Make Your Damn Bed

"Hope isn’t a mood. It’s a decision.

And if you’re struggling to find it—borrow mine.

I’ve lived through a coup. I’ve lived under martial law.

And I’m telling you right now: This moment isn’t over.

W…

"I am not giving up. I'm hopeful because I believe in

civil society, I believe in our power, and I believe in our idealism. I don't

know what is going to happen, because we make the future in the prese…

The stage before the success stage is all about shifting public sentiment, and we do that by working on our communication. Optics are crucial.

One tactic is to reclaim the American flag and wave them…

Success often doesn't feel like success because of the backlash paradox: Authoritarians escalate violence when they lose control, not when they’re strong. We're slowly shifting the overton window and…

There is no end. There is only the continuing struggle, acted out in cycles of social movements. The process of winning one set of demands creates new levels of citizen consciousness and empowerment,…

The movement needs to recognize successes achieved, follow up on the demands won, raise larger issues, focus on other demands which are in various stages, and propose larger alternatives and a new pa…

Today we're going through steps 6 - 7 of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

1. Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that the publ…

"Rather than feeling depressed and powerless, activists now need to recognize the power and success of themselves and their movement." - Bill Moyer

Today we're going through steps 5 - 6 of Bill Moyer'…

Today we're going through steps 4 - 5 of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

In stage 5, large swaths of activists quit because they feel powerless, de…

"The crisis of identity + powerless is a personal crisis for activists. After the experience of a movement in take-off stage, their view of the world and themselves is transformed. They come to reali…

Today we're going through steps 3-4 of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

1. Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that people are…

Today we're going through steps 1 - 3 of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

1. Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that people a…

We are in a war for the hearts, minds, and support of the general public. The power holders are violating our values, so we have to raise consciousness around these violations.

The movement's strateg…

The process of achieving social change through social movements is the struggle between the movement and powerholders of the hearts, minds, and support (or acquiescence) of the general public. The po…

"There needs to be a revival of democracy through "people power".The increasingly centralized power of the state and other social institutions, combined with the new use of the mass media to carry ou…

"Authoritarianism thrives when people are isolated and dependent — when food, energy, housing and safety are controlled by a handful of elites. But when communities feed each other, house each other,…

"You don’t need to tackle the entire regime to weaken its foundation. You need leverage points — clear, concrete places to act."

I wanted to read the whole article I referenced yesterday, because it w…

Most of us don't have the time, energy, or bandwidth to do anything extra right now, but I hope these guides can be a reminder that there are lots of different ways to engage on a practical level, on…

Most of us don't have the time, energy, or bandwidth to do anything extra right now, but I hope these guides can be a reminder that there are lots of different ways to engage on a practical level, on…

Action Plan for affinity groups:

1. Choose an action
2. Make a plan
3. Support each other
4. Make decision on actions
5. Debrief + evaluate

Affinity Group guide: https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/affinitygroups

What ca…