Shock, Awe, and Fear

This weekend, it was about instigating a trade war … and handing over payment systems, our personal data, and the power to reshape our goverment to the world’s richest man. It was about dismantling an agency in USAID that exists to help those most in need across the globe.

Today it’s about plans to eliminate the Department of Education.

Before that, in just the first two weeks of the Trump presidency, it was the pardoning hundreds of people convicted of beating cops … unilaterally freezing federal funding and foreign aid … ordering the end to birthright citizenship … the start of mass deportation raids, with little regard to sweeping up non-criminals … rolling back LGBTQ protections … threatening to withhold funding from local schools if teaching doesn’t align with conservative principles … removing security protection from perceived enemies … encouraging federal workers to quit their jobs en masse, while firing others who he considers a threat … pledging to condition federal disaster aid on political outcomes … blaming DEI and past administrations for the Washington D.C. air disaster. And much more.

This projectile vomiting of executive branch action makes me wistful for the good old days when we just wanted to seize Greenland and take back the Panama Canal — maybe by force.

MAGA 2.0 scares the hell out of me, and it should scare you too. But that’s the point, right? A shock and awe strategy like this is meant to cause chaos and stoke fear.

Fear of being deported. Fear of losing your job. Fear of people that don’t look like us. Fear of discrimination, or worse, in diverse communities. Fear of not getting emergency aid when you just lost your home in a wildfire. Fear of higher prices sure to come with tariffs. Fear of not receiving the federal funding you and your agency rely on to educate our kids, slow the spread of disease, feed the hungry, and care for the elderly and veterans. Fear of your personal information being misused by Elon Musk in the name of “government efficiency.” For our allies, fear of us not being there when they need us most.

Fear has defined these first couple weeks of the Trump presidency. And that’s just how he wants it.

Some would call this strategy courageous and bold, an example of “promises made, promises kept” and the result of a mandate handed down in November. “Winning!” they call it.

I call it reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous — a convenient forgetting of the fact that Trump won the popular vote by 1.5%, and more than half of America didn’t even vote for him.

Leadership by threats and intimidation is not leadership at all. It is the opposite.

Good leaders unite, not divide. They inspire, encourage, and compassionately care for others, starting with the most vulnerable. They act strategically. They embrace diverse viewpoints, surrounding themselves not with loyalists but with smart, experienced people willing to challenge preconceived ideas — and then listen to them. They accept accountability, not blame others. They find strength in working together to solve problems, not isolate. They calm fears, not stoke them.

They understand winning is not the “Art of the Deal” or an epiode of the “The Apprentice.” They know winning is not transactional — not a series of disjointed moves and countermoves to satisfy a mandate that never existed. It not a short-term result to score a political talking point, like a 30-day pause in a stupid trade war that we started because we could — long-term implications with our closest allies be damned. It is not isolationism. It is not dismantling the workings of goverment in days without regard for the real damage being inflicted and without a real plan for what’s next.

Which brings me to “what’s next?”

I, like many, have struggled with how to respond to this, which is exactly how President Trump wants it with this “flood the zone” approach to governing.

I turn back to what I wrote after the November election, to my daughter.

First, we accept the results of the election.

Start there – at a place too many never got to the last time we did this. Donald Trump won. You may not like it, but win or lose, you accept the results. That’s what we do as American citizens. You don’t try to undo the results, lie about them, and stand by while others use violence to invalidate them. 

That’s life lesson #1: Lose the right way.

Check. There was a peaceful transition of power some (since pardoned) tried to prevent 2021.

Then you live your life. You get up, go to school, go to work, go to theater and choir rehearsal. You keep working hard in the classroom. You hang out with your friends and family. You keep volunteering. You keep helping others. You keep being a 16-year-old girl who is so much more than one political outcome. 

Check. The sun continues to rise, and my daughter continues to shine. She’s also 17 now.

You also keep fighting for what you believe in. Work for positive change, resisting the urge to go low. Let others spew hate and divide. You love and unite. 

Stand up for LGBTQ+ rights, a woman’s right to choose, common sense gun control, immigrants, and the countless other issues you are so passionate about. Do your part to lift up the most vulnerable among us. Resist those bent on doing otherwise … while always remembering, despite Tuesday’s results, how you act, what you say and how you say it, matters. I will always believe that. Do good, embrace hope, and get to work. Start with your family, your school, and in your community. Then go bigger.

Check. Shelby continues to be a passionate advocate for what’s right — and is now sharing her perspective on this blog through the “Shelby’s Banned Book Club” series. Part 1 — “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” — ran last week. Part 2 runs later this week.

We can join her in making a difference. I suggest it starts locally. Speak up using whatver platform you have. It doesn’t have to be a website or social media; in fact, I’d suggest it not be on social media these days. A conversation over coffee can help. Contact your elected officials, from your alderman to your president. Attend a government meeting and speak. Vote. Volunteer your time or financially support an organization helping those most impacted by what’s happening in Washington D.C. right now.

Be there for someone who is scared. It’s a start.