Crowdsourcing for Hope and Resistance
A community thread
Over the past few weeks, many of you have reached out, sharing both your struggles and your sources of strength. In times like these, community becomes more vital than ever. So I’m creating this thread where we can share what's helping us keep going—both as humans and as scholars.
No resource or strategy is too small to share. Sometimes it's the simplest practices that help us keep moving forward.
I'll start: Recently, someone I know who studies autocrats told me that the main difference she sees between what is happening in the United States and the regimes she studies is the mounting civil resistance. That remark from an expert gave me hope.
I now invite you to share whatever goodwill you want to put out there. You might share…
Resources that inspire hope or action
Articles, books, or podcasts that help you make sense of these times
Stories of successful resistance that remind you change is possible
Organizations doing important work that deserve more attention
Writing strategies for difficult times
How you're using writing itself as a form of resistance
How you're maintaining your practice when focusing feels impossible
Ways you've adapted your mindsets around work
Self and community care practices
Rituals and strategies that help you feel a bit more grounded
Ways you're supporting vulnerable members of your community
How you're building sustainable resistance
Sources of light
What gives you hope right now?
Where you're seeing positive resistance
What makes you determined to keep going?
Drop your suggestions in the comments below. Let's build this resource library together.
P.S. Feel free to share this thread with others who might benefit from or contribute to this conversation. The more voices, the richer our collective wisdom.
Thank you for this, Jenn. I'm a public policy scholar focused on security policy decision making, so I have no choice but to follow the daily news. More--I've lived for several years in authoritarian and deeply corrupt states and recognize patterns I never thought to see here at home in the U.S. I remember working in Bosnia at the end of their civil war (supporting rebuilding and creating the conditions for a democratic election). This is not a direction we ever want to go, yet my own professional judgment is that it's growing more likely by the day. What I do know from these experiences, though, is that civil society, mutual support, and a commitment to the rule of law are powerful. Norms matter. People matter. We need to look out for each other. I so appreciate your own efforts and commitment, Jenn. I love my country, flaws and all, and I'm not ready to surrender it to those who would undermine its very meaning.
I really appreciated this brief recent post from Swarthmore history professor Timothy Burke:
https://timothyburke.substack.com/p/academia-staying-afloat