We, the writers of this new column, are a collective committed to action, compassion, and self-care for the times. We call ourselves WE THE FREE, and twice a month we’ll post an interview, reflection piece, or action item.
If you’re like us, the results of this election have you feeling like Alice tumbling through a rabbit hole. There is weird and total darkness all around you, and you are floating continually more downward than you thought possible, and you are disoriented and bewildered.
But you are—trust us—you ARE holding a little pen flashlight.
True, your flashlight lights almost nothing. It lights the finger before the finger you are using to hold the light in place.
But what if there were hundreds of people floating in darkness holding little penlights like you? What if there were thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? What if we all pointed our little penlights together?
This column is dedicated to keeping your light shining during these Trumpist times. When you feel lost and hopeless, when your little light looks like it’s been swallowed up by cynical ignorance and power-grabbing and manipulated fear, we hope you will come here and be assured that there are thousands of little lights right there with you, shining on. In this space you will find renewal and nourishment for staying in the fight.
This column is also dedicated to helping you train your little light outward to the greatest effect. If thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of us shine a composite spotlight on acts of dangerous nonsense, those acts will be revealed in all their sordid ridiculousness. In this space you will find action items and practical resources for resisting hate, corruption, and authoritarian creep.
And finally, this column is dedicated to illuminating your fellow lightholders. In this space you will find conversations with inspiring figures who are making way for truth, reason, and progress in some form. Celebrate them, and take heart.
We look forward to contributing this column. WE THE FREE will raise our little lights high. We the Free will illuminate our world and each other. WE THE FREE will use the light of the truth to blind those who hope to confuse us. WE THE FREE raise our fists and our voices and yell, “WTF!”
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