Dancing in the Dark~Being Our Own Light in Times of Darkness
On March 31, 2025 at 7 p.m., Senator Cory Booker took to the Senate Floor to speak. He concluded his remarks 25 hours and 5 minutes later. In so doing, he broke the record for the longest floor appearance previously held by Sen. Strom Thurmond who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Unlike his predecessor, Sen. Booker did not stop to eat a sandwich, go to the bathroom or read from the encyclopedia. Sen. Booker spoke as an orator, and at times even sounded a bit like a southern preacher. He began by saying:
Tonight I rise because I sincerely believe that our country is in crisis. I believe that not in a partisan sense because so many of the people who have been reaching out to my office in pain and in fear, having their lives upended, so many of them identify themselves as Republicans.
Sen. Booker held the Senate Floor captive by speaking about the crisis of this moment. He insisted that we must not normalize the attacks on our Constitution and democratic values being waged by the Trump/Musk regime. He often referenced the witness of Sen. John Lewis who continually put his life on the line for justice and taught us how to ‘make good trouble’. Sen. Booker concluded his 25-hour oratory by saying:
“This is not a partisan moment. This is not a left or right moment. This is a right or wrong moment.”
Senator Booker speaks at Hands Off Protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Did you Know:
Sarah Kendzior, an American author, anthropologist, and researcher has written extensively about former Soviet Union totalitarian states and the role of dissidents in challenging authoritarian regimes. After the 2016 election she wrote an essay about being your own light in the age of Trump. She warned:
Authoritarianism is not merely a matter of state control, it is something that eats away at who you are. It makes you afraid, and fear can make you cruel. It compels you to conform and to comply and accept things that you would never accept, to do things you would never do. We are headed into dark times, and you need to be your own light. Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal, even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave—and it is often hard to be brave—be kind. But most of all, never lose sight of who you are and what you value.
Why It Matters:
The cruelty and madness of Trump’s entire first term pales when compared to the first two months of Trump 2.0. Kendzior's words are even more true now, and Cory Booker’s insistence that this is a ‘moral moment’ underscores her earlier warnings.
If we are not to lose sight of what we value as a free people governed by an imperfect but brilliant Constitution that calls us to our better angels, we must oppose this current regime with every fiber of our being. That opposition requires many forms and will require different things from each of us.
The global “Hands Off’ protests that occurred on Saturday, April 5th were energizing and gave the social proof that hundreds of thousands of people are not happy with this regime. However, John Pavlovitz cautions us that Protests Won’t Save America. This day after the protests he wrote:
Rallies and protests are awe-inspiring, goosebump inducing, breathtakingly cathartic moments. But rallies and protests won’t save democracies. They can’t craft legislation, and they won’t protect endangered people. Rallies alone won’t jettison corrupt leaders from their well-fortified perches of power. They can’t reach the labyrinthine hallways and cloistered rooms where those charged with protecting us, decide our fates. Rallies can’t tip the scales of our political process back toward balance.
We must resist the darkness that this fascist regime is trying to spread upon our nation but one day of massive resistance isn’t going to turn things around. Saturday must be our launching pad, not a landing pad. We need to keep finding one another, reaching across political divides with others who also believe that this is not a partisan moment but a moral moment.
Let’s stand together for what is right, and just and decent. Let’s be a light in this time of darkness. And yes, there are times where we may be found ‘dancing in the dark’ as we strive to make this country a ‘more perfect union.’
What You Can Do:
There are no quick fixes nor can we allow ourselves to fall into a frenetic ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ exhaustion. A sustained momentum demands that we stay connected and build a broad based coalition. We truly are all in this together.
We offer you a categorized menu of possible actions. Do what you can and trust that it is enough. But keep going and bring others with you. Together, we will prevail.
Speak Up! Use Your Voice
Continue to use 5 Calls or the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to help you make strategic calls to legislators. Congress will be taking a vote on the SAVE Act, an egregious assault on voting rights. If there is one thing that you do this week, call your Representative and insist they vote NO on this act!
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Educate Yourself and Learn to Talk About the Issues
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Subscribe to Carrie Newcomer’s Gathering of Spirits Substack, and enjoy her Room at the Table Kitchen Conversation videos for renewal and respite in these troubling times.
Letters From An American by Heather Cox Richardson is your daily source of information within a broader historical context. She is a must read with your morning coffee.
Join a Group or Organization
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Indivisible South Central Indiana—this is a brand-new chapter! Contact the coordinators at indivisiblesci@gmail.com
Indivisible-North East Indiana—another new chapter!
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We were made for this moment, let’s put on our dancing shoes.
H4D team