Moral choices

Shadow wrestling

As the vice squeezes on democratic norms in the US, an inner vice is squeezing me. What is mine to do? Do I have the courage to do it? Probably I’m not alone in this.

I’ve identified an inner mule in me, a stubborn resistance to acknowledging that what’s going on “out there” requires more of me “in here.” Even though this administration is following, with frightening accuracy, the playbook of autocrats, my mind shuts down. I may look like I’m engaged. Resistance to facing the truth can actually look like activism. Can look like making phone calls and re-posting on social media, showing up at rallys, and, yes, writing on Substack. I can tell that my gut wants that to be enough. It isn’t anymore, but by acknowledging that, I acknowledge that I am scared and my old tool kit isn’t enough.

What do they say about bringing a knife to a gun fight?

My dreams have been persistent and eloquent about my moral choices. I want to believe there are escape hatches somehow, even though I know there aren’t. Even though I know that we have both passed 7 of the 9 planetary boundaries. I want to believe that my old style of community organizing, using open space and world cafe, can help at this point. I don’t think they are enough. Now it’s neighborhood organizing. And, for those with the inclination, monkeywrenching.

A tidbit about stages of decline flew across my screen this week and then gone, lost forever in that pixel heap on the floor. Rather than search my social media, I asked claude to review a few of the stages of autocratic decline for me, just to brush up. (no tsk tsking, i only use AI for this sort of research).

It gave me several lists from several authors, and then a summary. I’ve pasted it in below and suggest a 30 second glance at this for starters, just to get the gist. After that I’ve pasted in Claude’s list of successful resistance. By doing this I’m probably now on some list of mildly dangerous people, but it seems important to share.

But first I want to say this about how I’m addressing this resistance as of 3 PM on July 10, 2025:

1. Tell the truth - I’m scared. Not for my own safety, but that the mule will take over and I’ll freeze, unable to act with the courage I want to embody in this time. Antidote: I know myself, I may get scared, but I also dig deep under the fear and come out with some gold - as I have with this blog.

2. Join with others. I’m working with a group to produce community meetings to build knowledge, strength, networks, projects that can keep us connected, resourced, and strong. It’s not enough to learn online. I think we have to gather IRL - in real life - at book groups, films, dinner parties, big meetings, huddles, protests, street dances, affinity groups and other sorts of pods.

3. Learn. Learn. Learn. Realize that I may know a lot about a lot of things, but I am wet behind the ears in thinking, really thinking, about justice as a political issue (not just moral or interpersonal). My work has all been in realms of consciousness, and culture. So this is my summer school to catch up with the rest of the poly-sci class. Readying for my practicum. Non stop practicum.

4. Give myself some grace. This isn’t easy for anyone. Whether people address fear by having weapons, or cozying up to dictators, or getting arrested, or writing letters, or meditating and breathing - we’re all feeling it.

5. Give myself some space. Relax. Rest. Run. Do dishes. Have it all be good enough.

6. Follow Starhawk as she publishes the Movement we need Now on her Substack.

That’s my pep talk to myself for the day. Thanks to Gabby who talked with me over her garden fence about how she, too, has joy and fear and more in the mix most of the time. Thanks to Alan who, as an NVC teacher, was able to listen me down into myself. and to all of you who read this blog and tell me how you are stepping up, back, sideways, down, or in.

Now two gifts from Claude. The first is the common patterns of authoritarian take overs. The second - do read it - is the common patterns of successful resistances.

We need one another.

Sarah Kendzior ("Hiding in Plain Sight")

Kendzior's framework focuses on:

1. Normalize the abnormal - Make shocking behavior routine

2. Flood the zone - Overwhelm citizens with crises

3. Weaponize nostalgia - Promise return to mythical golden age

4. Create alternative reality - Establish parallel information systems

5. Eliminate accountability - Destroy oversight mechanisms

6. Criminalize dissent - Make opposition illegal

7. Capture law enforcement - Turn police/military into personal tools

8. Loot the state - Use public resources for private gain

Nancy MacLean ("Democracy in Chains")

MacLean identifies the gradual approach:

1. Capture academia - Fund think tanks and university programs

2. Rewrite textbooks - Control education narrative

3. Capture courts - Install ideological judges

4. Gerrymandering - Rig electoral districts

5. Voter suppression - Make voting difficult for opponents

6. Constitutional conventions - Rewrite fundamental laws

7. Economic policy - Use budget crises to justify cuts

8. Regulatory capture - Put industry in charge of oversight

Common Patterns Across All Authors

Early Stage (Years 1-2):

• Test democratic norms and institutions

• Normalize corruption and conflicts of interest

• Attack press credibility

• Begin legal harassment of opponents

Consolidation Stage (Years 2-4):

• Pack courts with loyalists

• Weaponize law enforcement

• Restrict voting rights

• Control information flow

Entrenchment Stage (Years 4+):

• Rewrite constitution or laws

• Eliminate meaningful opposition

• Complete capture of institutions

• Establish one-party rule

Common Patterns for Success

Essential Elements:

1. Shared Crisis: Economic collapse or political repression that affected multiple groups

2. Protected Spaces: Churches, universities, or unions where coalitions could form

3. Moral Leadership: Figures who could speak across racial/class lines (Mandela, Havel, Walesa)

4. Strategic Autonomy: Marginalized groups maintained their own organizations while participating in broader coalitions

5. International Support: Economic pressure and moral legitimacy from abroad

6. Elite Defection: Parts of the ruling coalition switched sides due to crisis

Addressing Trust Issues:

• Successful coalitions acknowledged historical grievances while focusing on shared immediate threats

• White/privileged groups often had to accept secondary roles and support Black/marginalized leadership

• Coalition agreements explicitly addressed how power would be shared post-victory

• Religious or moral frameworks provided common language across racial/cultural differences

Leadership Evolution Patterns:

• Coalitions typically started with elite or intellectual leadership

• Success required incorporating grassroots leaders from affected communities

• Effective coalitions developed shared leadership structures that rotated or balanced different constituencies

• Post-victory, coalitions either formalized power-sharing or fractured along original lines

The most successful coalitions combined moral urgency with practical politics, maintained principled positions while being strategically flexible, and found ways to address both immediate threats and longer-term justice concerns.