One Single Thing Will Break the Siege
Finding inspiration for resistance in all the small things.
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I have been heartened by the increasing public displays of resistance, the small acts of courage that provide inspiration and remind us that, in our own choices, we are far from alone.
Here are just a handful.
Lucy Welch, a 25-year-old “snow reporter” for Sugarbush Resort in Vermont, used her platform to send out a message of resistance and encouragement on the day that JD Vance and his family intended to go skiing (just hours after his atrocious treatment of President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office). The entire area rallied to disrupt this attempted ski vacation, no doubt with Lucy’s words in their ears. This is how she wrapped up what was likely to be her final report: “We are living in a really scary and really serious time. What we do or don’t do matters. This whole shpiel probably won’t change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep.”
Frank Zamora, a once Texas Real Estate Commission employee, was fired for refusing to remove pronouns from his email signature. He viewed the requirement that he do so as “part of a broader effort to make LGBT+ people feel unwelcome in the state of Texas” and said, "I could not, in good conscience, contribute to those actions in any way—no matter how small.”1
Twenty employees of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency resigned en mass because they didn’t want to use their skills to “dismantle critical public services.”
Texas Democratic Representative Al Green disrupted the horrific State of the Union address and stated: “There comes a time when you cannot allow the president’s incivility to take advantage of our civility. It is time for us to take that stand.” (Meanwhile, ten Democrats lost their backbones during the vote to censure Rep. Al Green. If you are in their districts, please give them a call and help them find their spines. Their names are in the link above.)
My Oregon Representative, Maxine Dexter, walked out of the State of the Union with Rep. Green and tweeted: “I refuse to normalize Trump’s constitutional crisis. I will loudly fight back. I will relentlessly disrupt. I will unapologetically resist. Tonight, I left the State of the Union because I will not dignify his cruelty—and I want him to know that.” I cannot help but feel there is a direct link between her choice to walk out and a recent town hall of hers that I attended in which a stadium of thousands erupted at the call for Democrats to be more actively disruptive of this insanity. She heard us and, days later, had Rep. Green’s back. (Active ripple effects.) If you’re in her district, please call her office to thank her and let her know that we have her back, too.
This is a tiny sample of what people are doing in their lives and specific roles to protect our democracy and national infrastructure.
In addition, millions are showing up to protests—sometimes several each week—and calling their reps, participating in boycotts, and meeting with friends and neighbors to stay organized. I’m certain that a great deal more is occurring in the shadows: acts of sabotage to slow down and disrupt attempts to dismantle our country and sow anguish around the world.
Meanwhile, the realms of mythology, poetry, fiction, and fairy tales—ancient or modern—inspire us in the fight. If you haven’t seen it, it may sound silly for me to say that the Star Wars spinoff series Andor is one of the great recent sources of inspiration, but it truly is must-see television for life under fascism. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to share a profound bit of writing from the stunning final episode of season one. It is a piece that emphasizes the importance of these small, individual acts. The Empire, after all, is simply fascism on a galaxy level. Let’s make sure it doesn’t get that far.
"Remember this.
Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction.
Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy.
There are whole armies,
battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause.
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere.
And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
And then remember this.
The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural.
Tyranny requires constant effort.
It breaks, it leaks.
Authority is brittle.
Oppression is the mask of fear.
Remember that.
And know this,
the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles,
these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority
and then there will be one too many.
One single thing will break the siege. Remember this.
Try."
I’m Satya Doyle Byock, psychotherapist, author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood, director of The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies, and co-host of a podcast on Jung’s Red Book. My work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Oprah Daily, NPR, The BBC, Literary Hub, The Tamron Hall Show, and on podcasts such as Apple News in Conversation and The Joseph Campbell Foundation Podcast.
“Try.” I am, I will. Thank you for this. (Maxine Dexter is my rep, too. Appreciate hearing about her response. There’s also a powerful video of Merkley circulating on Notes. He’s firmly, without grandstanding, calling out Trump’s pandering to Putin.)
Oh, thank you, Satya, for this heart-opening, heart-wrenching message this morning. "Remember this..." moved me deeply, as did the courageous acts of defiant resistance.