Three things for progressives to do during the holidays

For those of us who did not vote for Donald Trump, the holidays ahead will be tinged with sorrow and dread. The best way to deal with that is to do something constructive. It’s hard, especially for us older folk, to break out of established routines;it’s easier to complain and reinforce each other’s feelings than to act. But here are three simple, practical things that we can all do:

1) Listen to your Trumpist relatives and friends.

I have been interested to learn how many people in my circles know people who voted for Trump. The New York Times had a front-page article about the awkwardness this will cause at holiday meals as people try to avoid the subject. The thing to do is: don’t avoid it. Ask them how they feel, why they voted that way. Listen. Try to understand. Don’t argue, don’t judge, don’t try to convince them they are wrong. Listen to them, as the philosopher Gadamer says, “in the belief that they could be right.”

It is very hard to hear views which you find abhorrent. But it’s time for a little humility. And by doing this, you gain at least two advantages. One is that you may actually understand better the dynamics of Trump’s support. At the very least, this will help for the next battle. Sun Tzu’s famous advice has unfortunately been lost in the Democratic party:

"If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. But if you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat."

But it’s not just a tactic; it’s about helping in this small way to break the vicious dynamic of mistrust that has divided the country. The majority of Trump supporters don’t really agree with his policies, but they feel that something needs to change; and many feel despised and humiliated by the elites of the coasts and the cities. It’s largely up to us to change that – to show that we are willing to listen and engage them.

In this regard, two quotes to ponder, attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

"Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.”

and

“Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”

2) Reach out to Muslims

One of the many dangerous aspects of Trump’s world view is that he would isolate Muslims, make them feel like second-class citizens. American has largely avoided terrorist attacks from inside the country in large part because we have been remarkably successful in making Muslims feel at home. In Europe, Muslim ghettos full of hopeless youth have become breeding grounds for destruction.

But despite the power of Trump as President, there is a good deal all of us can do every day to diminish that danger. A young Muslim woman interviewed on This American Life expressed fear that she would no longer be able to wear her hijab, that she would be subjected to increasing discrimination; but she also said:

“"I'm hoping there will be more people who feel like the old woman today who reached out to me just to just kind of make eye contact, to smile. And that's really my hope. Because that's what I feel like America should be. And I feel that despite what the polls show, more people in America are good than are bigoted and awful"

We can all do at least that that - make eye contact, smile.

3) Support civil society groups

In the last fifty years an unprecedented growth in civil society institutions. Americans have always been good, as Tocqueville pointed out, at getting together to do something without waiting for a government mandate. But the recent growth of associations – for civil rights, for the environment, for community action, for mutual aid – has been explosive. The Internet has further accelerated the trend, The extraordinary advance of the gay rights movement was driven almost entirely from civil society, with government coming in mostly to to certify it. It’s a whole arena of action that Trump can’t stop.

So we need to do everything we can to bolster it. Each of us needs to pick a few key associations and engage in supporting them. Give them money – that’s the easiest thing to do during the holidays. Tell people to make donations to them rather than giving you gifts. If you can, do some work for them. Whatever it takes, this is how we can continue to move progressive causes forward while government policies and laws regress.