What Can I Do about It?

 

March 10, 2025

Glenn Geher

“If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

NOTE: During Trump's first presidency, this blog, The Uprising, was created to help provide people with information and reflections related to the current state of affairs as well as what we can do about it as individuals who care about our shared future. In light of the current state of affairs in the world, we are resurrecting The Uprising. Here, we hope to continue to advance the mission of Move Forward New York--restoring the principles that the United States were founded upon--including the treatment of all people as equal and the creation of opportunities for all. 

What Can I Do About It?

To this point, during Trump's second presidency, steps have been taken to dismantle social programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Steps have been taken that have adversely affected how people around the globe perceive our nation. Fiscal steps have been taken that have significantly damaged our stock market. And more. 

The parallels to pre-Nazi Germany are simply eerie. The current administration is only allowing a subset of media to talk with the president. This practice, in effect, not only flies in the face of the First Amendment. It also moves our nation toward having state-run media (as tends to be found in dictatorships with regularity).

You may be wondering what you can do about it. Hopefully this blog helps. During Trump's first administration, this blog provided a space to help people more deeply understand several of the core issues that are at stake. 

As someone who helped to found Move Forward New York and who played a highly active role in pushing a reasonable and humanistic agenda during Trump's first administration, my suggestions to folks are here:

-Stay organized. Move Forward New York is exactly the kind of group to be part of right now. 

-Note that something is better than nothing—make sure to regularly be doing something about what is going on. This may mean writing a letter to your congress person once a week, writing a letter to the editor of your regional paper once a month, etc. Make sure to act and make sure that your voice is heard. 

-Know your congressional district and regularly write to your representative, expressing your concerns. If you are in the Hudson Valley, there is a  good change that your congressperson is Patrick Ryan. Here is the link to contact him. The more that elected officials hear from us, the better.  And don't be afraid to write to senators, county legislators, state senators, the governor's office, etc. Our taxes pay for them to represent us. 

By default, ask for a response (this is a question asked on the forms when you contact officials) to your questions and comments. 

-Write letters to the editors of media outlets—here is page for information on submitting a letter to Hudson Valley One.

-FACT CHECK CAREFULLY! Don't base fact-based statements on memes, social mefia posts, or questionable media sources. Make sure to fact-check carefully to both ensure that you're right in what you're saying and to avoid the possibility of libel, etc. 

Strong organization, collaboration, and communication are key now. 

As the old adage says, If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention. 

Note that the views expressed herein are expressly the views of the author and are not necessarily the views of Move Forward New York as a collective entity.