Last night, we in Philly heard that hundreds of headstones were turned over Saturday night at a Jewish cemetery, a week after similar vandalism in St. Louis. Many people are saddened, appalled and surprised. They should be sad and appalled, but not surprised. This is Trump’s America.

I have been working with Indivisible locally, and I am heartened by the number of people completely new to politics who are suddenly aware, and ready to take action to both resist the Trump agenda, and help elect people who will serve America, and not what is actually the Bannon administration.

I keep hearing two themes through my work with Indivisible. First, people are concerned about what they can do to stop hate. And by “hate” I mean not just the vandalism, but the verbal abuse people see foisted upon innocent people, just for the colour of their skin,  The ICE roundups are another form of hate: people question what they can do to help those who will be caught up in the dragnets. Hate also in the form of the administration’s moves against sick people (“repeal Obamacare” and dismantle Medicaid), Hate in the form of transgender bathroom rights. I’m a doctor, and I’m telling you, the only thing that matters is that you wash your hands. (If you’re a long-term reader, you remember back to SARS and fingers, nails, fingers, fingers, fingers.) And let’s not forget the hate of literacy in terms of claiming the media is the “enemy of the people”.  The hate is creeping down from the Cheeto Team, and up from the GOP state legislatures.

There are so many things that one can do. And if we all stand Indivisible, we will survive and succeed. Join your local Indivisible chapter, so that you can work locally.  Align with national organizations and read what they send you every day. Donate money to groups that act. Subscribe to the Times and the Post. Make sure you know that there are two elections in your state this year, and you should participate and bring a friend. This is one of those odd years: we elect row officers and build the bench. Make your voice heard to your elected representatives: yeah, they’re scared and hiding, but that doesn’t mean you can’t send them a note or two. And watch out for one another.

The second theme I keep hearing is what I call “thirst for knowledge”. For those of you who have been with DCW a long time, you know how I feel about learning the state capitals. And who your reps are, and the names of all nine Supremes, and how a bill becomes a law. Finally, people want to know because they realize that knowledge is power. Face it, the reason that the Cheeto administration is failing so badly is that they make the No-Nothing Party look smart. You can’t run a government if you don’t understand what comprises the institutions and the inherent modus operandi. Not only don’t they, but they have no desire to learn. Thus, the more we all know as individuals, the more able we are to make sure they don’t destroy our necessary institutions.

So what are YOU doing to help save America? And please, if you’ve got questions, leave them in the comments.