Wish you could do more to save democracy? Here’s a simple hack
9 minutes Every time I hear about a book that sounds like it could provide some guidance and solace for me in this fraught moment we’re living through, I put it on hold at the library.
But here’s the problem.
When I pick up my library holds on the weekend, I’m excited to see what’s ready for me, and I can’t wait to get home and dig into it.
And yet, by the time I get home, my mind is already distracted by the 572 other things on my to-do list. So I drop the book on my nightstand, intending to circle back when I have more time. But that magical moment never comes, and after three weeks, the book goes back to the library, untouched. 🫣
What does this have to do with you?
We’re all trying to fit in this “save democracy” business on top of our regular daily responsibilities, like work, parenting, school, and more.
At some point since January 20, you’ve probably thought of something you want to do to help—like make daily calls to your reps or organize a group of friends to go to a rally. But because community organizing isn’t your day job, it’s hard to make happen.
Maybe your actions have fallen short of your intentions.
And so on top of feeling fear and anxiety about what’s happening to our democracy, now you feel guilty for not doing what you told yourself you would. 💔
Here’s a quick fix that can help.
Years ago for my day job, I learned about something called an action trigger.
When you’re trying to establish a habit, action triggers are pure gold because they help you preload the decision to do something. In other words, you don’t have to figure out how to fit this new activity into your busy day because you’ve already figured that out ahead of time.
Last weekend, as I made my bed, I bumped into the growing stack of nonfiction books on my nightstand, and the whole stack toppled to the floor. But as I restacked the precarious pile, I thought, “Duh. Why don’t I use an action trigger?”
So I did, and it worked. 💃🏼
A few examples for you…
- Before I check social media for the first time every day, I’ll call my reps with the 5 Calls app.
- While I make the coffee every morning, I’ll put my headphones in and listen to Stacey Abrams’s podcast.
- After I put the kids to bed, I’ll spend 10 minutes to text a friend to check in on how they’re doing and invite them to the nationwide day of resistance on June 14.
The action trigger that worked for me?
After I make my first cup of coffee, I’ll grab a nonfiction book and spend 10 minutes reading. 🤓
How to set your own action trigger:
- Pick a democracy-defending activity you want to do more regularly.
- Brainstorm a point in your daily routine where you could fit that activity—before your shower, during your afternoon snack break, or before you open Netflix for your nightly binge watch.
- Write down your action trigger somewhere like your notes app or on a notepad. For example: “Before I start the next episode of Parks and Rec, I’ll spend 10 minutes writing a letter to the editor.”
- (Optional) Leave a physical reminder of your new action trigger to help you remember. For example, if your action trigger is “Before I brush my teeth, I’ll call my reps,” you could stick a post-it note on your bathroom mirror with the words “call reps.” You won’t need this physical reminder forever—just until you get into the habit.
If you’ve thought of something you want to do to help but haven’t made it happen consistently yet, try an action trigger. ✅
Remember: Every tiny step adds up.
And when we take those tiny steps together, we reclaim our power. Because this democracy belongs to us, not the billionaires and bullies.
Get this in your inbox: When you join Molly’s Army here, every week, you’ll get simple, doable steps we can take to save our democracy even when we’re busy and overwhelmed by the firehose of bad news.
What’s inside
Inside our latest update, you’ll find these sections:
- Do this + feel better: 3 things you can do right now. Taking any action (even if it’s tiny!) will help dispel feelings of hopelessness and overwhelm.
- Get a shot of motivation: A quote that resonated this week.
- Hey, look! We did this: A quick run-down of what folks in our little group of rabble-rousers have been doing to help.
- Your turn: What small actions have you taken lately? Let me know so we can celebrate with you!
Do this + feel better
Here are 3 things you can do right now. As a bonus, taking any action (even if it’s tiny!) will help dispel feelings of hopelessness and overwhelm…
1. Ask one person to join you on June 14
On June 14—Flag Day—Trump wants to spend tens of millions on a military parade for his birthday, complete with tanks in the street and helicopters overhead. A parade worthy of a king.
But in America, we don’t do kings.
So next week on June 14, we’ll join together for No Kings, a nationwide day of defiance. 🇺🇸
We’ll reject authoritarianism by showing the world what democracy really looks like, from city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks.
👉 Find your closest event here, then invite one person to join you. A few ideas to get your gears turning:
- Your ride-or-die friend who would do anything you ask—the Ann Perkins to your Leslie Knope
- A friend who’s been posting on social media about the hostile takeover of our government
- Someone you haven’t seen in a while—suggest grabbing a coffee or a meal before or after the event
- Anyone you’ve commiserated with over the disturbing news—a neighbor, someone in your book club, a family member, or your favorite Trader Joe’s cashier
Pro tip: Personalized one-on-one invitations are typically much more effective than group email blasts or social media posts. 💪 Take the time to reach out to your friend individually to invite them, and that’ll make a bigger impression.
Community orgs helping to make this happen include the ACLU, Common Cause, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, Interfaith Alliance, MomsRising, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Stand Up for Science, Third Act, Vote Save America, 50501, and lots more. This is all hands on deck!
