Resistance 2.0

Some thoughts on politics, perception, possibility, and finding our way through difficult times.

I’ve been trying to summon the passionate anxiety, let’s call it resistance fervor, I experienced after Trump’s first presidential win. I just can’t seem to find it. It’s not that I don’t care. I do. And not that I’m in denial. I’m not. It’s just that I can’t stop thinking this was inevitable. The final step in a decades-long project, aimed at tricking us into fearing the ‘other,’ fearing each other, fearing the world, ultimately fearing ourselves. And the more I sit with this, the more it strikes me that the way we meet this new American era has got to be very different from the old forms of resistance. I’m not even sure “resistance” is the right word. I’m sensing something deeper is called for: action that is profoundly proactive, action that is profoundly not reactive, action that is grounded in clarity, determination, wisdom, and dare I say it, love.

I recently had cataract surgery. I understood this would improve my distance and driving-at-night vision. I had no idea however, that cataracts are like filters that make the world look dull. So waking up the morning after was waking up to a bright and shining world.

Which has me thinking a lot about perception. I’m beginning to suspect that seeing this new American order as a threat we must resist gives it way too much power. Yes, they’re moving at warp speed. Yes, many people’s lives are being upended. Yes, there is already and will be much more suffering. Yes, it’s horrifying. Yes, the chaos is overwhelming. And yes, when the whole thing topples— and it will, because this much grandiosity at the top is simply not sustainable—the cleanup will be enormous and take years.

All of this is true.

And yet, before cataract surgery I thought all the rooms in my home needed repainting. After cataract surgery I realized all the rooms looked fine. The rooms didn’t need repainting. The perceiver who was looking at those rooms needed clear eyes.

Perhaps this is something worth thinking about…

When we look at the current political arena, depending on which side we call our own, we’re either with them or against them. I’m thinking that this is a big piece of the problem. It’s the old trick of patriarchal systems. Domination and control through divide and conquer. And these days we’re living in patriarchy on steroids.

And by patriarchy I’m not talking about a men-at-the-top of the food chain system. I’m talking about a system that’s driven by the need to dominate and control. I’m talking about the generally awful consequences of that need. I’m talking about a system that strongly believes in top and bottom, black and white, my way or the highway. Gender has nothing to do with it.

Yes, we’ve built very complex ranking systems, creating a powerful illusion of hierarchy and separation. Yes, we’ve bought into scarcity thinking like “survival of the fittest” and “us vs. them.” But our buy-in doesn’t make it right or true. It just keeps the illusion going.

When we see clearly, all we see is one huge circle. And we’re all one within that circle. No top. No bottom. All one.

So when I think about resistance, I think about reaching out to the so-called ‘other’ and if not actually making friends, at least starting the conversation. There are many people doing this already. I’m hardly the first to suggest it. But the more I sit with the notion, the more I believe it is the way we take our country, not to mention ourselves, back.

One conversation at a time.

One meeting a time.

One embrace at a time.

I have this recurring dream of Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon at the head of a huge parade, hundreds and thousands of us, every color, shape, and opinion, dancing together in the streets and singing “We Shall Overcome.”

I know, it’s a crazy vision. But is it any crazier than what’s happening right now…

I have always been a left-wing progressive. And wore that identity proudly. Now I find myself leaning away from that label. I still think the ideas generated in my progressive bubble are overall correct. The implementation however, not so much. And I find my willingness to admit this opens up a lot of space that was clogged by the blinders I was wearing.

And for the record, I’m not advocating passive acceptance of the current political situation. Not for a moment. I think we have to fight back with every weapon we have. I just happen to believe that the most powerful weapon in our arsenal is clear seeing.

Because the way forward isn't just about resistance—it's about reimagining what becomes possible when we remove our cataracts and see each other, truly see each other, with clear eyes. One conversation at a time. One meeting at a time. One embrace of another at a time.

It’s slow work. It’s not always comfortable. And yet, it’s the only kind of revolution that lasts—the one built on clear seeing, moving beyond illusion, and choosing connection over division, again and again.

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