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It seems like a common theme that keeps recurring when talking to other progressive folks in these early days of the Trump administration is the feeling that one is going (or about to go) crazy. It came up several times in today’s Houston Area Kossacks meetup, where we ate Tex-Mex, talked about resistance, and discussed our role as a group in local and national politics. When I founded the Houston Area Kossacks group back in 2011, I envisioned it mainly as a social outlet for local Kossacks. And during the Obama years, we had the luxury of chit-chatting over good food every month. These days, it seems that every day brings with it a sense of urgency—a refresh of the Twitter feed, a click over to CNN, a rush of anxiety anticipating what Mango Mussolini might do or say next. Andrew Sullivan (like him or not) recently wrote a piece in which he nailed this state of constant dread:
One of the great achievements of free society in a stable democracy is that many people, for much of the time, need not think about politics at all. The president of a free country may dominate the news cycle many days — but he is not omnipresent — and because we live under the rule of law, we can afford to turn the news off at times. A free society means being free of those who rule over you — to do the things you care about, your passions, your pastimes, your loves — to exult in that blessed space where politics doesn’t intervene. In that sense, it seems to me, we already live in a country with markedly less freedom than we did a month ago. It’s less like living in a democracy than being a child trapped in a house where there is an abusive and unpredictable father, who will brook no reason, respect no counter-argument, admit no error, and always, always up the ante until catastrophe inevitably strikes. This is what I mean by the idea that we are living through an emergency.
When so much is at stake, a rethinking of our role as a Daily Kos community group seems necessary. So that was our main discussion topic today: not abandoning the social aspect of our group, but becoming more active in this time of national emergency.
We face a distinct challenge in Houston that many other groups do not face in that our members are so spread out over such an enormous geographic area. This makes planning meetups a challenge, much less group activism. Our group can only do so much as a unit, and it ultimately falls on each of us as individuals.
For our meetup today, htowngenie generously printed out the Indivisible Guide and a handy sheet with Ted Cruz’s and John Cornyn’s contact information for everybody. The sheet also included information on Daily Action, which uses your zip code to text you local resistance opportunities (I’m already signed up). We spent some time today discussing the key points of the Indivisible Guide and the dos and don’ts of contacting elected officials. We also talked about our role as a group going forward, and there seemed to be agreement that a good place to start would be bringing in somebody to talk to us about the nuts and bolts of our local party (something a good number of us are not very familiar with).
These are extraordinary times, and the Houston Area Kossacks are trying to adapt. How have you been keeping active and attempting not to go crazy in the Trump era? Jump below for the tops, but first, some meetup pics:
Top Comments (March 4, 2017):
From ursulafaw:
I think that Yahzi has a real handle on the GOP mindset with this comment.
From susans:
I would like to nominate this comment by Major Kong from durrati’s diary Draft-dodging Prima Donna Plays Dress Up in Uniform, Veterans Not Amused.
Top Mojo (March 3, 2017):
Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
Top Photos (March 3, 2017):
Tonight’s photo quilt is courtesy of jotter!