Dear friends,
I think I speak for most of us: We are terrified about the prospect of Donald Trump being re-elected and almost as frightened about his defying electoral defeat and refusing to yield the presidency. A coup d’etat. We feel almost helpless in face of a coup.
But we may not be helpless. And, in the face of such an event, we do need to decide how to think and act according to our conscience and our ability. I’d feel weary and close to defeat but there are already many groups that are already planning a defense of our democracy.
Last evening I listened to a very clear and cogent presentation by a group called Choose Democracy (https://choosedemocracy.us/ ). I hope Choose Democracy’s nonviolent protest strategies are unnecessary. I find the prospect of bringing down an illegitimate government daunting, frightening, exhausting. But, speaking as an old campaigner, the need to fight now seems even more intense than the need to end the Vietnam War in the sixties and seventies.
If we are to find in ourselves the clarity and courage to act, we should know what we can do and how to do it. Choose Democracy proposes a straight -forward approach that I’d like to sketch for you.
To bring down an illegitimate government, we would have to exert broad and intense pressure on what Choose Democracy calls the 7 “Pillars of Power.” In other words, we would have to bring sufficient members of these groups to our side through persuasion or pressure. The pillars are: business; politicians; military; media; judiciary; police; bureaucracy (state, federal, county).
The basic strategy is straight forward. Each person or each group of people would:
- Select a pillar to focus on
- Select a primary a tactical approach: eg boycott businesses that supports Trump; support unions that have already commited to the fight; write to media people; pressure local political leaders and bureaucrats.
- Select people to organize, that is to join you in protest.
- Mobilize support for your chosen strategy. In other words, Organize.
The intention is to create a massive, national nonviolent protest to bring down a government that refuses to play by our democratic, Constitutional rules. The strategy focuses on many, many loosely affiliated local and national groups of protesters. Eventually, the efforts would be coordinated though not centralized. We would all do our part.
Since I can’t go completely and cogently enough into the Choose Democracy approach, let me suggest that you go to the website of a group they partner with: Hold the Line: https://holdthelineguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Hold-The-Line_-A-Guide-to-Defending-Democracy.pdf. Or check in with the Transition Integrity Project. Then, of course, make your own decision.
I fervently hope that this kind of protest isn’t necessary. If it is, I am sure that there will be many avenues for each of us to choose from. In this note, I simply wanted to give you a sense of how seriously some of us are taking the threat of a coup and some of the things we can do to combat it.
With love and respect,
Barry
Barry Dym 