There Is a Light That Shines in the Darkness, Which Is Only Visible There
~ Barbara Brown Taylor/Learning to Walk in the Dark
March 15-23, 2025, was a national congressional recess. Many elected officials returned home to raise money, connect with family, and meet with their constituents in local town halls. Not every elected official opted for the opportunity to meet with their people. In our partisan-gerrymandered, MAGA rigged ruby red state, there were more ‘empty chair’ town halls than there were actual conversations between elected officials and their constituents. In Indianapolis, Hoosiers for Democracy joined with Central Indiana Indivisible in two such events; an Empty Chair Town Hall on March 19th and a People's Town Hall on March 22nd. There were between 800-900 attendees at the combined events. Our teams will be sharing the personal testimonies of the attendees with Senator Banks, Senator Young and Governor Braun. We absolutely got their attention!
Did you Know:
Last week was a tsunami of devastating events not only in the continual unraveling of our constitutional republic and rule of law, but the erasing of Black and Indigenous history from the archives and webpages of our democratic institutions. The relentless onslaught of cruelty and reckless incompetence of our state and federal governments can be traumatic to the human psyche, at least for those who are paying attention.
There are ongoing threats and direct attacks on the social safety nets that protect everyday citizens, daily abductions and trafficking of our brothers and sisters who migrated to this country for a better life, continual firings of federal workers and dismantling of valued federal agencies. We learned that senior national security officials are using unencrypted social media platforms to share classified information and communicate about national intelligence. There is a rising number of confirmed measles infections across the nation. With this regime, events like these are just a normal occurrence for any day that ends in ‘y’.
The dilemma is that repeating the daily atrocities can create a sense of hopelessness and despair. It makes it hard to ‘see’ any light in this time of darkness.
Why It Matters:
It’s important to admit that our way of life is under attack and to name the severity of what is at stake. It is painful to admit, but we must. It’s time to learn how to walk in the dark. White folks must learn how our Black brothers and sisters resisted attacks on their lives and liberties. Let us disabuse ourselves of the notion that we ‘are a nation of immigrants’, when in truth we are a nation of ‘first peoples’ and our country was built on the backs of the enslaved. We are called to take back our country and fight for the Constitution on which it was founded. And for those of us who call ourselves Christians, it’s time to reclaim Christianity as a way of life that practices radical Love and acceptance of others—no exceptions.
We are called to join the people’s movement opposing this oligarchy of tech bros and felons. We don’t have much practice yet, but we are learning how to see in this era of darkness. We are discovering the light found in listening to one another in our shared suffering, and the light of fighting for the next generation. There is light when we participate in rallies, demonstrations, marches, prayer vigils and yes, empty chair town halls! In this time of darkness, there is light when we bear witness to the fact many in our government are dangerously unstable, corrupt and self-serving. There is light when we are willing to be the ‘social proof’ that those in power are spreading darkness and cruelty upon our people.
Organized targeted boycotts, painting our barns and our garages with well vetted slogans of the opposition, flying Ukrainian flags as a testament to our support of our allies in democracy, flying American flags upside down as a distress signal promotes social proof that there is an opposition movement. Staging billboard campaigns and light shows on public buildings are compelling examples that tell the same story. We are the courageous examples of this movement in our neighborhoods. People will notice and some will be empowered to act. Courage is contagious!
Democracy has never been a spectator sport but now more than ever we must get off the sidelines and onto the field. Let’s be sure we celebrate our 250th anniversary as a free people.
What You Can Do:
Learn more about the power of the ‘3.5 % rule’: how a small minority can change the world. Let’s build a people powered, non-violent movement in opposition to this bullies for the billionaire regime that has taken power in our Statehouse and Federal Government. Here are a few things you can do this week!
Get live updates from Hands Off, a national organization that is committed to non-violent resistance and growing a people’s powered opposition movement. Their first day of national mobilization is April 5, 2025.
To attend an Indianapolis Hands Off Day of Action, register here. This event is sponsored by 50501 and Central Indiana Indivisible.
Learn how to be an information warrior in the words you use when speaking about the regime by downloading Anat Shenker-Osorio’s Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit. Anat is a world-renowned political strategist and messaging expert. Her messaging toolkit is a must for any non-partisan grassroots organization and everyday information warriors.
Subscribe to The.Ink Substack by Anand Giridharadas and watch both he and Anat every other Thursday at 12:30 Eastern Daylight Time. The next episode is 4/3 and it’s free! Words matter in a time of resistance. They are a joy to watch and their conversations will make you smile!
Make 5 Calls your daily practice.
Subscribe to Chop Wood Carry Water and Letters From An American for your daily dose of up to date information sprinkled with a dash of joy!
Host book clubs, or adult forums in your places of worship and other community gatherings to share videos and materials about non-violent resistance. This excellent video tells the story of how a student led organization successfully catalyzed a peaceful resistance movement that brought down Milosevic in Serbia in 2000.
Let’s be the light for one another in this time of darkness. Together we are the social proof that democracy is worth fighting for.
Yours in a people powered movement!
The H4D Team!
Rage is a call to action
I have been steeped in rage for a long time. I can no longer contain my fury. What I don’t resist will persist. I feel a call-to-action trembling in me. My rage is hallowed ground. I will release it. I will galvanize my outrage into a plan. I will seek out communities sharing my vision for change confident that we can combat the legacy of hurt perpetrated by the abuse of power. I have reached my limit. I know that this cannot fester any longer because it is poison. It is robbing me of my sense of peace and my well-being.
God,
Let us understand that our rage is holy. We will not tolerate the pain of injustice any longer. We will not be silent about things that should be witnessed. Let us be galvanized into action by the fury we feel. Your divinity exists in our anger because it is just. It is a call to heal ourselves and the world. It is a call to right the wrongs that have injured the voiceless. Give us constructive avenues to transform this ire into a better life. Grant us the means to bring Your love and light to the darkest situations. Let us shine a light on every hidden sorrow that needs healing.
Amen
From my neighbors Lenten meditations. Very helpful to me.