executed and several tens of thousands deported of whom an estimated 27,000 died in concentration camps.
If you want to talk about the “Resistance,” then permit me to give you a different, more appropriate, historical example. Let us look to our own history, to the original citizens of the United States who were also subjugated by an oppressive regime. They left us a wonderful guide to help us wend the paths to an unfinished and unfinishable democracy. That guide begins:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It has always fascinated me that Americans talk about the three branches of government in the abstract, but ignore the source of that power. The power of each of those branches comes from us, the “People of United States.”
58% of those eligible to vote did so in the 2016 presidential election, one of the lowest voting turnouts in 20 years. Although voting is likely the most important civic duty, such duties demand a sentient population that accepts civic responsibility, stays informed and participates in the political and democratic process at a local, state and national level.
Before 2017, when was the last time that you had a discussion regarding a President’s budget? Is your current effort at resistance similar to the one you have been following: The line of least resistance as a complicit laissez faire citizen? Are you part of the citizenry that has abdicated its role as an active participant in democracy? Satisfied by and insulated by our success, we have been able to ignore politics, the opioid crisis, poverty, homelessness, joblessness, lack of healthcare, cultural tolerance, racial bias, voting district gerrymandering and the collapse of our infrastructure. We have ignored those citizens that have been left behind by local, state and national policies and decisions. Now is the time to say: “No more.”
Time to stop resisting and become part of the solution: Participate in the democratic process at a local, state and national level. Start with something small: working at a charity, helping in a soup kitchen, encouraging your family to participate in civic activities, writing or calling your local representative, mayor, governor, congressman or senator. Get involved! That is my definition of resistance.
The Resistance is dead. Viva la résistance!
