The People Are Not Okay: Nothing About This is Normal
These days it’s easy to feel like we are living in a split screen world: on one screen we see a rolling coup attacking our democratic way of life and on the other screen we see folks walking around like it’s any other normal day in America.
A few days after the scene in the Oval Office where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was verbally ambushed by Trump and Vance, a scene that horrified most of the free world but was praised by Governor Braun and just about every other MAGA politician, a close friend of our H4D team stopped at a local coffee shop in Atlanta. This friend works at Emory in a clinic that researches vaccine and drug interventions on patients enrolled in Phase IV clinical trials. She was distraught at what was happening with this administration across the board, let alone the terror of what RFK Jr. will do as a conspiracy theorist, anti-science leader of Health and Human Services. As she sat at the counter, she looked around at her neighborhood coffee shop and saw folks acting like it was just any other day. Leaning over the counter she whispered to the barista, “Is it only me who is horrified about what is happening and everyone else here is absolutely fine?” The young, tattooed barista replied, “Oh no, we are all terrified. We are just acting like everything is okay. None of us are okay!”
Did You Know:
Lies and propaganda are primary tools for dictators and strongmen. It is well documented that Trump is a firehose of lies. His propaganda is aided and abetted by Fox News and social media. Elon Musk had dedicated his social media platform X to amplifying Trump’s lies and spreading Putin sanctioned propaganda. The psychological and cognitive impact of being exposed to a continual flow of lies, disinformation and propaganda, is that the human mind begins to process these lies as truth. It’s called the “illusory effect”, and it allows the targets to enjoy a sense of cognitive ease. When one believes the constant barrage of lies as truth, there is no longer dissonance or a sense of contradiction even when there is ample external evidence that the lies are not true. This is how brainwashing and radicalization work. Most of the rest of us know that this regime is lying and that nothing about it is normal.
Why It Matters:
However, if the rest of us are looking around and seeing that no one else seems concerned, then we start doubting our own sanity. We ask ourselves, “Am I overreacting? Is it really this bad?” Everyone is looking at everyone else saying to themselves, “Am I crazy? Are you crazy? Who’s crazy?”
Hence, our friend’s question in the coffee shop. She was asking if she was a little crazy. But here is the dilemma. If she goes along with the crowd, acting like everything is okay but really knowing it’s all wacked out, she is then underselling the hostile takeover of our government. She is actually contributing to the ‘tragedy of the commons’. The tragedy of the commons is a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, overuse or deplete a shared resource, harming everyone in the long run.
If we understand democracy as a ‘common good’, and if one goes along with the crowd pretending that all is well just to avoid the pain of what we see happening, our actions undermine this common treasure. In so doing, we give permission to Musk and Trump to keep using their chainsaw on our democratic institutions and taking away our freedoms. The real madness is watching this wreckage without speaking up.
What We Can Do:
We have to stop acting like everything is normal. Nothing about what is happening is normal, and to pretend otherwise is recklessly dangerous. Our actions must be the ‘social proof’ that we are not okay. And the social proof is for our friends and neighbors, the folks in the coffee shop, not politicians. Anat Shenker-Osorio, a political strategist and messaging expert says that we must be the ‘first movers’ in our neighborhoods and communities. Our friend at the coffee shop has to say to the barista, “So, what is terrifying to you?” She becomes the first person in her neighborhood to fly the Ukrainian flag and have a ‘happy hour’ conversation on her patio about what just happened in the Oval Office and why that is not okay. She voices her concerns at the school board meeting where they are exploring removing DEI values from their hiring practices. She wears a t-shirt that says “Musk or Us” at sports events and community gatherings. She becomes a ‘first mover’ in opposition to this hostile takeover in her sphere of influence. Her actions are contagious and give permission to others to do the same. We must become first movers or join those around us who are leading the way.
Hoosiers for Democracy is hosting a People’s Town Hall.
There will be no litany of speakers, no pep talks, no reiterating the atrocities of our state and federal administration. Instead, we will share with one another how we are not okay and how this administration (state and federal) is impacting our lives and livelihoods. We will listen compassionately to one another, and we will not offer false assurances that everything is okay. We will be the social proof to one another that our way of life is under attack, and it involves more than the cost of eggs or price of groceries. We will explore creative ways to be the social proof that our democracy is in peril. In a collective voice we will speak “truth to power" and our shared stories will send a clear message to our representatives when we deliver the information following the People's Town Hall. We hope you will join us!
Other Things You Can Do:
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.
Attend The Empty Chair Town Hall on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 co-sponsored by Central Indiana Indivisible and H4D.
Educate Yourself and Learn to Talk About the Issues
Subscribe to The.Ink by Anand Giridharadas especially his interview with Anat Shenker-Osorio (this post borrowed liberally from that interview!)
Subscribe to Heads Up News and Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water —both are a great source of everyday actions we can take.
Sheila Kennedy is Indiana’s guru for keeping up with all that is happening. Always free and always brilliant every single day.
Join a Group or Organization
Indivisible groups—join one or start one if there isn’t one near you.
South Central Indiana—this is a brand new chapter! Contact the coordinators at indivisiblemc24@gmail.com.
Indivisible-North East Indiana—another new chapter!
Red, Wine & Blue. They coordinate with Indivisible and other major grassroots movements. They have a wealth of resources and are a clearing house of action.
Join a Trouble Nation group or start one if there isn’t one near you. Scroll to the bottom of the page for “Where Are My Troublemakers” map.
MADVoters is an amazing statewide organization doing great work.
Women4Change is another one of H4D’s favorite go-to for information and calls to action.
It’s time we become the social proof that things are not okay. We are not the crazy ones! Pass it on!
Yours in obvious and obstinate opposition!
The H4D Team