On January 20th, some very important things will happen. Sure, Trump is ushering in a bunch of billionaires to formally take control of government. But our neighbors are preparing, too. Many will be honoring the great Martin Luther King, Jr — in protest, in song, in resistance. Folks who keep our country functioning will keep working. Organizers are hosting meetings. Trees will be keep reaching for the sky… and on and on.

Our attitude today: don’t focus all your attention on the bad thing. Focus on the people working, fighting, whistle-blowing, organizing, and campaigning for a better world, too.

Best of all, it’s another day to connect with other people! (If you haven’t gotten your affinity group together, it’s definitely time to do it!)

On Monday, instead of doom-watching the inauguration, join with our friend Rebecca Solnit and others: “The Way We Get Through is Together“ at 12pm ET / 9am Pacific on Youtube live.

We also just published a video to share for these times: 4 paths to resist Trump (or on InstaGram). This video accompanies the Resistance Guidebook — a list with practical groups and ideas for people who are feeling the need to do something but not sure how.

Other key links for the day:

• Are you working in the (federal) government? You may want this guide: Serve the People: a Guide for Civil Servants/Federal Employees/Military. Also familiarize yourself with this new forming group: Civil Service Strong, which offers comprehensive resources for civil servants.
• Are you working on supporting immigrants? Siembra NC has a standout resource called Defend and Recruit. It explains how to jumpstart multiple strategies from defense hotlines to ICE watch to neighborhood-based defense committees. They are organizing nationally and want to connect with others preparing such resistance.
• Are you trying to use constituent power to make elected officials more representative? Indivisible created a lovely resource called Indivisible: a practical guide to democracy on the brink. Helpful seeing the local, state, and national strategies for applying pressure on representatives whether you’re in so-called Red/Blue/Purple districts.
• Want to plug in but have no idea where to start? We worked with friends to create the Resistance Guidebook — with practical ideas about starting points for people who are feeling the need to do something but not sure about what.

A quote from Dr. King is appropriate for today:

There are some things concerning which we must always be maladjusted if we are to be people of good will.

We must never adjust ourselves to racial discrimination and racial segregation. We must never adjust ourselves to religious bigotry.

We must never adjust ourselves to economic conditions that take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. We must never adjust ourselves to the madness of militarism, and the self-defeating effects of physical violence. …

Thus, it may well be that our world is in dire need of a new organization, The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.

And through such creative maladjustment, we may be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of [people’s] inhumanity to [each other], into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

We pledge to stay as creatively maladjusted as we can be.

Warmly,

– Choose Democracy