The Facade of Democracy is Over — What Now?

Practical advice for the recently radicalized, presented lovingly.

Welcome to the world, my love. We’re so happy you’ve joined us.

When you were born, you cried too. It’s simply the way of things, when you realize, painfully, that the world is so much bigger and colder than you could have imagined.

I have good news, and I have terrible news: the world has always been this way.

Don’t be sorry — Ignorance is not a sin unless it’s willful.

So now is the test.

Refuse to dive back into ignorance that beckons like a warm bed on a cold morning. It would be so comfortable to continue sleeping, but it will help no one.

Time to get to work.

Walk humbly. There are many before you (and many before me) who have known this before. There are many, many, who were born into it, who had to understand the terrible atrocities of negligence we all commit with our teeth bared in a smile. You are not the movement. You are not, and should not, be an irreplaceable part of it.

Work collectively. No one is here alone. No one can survive alone. It is time to recognize the interconnectedness of all things. Our struggle is for human liberation. Everything we fight is connected. This is a blessing and a tragedy. It’s justified to feel so small when faced with the enormity of injustice. But small is not powerless. Small is a start. So start where you are.

Figure out who you are. Liberation work is trauma work. Examine yourself. What do you offer to humanity? What skills have you cultivated? What experiences do you have to share towards greater understanding? What weaknesses hold you back? What biases and propaganda have you internalized?

Commit to growth. Liberation work is a constant exercise in self reflection. No one can know everything. Therefore, the only way to approach justice is to listen to each other.

Dream collectively. Liberation work is dream work. It is a commitment to bring about a world that has never existed. That requires imagination.

Embrace the impossible. Accept, now, and truly wrestle with the fact that we, none of us, will ever see liberation. The goal is asymptotic. We are doing this not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those like us, now and in the future. Our shared recognition of our shared humanity drives us to realize that because every person matters, every bit of progress, no matter how small, matters.

Progress is not inevitable or secure. We can lose. There is a prevailing cultural myth of the idea that we are “progressing” forward in time. In reality, we are no different, fundamentally, than those who lived thousands, or tens of thousands of years ago. All progress must be maintained. It must be earned, again and again. Learn to view yourself, and our time, not as a pinnacle of achievement, but as a link in a long chain of humanity, stretching far back, yes, but also far into the future. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take small steps. It will all feel overwhelming. So do what you can, and prioritize being here, and doing the work, for the long run. We need everyone.

Lead with love. There will be many, including within the movement, who will hurt you, or even harm you. To dream is to be vulnerable. We, as radicals, must embrace our vulnerability as a strength despite being told it is a weakness. We must choose, over and over again, to be open to change from even the most unexpected people. We must seek to understand those against us, both to dismantle their systems of oppression, and because they are us, in another life. We must always remember they could choose differently. We must always allow them to choose differently. We must always reaffirm our own choice. Hold those harming others accountable, but do so with as much love as you can muster.

Educate accountably. Part of the work is to wake others. Always be open to educating, but believe people when they tell you who they are. Don’t waste time on those trying to debate you rather than engage with you. Hold people accountable for their views and harms. But always leave your heart open to genuine and meaningful changes of heart.

Stay focused. There is so much distraction in this world. That is by design. It can be so easy to lose the dream, or lose hope that the dream is possible, when lost in the day to day practicalities. Raise your eyes to the bigger picture. See the forest, not the trees. Realize that you, too, are a tree in it. You are connected to the others. You are rooted, to some degree, to the perspective you have had the opportunity to experience. Grow into the light, upwards, and see further. See over the branches of those who would block your view. The forest is burning. It always has been. Your roots, that ground you, also keep you in place. Grapple with this contradiction, and realize inherently that you are only ever an expert on your circumstances. No one needs a savior — such a thing is impossible — everyone needs collaborators.

Accept pain. None of us gets out of here alive. You will die, regardless. This is not to say make a martyr of yourself, this is to say that love requires sacrifice. To love deeply is a commitment to hurting deeply. Otherwise, so many would not choose to turn away.

Cultivate hope. Liberation work is necessarily hope work. You will be challenged in ways both unpredictable and unmatched. You must stay the course regardless. Reject the idea that unnecessary suffering is a virtue. Liberation work is love work. It is joy work. Choose joy. Maintain it. Despair is a luxury we cannot afford, and a luxury we cannot sustain if we expect to do meaningful work.

Get creative. The machine is not like this by accident. It was designed. It is maintained by those against us. They have more money, more power, more loyalty due to having rigged the game. We cannot let that stop us. The coming years will ask much of us. We must rise and grow to meet the challenge.

Prioritize impact. Make moves strategically. Work together. Ask others with expertise for advice. Do not advertise yourself unnecessarily. Keep each other safe. Remember we are being watched.

Question everything. Understand that we have all been trained from birth to accept the circumstances we find ourselves in as inevitable. To accept hierarchy and cruelty and negligence and greed as human nature. Reject that. Notice who is telling you what to believe. Analyze why someone says what they say, always. Never stop asking, why why why. Never stop questioning: how does this serve you? How would it exploit someone else? You are not immune to propaganda. Stay vigilant.

Learn context. Learn history and rhetoric and political theory and economics and all the other systems of thought we use to define and delineate our reality. We are a continuation of what came before. There is nothing on this world or in the human soul that is new. Just as we must learn from our peers, we must learn from our ancestors. We have been here before, and we will be here again. It is simply our job to rise to the moment we are in.

P.S. for other white people. Grapple with the fact now that we are at a disadvantage in understanding. Our whiteness has sheltered us from the worst the world has to offer in ways we will never fully comprehend. Be mindful. Listen to those who were forced to reckon with these truths early, who were raised in community, with generational knowledge of resistance, with the understanding that this is survival.

All of this? This is the work. This is the assignment for being born human. We have so little time, each of us. But together, we are so much greater than the sum of our parts. Plug in. Educate yourself and spread knowledge. Find out where your skillset lies and do the work. The work will not be glorious. It will be brutal. It will be monotonous. It will not be praised. It will not always succeed.

No one needs a hero. What we all need, what we’ve all always needed, are accomplices.

Welcome. I know it hurts to be born. But the alternative is death. Death of compassion. Death of principles. Death of the soul. Death of our very human nature.

Now you’re alive. I’m so glad you’re here with us. I love you. Let’s get to work.