The Power of We
Join The Lady Party
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Hello, Friend,
As we navigate the turgid waters of the coming days, those of us who are not infected with the BROke Mind Virus may become exhausted, disheartened, demotivated, and increasingly isolated. This is by design. Chaos is a game plan. They’re flooding the zone and our feckless mainstream media is amplifying every drop of it with their 24/7 knee jerk outrage inducing spin cycle.
"So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."
Baha'U'Llah
I subscribe to an array of newsletters here on Substack and it’s starting to feel like they’re all sending the same email. Turn on cable news and you’ll find a panel of experts ready to discuss every tweet or xeet or ‘truth’ or incoherent brain fart tumbling out of his face at another press conference propaganda event. Peruse your news feed and you’ll discover another frustrating round of sanewashing and crazysplaining. Trying to analyze insanity is an exercise in futility. There is no there there. It’s all unfettered id and ego with no superego.
LOOK AT ME LISTEN TO ME GIVE ME ALL OF THE ATTENTION I NEED TO RANT INCOHERENTLY ABOUT ANOTHER IMAGINARY SLIGHT OR THING I MADE UP THAT IS NOT ACTUALLY HAPPENING THAT IS THE WORST THING EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO AGREE WITH ME EVEN IF IT’S TOTAL BULLSHIT!
Sure, some of it contains seeds of truth, but much of it is bluster. It’s a fishing expedition. The things that elicit the strongest reactions are the things that will be planted, take root, and grow.
THEY REALLY HATED THAT ONE! LET’S DO MORE OF THAT JUST TO STICK IT TO THOSE LIBS! GETS ‘EM EVERY TIME! HA HA HA! SUCKERS!
We can’t amplify every message in endless outrage or we will all burn out and they will have achieved their goal. We have to pace ourselves and find a way to stay aware without being overwhelmed. It’s a balancing act, for sure, but not every bit of bluster holds meaning. Some of the most outrageous things are meant to distract us from the truly outrageous things. What they do is far more important than what they say.
Authoritarians use chaos, absurdity, misinformation, and fear to confuse, distract, and divide people. When people are confused, distracted, and divided, they lose the ability to pay attention. When they can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction, it all becomes meaningless.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it together.”
Joe Echevarria
It can start to feel pointless pointing out the Emperor’s lack of clothing when no one seems to notice or care. That feeling of isolation is also part of the plan. Beyond the people lost to the disinformation, there are the people who used to care but got lost to the ennui and exhaustion, and then there are the people who are disengaged and disinterested as long as the shit show isn’t dragging them into the shit. It is, though, they just don’t realize it. Not being political is a political statement. If you have the most to lose from an authoritarian regime and you remain silent as they seize power, your unwillingness to speak out while you can is a capitulation and it also an endorsement of their actions. Staying silent will not save you, not if they come for people like you. And eventually, unless you are one of them, and there are very, very few of them, they will come for you, the people you love, and everyone else. You have to decide where you stand, what you stand for, and then stand firm or stand down and accept the consequences.
The thing that authoritarians and the people who surround them know and want you to forget is that you have power. There are many, many more of you. This scares them, so they want to make you afraid. You have that considerable advantage, but only if you work with other people to enact change. I call this The Power of We. We, the people, are far more powerful than we realize. When we join forces with purpose and conviction, we can move mountains. I’m not suggesting that it’s easy, but I am suggesting that doing nothing will make things much more difficult in the long run for everyone.
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our American mythology complicates things. The rugged individualism that fuels our aspirations can also fuel our divisions. As our media and social media have deepened our divides, we’ve retreated into what I call our ‘me bubbles.’ You can see this in the way people drive or conduct themselves in public, without any awareness or concern for other people. You can see it on social media where people tap all manner of hideous things into keyboards without compunction that they’d never speak out loud in person. This has resulted in an increase in paranoia and a shrinking sense of community and cooperation. Mistrust and division have risen and been fomented into hatred and violence. We are more connected at this moment in history than ever before, and yet we feel more disconnected than ever before. That is not accidental.
This little Substack, The Lady Party, is an invitation. It’s a virtual gathering place where those of us who believe in democracy and freedom can come together and create connection, to support each other, to love each other, to take care of each other, and to stand up with and for each other. We don’t have to feel isolated or disconnected, because we aren’t alone. We don’t have to stay stuck on toxic social media platforms because we can gather here on Substack where everybody has a voice. We don’t have to get sucked into the flood zone of disinformation induced dysphoria because we can remind eachother that it is an illusion. We don’t have to shove our heads into the sand, but we can breathe a little as we pluck the kernels of truth from the seeds of distraction.
Authoritarians rise and fall and fate and history are rarely kind to them. It is we, the people, who determine their fate and ours and it is up to each of us to decide if the illusion of security matters more than the right of every one of us to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”
Gwendolyn Brooks
I believe that we will get through this, but we will need each other to do that. The Power of We will fuel our resolve and keep our hearts compassionate and our minds open. Consider this your invitation to join The Lady Party.
We can do this, people.
Together.
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I subscribe to around eleven people on Substack and am inundated daily with what’s going on. I love all of them, but it is overwhelming to have to read eleven articles about the same thing plus something else each may have found interesting or important, and rightly so. I’m afraid I’m going to be overwhelmed and will quit reading at all. I need to know what’s going on, but I don’t necessarily want to, and I definitely don’t enjoy it. I quit subscribing to one writer today because of the overwhelm. He is very popular, and a good writer and speaker, but his anger and emotions rile me up too much. I am trying to preserve my strength and my sanity. One person I will never quit following is Heather Cox Richardson and I recommend her to everyone I know. She is a historian and easy to read and sticks to the facts. I also love Robert Reich. But, I am glad to have found you, first by way of art and then by way of the written word. You write and speak what is in my head and offer some much needed levity. I lead a fairly isolated life in a rural community in a very red county in Illinois. I am so happy to be a part of this little group since my only other group is my immediate family, who are fortunately with me lock, stock, and barrel.
Thank you Thank you Margot for putting a "community" together here on your substack. I have so many questions to be answered constantly such as "Why does Elon Must have any power at all?" and "How do we get the orange cyst to simply shut up?" I am just full of these and they drive me crazy!
I have an ex-sister in law who is married to a retired Detroit Free Press journalist who tries to keep me informed on the back end of a lot of happenings because her husband still has the connections. And things are just as bad as we imagine. Hugh (x-SIL husband and journalist) normally stays quiet and out of the way on political topics on his social feeds because he knows he will get "hit" with the questions. So we all communicate through the private messages. But today he was out there loudly because of orange freaks reaction to the fires!
This is part of what he wrote "I’m trying you all, but the bottomless pit of lies being spread by the President-elect and his lickspittles about the devastating wildfires are sickening. Absolute filth. In a previous generation they would have been shamed and ridiculed for it. Today, one-third of the nation cheers — the bigger the lies, the louder the cheers. In the midst on a natural disaster. Since no one beyond journalists seem to care about fact checking any longer let’s be clear: ... and then he goes on to list all the FACTS concerning these fires.
I certainly hope that many people come forward to give us FACTS and those that already are giving them continue to do so. I think it is up to each one of us to say something to people that are so outlandish in their beliefs or statements. Even though being "respectful" and not saying a thing is my first reaction, we all know that negative garbage spreads far quicker than anything else and we need to stop it! Keeping truth alive is going to be a full time job for many of us I am afraid!!!