As we provide training support for noncooperation (more on what we’ve been up to below), one resource we’ve been using is this video of dominos knocking over. A tiny 5mm domino is pushed which knocks down twelve other dominos culminating in the loud bang from a 1meter tall 100-pound domino falling over. It’s a metaphor to help inspire us to courage. Because courage can be contagious — and one person doing a small thing can make bigger things unfold.
We’ll give one example.
Following a series of humiliating capitulations among lawyers, today an elite law firm just took a strong actively fighting stance against Trump. Jenner & Block set up their own “stands firm” website to lay out the stakes of the fight and their responsibility to it. They refuse to compromise “our ability to zealously advocate for all of our clients” and say that “capitulating to unconstitutional government coercion… is simply not in our DNA.”
In truth, Jenner and & Block likely didn’t stand up strong merely because of “their DNA.” There’s been pressure growing — smaller dominos that moved them. Just a day earlier, the American Bar Association and dozens of other bar groups released a strongly worded letter— an act of courage for lawyers.
That had followed Paul Weis’ infamous acceding to Trump’s demands for $40 million of pro bono services and publicly ending DEI. The push back was fierce: “Paul Weiss, didn’t just bend a knee, it set a new standard for shameful capitulation,” wrote one lawyer. Many worried the whole field would collapse.
And then a single person was brave. Rachel Cohen. She quit in a blazing letter of condemnation “revocable if the firm comes up with a satisfactory response to the current moment.” She followed it up with organizing an open letter from lawyers, with over 300 signatures.
1 person moved 300 lawyers. That moved The American Bar Association. That moved Jenner & Block.
(…and the breaking news keeps coming as we write! Law firm WilmerHale just joined Jennifer & Block’s legal challenge! And then Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom did cave — offering Trump $100 million in pro bono work. It’s the push-pull of this moment. But we gotta feed the courage more than the fear!)
There are beautiful examples of courage everywhere we look.
One more example: In response to Trump/Musk’s mean-spirited orders, many teachers nationwide were told to remove DEI material from their classroom. One of them: Sarah Inama. She was ordered to take down a “Everyone is welcome” poster. She took the courageous path and refused.
Her story resonated with many, and after a local station interviewed her, the community rallied to support her message. A screenprinter offered t-shirts and 20,000 were distributed in a mass event. Students followed up by chalking “Everyone is welcome” at the school. The story then goes viral. Local station KTVB 7 covers it beautifully.
Courage requires taking a risk. And not all risks work out so wonderfully — that’s what makes it a risk.
Some things that increase the value of public courageous acts — whether you’re a federal worker resisting DOGE or a librarian refusing to censor books:
Make sure people can see and support you. Videotape it if it’s dramatic!
Let trusted folks know ahead of time. Ready folks to amplify the story and prepare for backlash.
Be ready to organize afterwards. Cohen didn’t just quit. She quit and organized a nationwide petition to echo her actions more widely.
Backlash isn’t always the worst thing. This won’t be a straight line of victories — there will be pushback. Learn more about making that backlash work against them.
A few other stories of courage:
People who are organizing town halls around the country — even without their representatives;
Greenlanders who rebuffed JD Vance’s advance team who went door-to-door to beg for support — such that Vance just hours ago left the country early;
Hundreds who have protested to support Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk — a few of the growing number of green card holders who have been kidnapped with no due process, for their exercising Free Speech. Over 3.6 million letters have been sent protesting Khalil’s arrest, including by people who disagree with him politically. (You can still sign here!) You can read his beautiful letter from jail here.
More stories always in the news at Resist List.
Trump and Musk hope we will all devolve into fear. They hope we’ll make our circles of caring smaller and smaller.
Let’s give them what they most fear: wider and wider circles of loving and courageous people.
Let us know how you want to be courageous!
Warmly,
Choose Democracy