Yes, We Can

Speaking this weekend on the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous ride, Heather Cox Richardson paid tribute to him and also to all the others less remembered by history who played crucial roles in lighting the lanterns in the Old North Church and sounding the alarm across the Massachusetts countryside.

“[D]espite their differences and the hectic routine of their lives, they recognized the vital importance of the right to consent to the government under which they lived. They took time out of their daily lives to resist the new policies of the British government that would establish the right of a king to act without check by the people. They recognized that giving that sort of power to any man would open the way for a tyrant. …

“What Newman and Pulling did was simply to honor their friendships and their principles and to do the next right thing, even if it risked their lives, even if no one ever knew. And that is all anyone can do as we work to preserve the concept of human self-determination. In that heroic struggle, most of us will be lost to history, but we will, nonetheless, move the story forward, even if just a little bit.

“And once in a great while, someone will light a lantern—or even two—that will shine forth for democratic principles that are under siege, and set the world ablaze.”

Saturday, April 19, saw another round of massive protest at more than 700 events in cities and towns across the United States. The New Yorker points out that, despite discouragement and lack of media coverage, the resistance is bigger now than in 2017, and still growing. “So You Want to be a Dissident” also reminds us of the need for care and community for dissidents. 

“These early actions may feel limited, even anemic, to Americans who recall images of approximately four million Women’s March participants swarming cities across the nation, at the start of Trump’s first term. But data from the Crowd Counting Consortium, a joint project of the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Connecticut which counts the size of political crowds at protests, marches, and other civic actions, indicates that there are many more demonstrations unfolding in the United States than there were at this point during the first Trump Administration. In the period between the 2017 Inauguration and the end of that March, the consortium tallied about two thousand protests. During the same period in 2025, it counted more than six thousand. …

“Political-science research reveals that autocratic leaders can be successfully challenged. …

“Many dissidents we spoke to said that, amid prolonged and cascading political crises, establishing a political home for yourself is a necessary ingredient for nurturing non-coöperation. Think of this as the equivalent of participation in a faith community that meets to worship—a regular practice to guard against loneliness and despair, and check in with others going through a similar experience.” 

Even conservative columnists David Brooks and David French are calling for “a comprehensive national civic uprising” (Brooks) and impeachment of Trump, Vance, et al (French). 

Robert Reich points to plans for general strikes, as well as organizing and protests across the country. 

March. Write letters. Make phone calls to Congress. Talk to your neighbors and family members. Do whatever you can do. 

David Brooks in the New York Times: 

“Trumpism … is primarily about the acquisition of power — power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice. …

“Trumpism is threatening all of that. It is primarily about the acquisition of power — power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice.

“It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power. …

“I’m really not a movement guy. I don’t naturally march in demonstrations or attend rallies that I’m not covering as a journalist. But this is what America needs right now. Trump is shackling the greatest institutions in American life. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

David French in the New York Times:

“In this moment, think of the courts as a rear guard, capable of delaying constitutional collapse until the American people finally understand that the life and health of the Constitution is up to them. If they keep electing men like Trump or sycophants like those in his Congress of cowards, then we’ll lose our Republic.

“But if a critical mass of Americans do wake up, then the court’s stand will be indispensable to justice and — critically — accountability. Every public official associated with Trump’s defiance of the courts (including his vice president, JD Vance) should be impeached, convicted and barred forever from holding public office.”

Robert Reich asks “What do we do about this?” and answers:

“We stand up to it. We resist it. We denounce it. We boldly and fearlessly reject it —regardless of the cost, regardless of the threats. …

“But what does a national civic uprising look like? 

“It may look like a general strike — a strike in which tens of millions of Americans refuse to work, refuse to buy, refuse to engage in anything other than a mass demonstration against the regime. 

“And not just one general strike, but a repeating general strike — a strike whose numbers continue to grow and whose outrage, resistance, and solidarity continue to spread across the land. 

“I urge all of you to start preparing now for such a series of general strikes. I will inform you of what I learn about who is doing what. (One possible place to begin is here.)”