Here we are. Four weeks in.

What began at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, on our TV screens for all to see, has been unrolling ever since.

Nearly all Republican politicians aided and abetted it. (Most of those who resisted either resigned or got voted out.)

Democratic elected officials failed to stop it.

And last November, a slim majority of American voters fell for it.

And so here we are. Four weeks in.

You can call what’s happening a coup or an overthrow of the US Constitution or both.

After their ugly and sloppy (and deadly) frontal attack in 2021 failed, Trump and his supporters quickly regrouped and began planning a return to power.

They developed a detailed (900 page) written plan called Project 2025. Trump originally denied knowing about, but as is so often the case, that was a lie. In fact, he recently appointed its primary author as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the perfect place from which to implement the plan.

So here we are.

In just a matter of weeks, the forces of MAGA and Project 2025, supported by (or perhaps directed by) “the broligarchy,” are dismantling the American democracy that patriotic citizens built over lifetimes.

In its place, they are erecting a neo-feudal right-wing oligarchy. They will hold all the power, and there will be little left in government to hold them accountable.

We’ve seen Nazi salutes. (In spite of their deflections, we know what we saw.) We have seen expressions of support for Nazi-friendly and Apartheid-friendly and ethnic-cleansing-friendly parties in Germany and South Africa and Israel/Palestine. We have seen capitulation to Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and talk of ending the war without even including Ukraine in the negotiations. (As Tim Snyder says, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.)

We have seen threats to abandon allies and take over Greenland, Canada, Panama, and Gaza … as if we’re deciding that colonialism is OK again.

We have seen the blanket pardons of all the convicted foot-soldiers of the January 6 coup attempt, including Oathkeepers, Proud Boys and the like.

We are seeing a revenge tour (still ongoing) against all in the CIA, FBI, the judiciary, the media, and other agencies or networks who have done their jobs, but have not been active collaborators with Trump, Musk, and their plan.

We have seen purges that would have embarrassed Richard Nixon (or made him proud?), not to mention the reckless annihilation of entire departments and agencies that were built to solve problems for the American people.

We have seen Trump rename the Gulf of Mexico and punish the free speech of any who don’t submit to his Orwellian mind control tactics.

Lives will be lost, science will be lost, expertise will be lost, resilience will be lost.

There are legal challenges, of course, but Trump has already announced that nothing he does can be considered lawless. Toward that end, he has made huge gains in purging, controlling, and corrupting the courts. The Supreme Court’s “unlimited immunity” ruling last year adds doubt as to whether even this last check and balance to Trump’s grasp for complete power will stand up to him, or kneel as to a dictator.

Day by day, Musk and Trump and their team are recklessly destroying what took decades for us to build through our taxes and elected officials. The costs will be greater than the benefits, and the benefits will not go to “normal” Americans. They will go to the mega-rich … who fly in private jets (so don’t need public transportation), who visit exclusive luxury resorts (so don’t visit National Parks), who send their kids to elite private schools (so have no sense of the value of good public education), and who can afford concierge medical care (so have no understanding of basic health insurance or public health.)

Wherever there are dictators and the ultra-rich, there are religious leaders providing them moral camouflage.

Thankfully, other religious leaders are standing up and playing the role of the biblical prophet  … like Nathan who confronted King David (2 Samuel 12), or Azariah and the 80 priests who confronted King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) or Jesus who confronted the broligarchy of his day (Matthew 18:1-4, Luke 22:25-28).

The results of what is happening now will be devastating, both in the US and around the world  … for people who will die, for people who will suffer, and for people who will watch their children inherit a world that is dirtier, poorer, more angry and conflicted (and armed with more dangerous weapons). And we’re only four weeks in.

If you have children and grandchildren, these first weeks of the Trump regime have already guaranteed that their futures will be more tense, less peaceful, more conflicted, less stable, hotter, sicker, poorer.

If you voted for this regime, you may already be having second thoughts. But probably not. Because you listen to Fox News and similar echo chambers, you will probably not have second thoughts or engage your critical thinking skills until things get much, much worse for you. When that time comes, the rest of us will gladly welcome you back into the reality-based community. We understand. We’re all human beings, and human beings are easily deceived.

If you want to follow trustworthy people who are detailing this, I would recommend you start with The Contrarian and Letters from an American and The Ink and Tim Snyder  and Ezra Klein. There are many other thoughtful and trustworthy sources too, of course.

I believe we all need a simple, five-fold strategy in these times.

1. Guard your heart … guard it from exhaustion, anxiety, overwhelm, and “preemptive surrender.” Guard it from becoming a mirror image of the monster you’re trying to fight (referencing a famous quote from Nietzsche). Guard it from bitterness, and flood it with mercy – toward yourself, toward others, including your opponents, toward animals and plants and soil and water. Deepen your inner life through contemplation, prayer, and the serious practices of both grieving and joy. Get outdoors more often. Enjoy the sunlight and breeze. Be brave. Be kind. Be honest. Be strong. Curate your own inner life.
2. Find your people. If you have a good church or synagogue or other faith community, go … and support it. If you don’t, find one. If you can’t find one, start a little “circle of sanity” by inviting some people over and talking about how you can support one another. Get together more often than necessary … practice “social nearness-ing.”
3. Educate your mind. This is a time to develop wisdom … which includes critical thinking, fairness, literacy, examination of biases, and a sense of who is trustworthy (with a “trust but verify” mindset). Those grasping for power have spent billions over many years to try to dumb us down. Don’t conform to the though patterns of group-think. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Read things longer than a slogan. Listen to people who know a lot more than you. Listen to people’s stories. Determine to get smarter, not stupider, during this time.
4. Do What You Can. If you can protest, protest. If the time comes for civil disobedience, do so.  If you can call or write (or email) your senators, do so. If you want to engage with people on-line or in person, do it — skillfully, if possible! Whenever you can befriend people who are in danger — and help them practically, even in the smallest of ways, do so. If you can financially support honest journalists, brave and good politicians, and honorable religious leaders, give generously.  If you reach your limit, take a break. Do what you can … and don’t feel guilty for not doing everything.
5. Survive another day. Survival is underrated in times like these. You know how it feels when you’ve had a long, long series of storms, and days upon days of cloudy skies? There will be moments when there’s a break in the clouds, and you’ll see sunlight and blue sky. In the same way, as we endure tough times, we begin to get a vision for a better day … not a return to a past that is gone, but a pilgrimage to a future that is waiting to be born.