2. Have fun this summer
Libraries are—and will continue to be—a crucial resource in the fight to save our democracy. But our public libraries are under attack, facing slashed budgets, book bans, calls for privatization, and more. If we want to protect libraries and strengthen our democracy-saving efforts, we need to step up as library champions.
One simple way to protect our libraries also happens to be fun. 🤩
👉 Join your library’s summer reading challenge. You can stop by your library in person, look on their website, or make a quick phone call to ask how to participate.
Here’s why this is important: Libraries get funding based on how many people use their services and participate in their programming. More people participating makes it easier for libraries to get funding. ✅
What if your library doesn’t have a summer reading challenge? Find another way to participate in their programming, like an upcoming event you can attend.
Here are a few examples of some upcoming library events in my area, just to give you a feel for what you might find:
- Movie screenings
- Book clubs—including a Books and Breweries club that meets at a local brewery
- Mahjong, dominoes, and chess clubs
- Book, seed, clothing, and puzzle swaps
- Mending circles
- Crafting hours
- Game nights
- Writing, painting, and photography workshops
- Gardening, yoga, dance, and language classes
- Trivia nights
- And even a speed puzzling competition
3. Learn from the experts
We’re living through a fascist power grab by a regime that wants to take away our freedoms, attack working people, and abduct our neighbors. This moment is overwhelming and scary, and it’s normal for everyday folks like you and me to feel like there’s nothing we can do to stop the train.
But the experts who’ve studied similar moments in history say that we do have the power to stop our democracy from backsliding into authoritarianism.
👉 Tune in for this discussion with historian Heather Cox Richardson and political scientist Steven Levitsky to hear how we can prevent authoritarianism from taking root:
- What: Democracy on the Line: How We Got Here and How To Stop an Authoritarian Takeover
- Date: Tuesday, June 10
- Time: 12 pm to 1 pm Central (click to see in your time zone)
- Where: Virtual, so you can attend from anywhere
- RSVP: Go here (catch the replay here)
Get a shot of motivation
A quote that resonated this week, emphasis mine:
“It’s…a failure to recognize the myriad faces of resistance, the quiet ones, the indirect ones, the spontaneous ones, the unseen ones that matter nevertheless. It’s as if they decided resistance looks like a giraffe and so ignored that sometimes it’s a zebra, a lion, a meerkat, a tortoise, a dragonfly, a murmuration—or the elephant in the room. Sometimes resistance is a protest in the streets, or a thousand of them. But sometimes it’s a thousand forms of noncooperation and obstruction and countering the harm and rescuing those who are under attack…
So much around us tells us we have no power: how history is taught, how entertainment focuses on muscly ubermenches doing their violence rather than collective nonviolent action, how the news narrates our world as, again, an elite handful making all the decisions, holding all the power. But we have a lot of power, and one way you can see that is by noticing that those elites are actually afraid of us. Elon Musk found out that people have power when Tesla Takedown protests and other activism helped make the brand suddenly repulsive to buyers. Musk thereby found that he was in retail, where the customer is always right. I hope someday to see Musk and every member of DOGE on trial for their crimes against the government and people of the United States.”
— Author, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit, in Notes on the Varieties of Resistance
Hey, look! We did this
Here’s a quick run-down of what folks in our group have been doing to help lately:
- Annie, Caitlin, Julie, Megan, and Mildred became sustaining members to help us cover our costs and reach more people. 🙏
- Kate shared how she’s using Google Tasks to keep up the pressure: “Every day I have a RESIST task that pops up with a reminder and a link to some ideas—5calls is on it as well share an action with a friend or on Bluesky, etc…I also have a monthly RESIST contribution task that pops up with a list to some orgs that I care about or that have a timely need based on current events. So far this year I have supported Texas Freedom to Read Project, OutYouth, Black Pearl Books, and EveryLibrary.” 🥳
- Julie attended a read-in to protest a bill that would take away our freedom to read, and she spread the word about Molly’s Army to 10 friends. 💞
- After many folks (including several Molly’s Army members!) spoke out against the concerning use of automated license plate readers in Austin, the City Manager announced the City Council would not be voting to renew the program this month. 💪 (Thank you to everyone who spoke up and to Jamie and Meg for helping to organize this effort!)
- Natasha designed a one-page map of local advocacy organizations to help educate others about how they can get plugged into a group that’s the best fit for them. 🎯
- Bridget, Gia, Julie, Wendy, and Susan signed up for The Resistance Lab with Rep. Pramila Jayapal to learn about the most effective resistance movements against democratic backsliding. 🙌 (You can sign up for a future session here.)
- Holly attended the virtual Calling In Conversation with Professor Loretta J. Ross, overcame her fear of public speaking, and raised her hand to speak up. She also made herself a bracelet and keychain with a mantra to repeat whenever she’s feeling stressed about the current state of the world. And as if that weren’t enough, her mom asked for help calling her reps because she’s never done that before, so Holly hopped on a Zoom call and showed her mom how to use the 5 Calls app. 🤸
Your turn
What small actions have you taken lately? Please drop a comment below (or email me) and let me know what you’ve been up to so we can celebrate with you. 🥳
