How to Resist Without Losing Your Mind

(or your heart)

The past month has been a hell of a year. For those keeping count, the convicted felon and rapist Donald Trump has been president again for exactly 20 days today. And if his actions so far are any indication, it’s going to be a long four years.

The question before us is not just how to survive the next four years, but how to maintain our sanity and souls while actively resisting fascism. This is especially crucial for those of us who follow the religion OF Jesus rather than the religion ABOUT Jesus—because Jesus showed us that love and resistance are inseparable.

This week, I wanted to offer five practical steps for how we can follow Jesus's example of resistance. Because for those truly committed to walking the path Jesus walked—not just worshipping him, but actually following his way of love and justice—resistance to fascism is not optional. It's essential. The only question is how to do it sustainably, effectively, and without losing our minds in the process.

1. Understand exactly what Trump is doing.

First, we need to understand exactly what Trump is doing. Trump, a master con artist, is trying to trick us into thinking he’s won every battle so we don’t fight back.

While there’s no doubt Trump is wreaking havoc and causing serious damage, almost all the actions he’s taken that have overstepped his official duties have been or will be overturned by the courts.

Trump cannot rewrite the constitution. He cannot disband a federal agency established by Congress. And he cannot carry out an ethnic cleansing campaign simply on whim. But all we see are the splashy announcements, the signs coming down, the made-for-TV moments from a master media manipulator.

What the media won’t show is the steady work behind the scenes—the injunctions, the hearings, the court filings—that is stopping Trump from doing things he legally can’t do. We don’t see it because it doesn’t make for good TV or a clickbaity headline.

We must recognize his strategy of “flooding the zone with shit” and see through it. The system is working overtime to fight back against Trump, even if we don’t see every little thing its doing.

(For a better, more in-depth explanation of this, I urge you to read Ezra Klein’s recent New York Times column, “Don’t believe him.”)

2. You have to take care of yourself.

That being said, you don’t have to fight all the time.

My full time job, running NOTICE News, keeps me buried in that zone of shit. One day before a class I was taking last year, I think I surprised the professor when she asked me how I was doing and I answered honestly.

After my mini-diatribe about the evils of capitalism had concluded, she very lovingly said, “and how are you taking care of yourself?”

I think about that moment a lot. I know people talk a lot about self care, but apparently I made it through the pandemic without truly understanding what it means. Self care is taking the time to do the things you enjoy that don’t stress you out, that give you a reprieve from the stress of everyday life.

That could be going for walks. It could be going to the gym. It could be reading about Marxist uprisings in Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries—the point is, you have to find what works for you.¹

But the second part is that you must pro-actively take the time to do it. Nobody is going to force you to calm down. Nobody is going to take you by the hand to the spa for that mani/pedi. You have to do it. You have to take care of yourself.

I know this can be the equivalent of walking on hot coals for some of us. We’ve been brainwashed to feel that if we’re not working, not fighting, not being productive we’re wasting valuable, precious time. But that’s not true.

Self care breaks and relaxation are absolutely indispensable to be a happy, productive person. (Or so I’m told, I’m still working on this one.)

3. Take all the news breaks you need.

Related to number 2, this is perhaps the most important (practical) piece of advice I can give. Take at least one day a week where you totally tune out the news. Almost nothing about what Trump is doing can’t wait to be heard about. You don’t need a front row seat to the end of the world. You can take a break.

Note that this isn’t tuning out completely. You should be as aware of the news as much as you think is healthy for you. For some, that may be very little. For others, it may just be one day a week where you tune out.

I assume that if you’re reading this newsletter you already understand the threat that Donald Trump and fascism poses to the world. Immediately knowing about every new outrageous thing he does will not deepen that comprehension. In fact, it may impede your ability to fight back (see #1).

So do yourself a favor and take all the breaks from the news you need. A stressed out and overwhelmed warrior is a help to no one, and in the fight against fascism we need all the help we can get.

4. Resist in a way that works for you.

You’re probably wondering at this point, what does it mean to “fight back”? Let me be unequivocally clear, as Jesus commands, that nonviolence is the only answer.²

Fighting back means taking a stand—large or small, publicly or in private—and saying no, what this man is doing is not ok. The exact shape that takes is up to you.

It may be one of the more traditional ways. It may mean going to a protest, or giving money to a legal group like the ACLU. But you may not be much of the protester, or going to a protest might be especially dangerous because of your immigration status, or you can’t spare much money right now. That’s totally legit.

The best way to resist is to find a way of resisting that works for you. Find a way to resist that speaks to your strength, abilities, and mindset.

I thought about driving a few hours the other day to join the protests in D.C., but I made the conscious decision that my journalism with NOTICE News is the best way I can personally fight fascism. Working overtime to highlight and amplify stories of resistance is my main form of fighting back right now.

That said, your form of resistance may have absolutely nothing to do with politics. It may be getting involved with a charity or mutual aid society, or just showing kindness to someone not used to it.

Maybe it’s baking some cookies for a neighbor. Maybe it’s being kind to a stranger in a grocery store. A little act of love that reminds people goodness and love are still possible—and that can be a monumental act of resistance in today’s world. Sometimes these little acts of resistance are the most important.

5. Give it over to God.

Finally—and this is perhaps the hardest part—we have to give it over to God. While we have a responsibility to fight Trump, fascism, and evil, we ultimately aren't responsible for the outcome. We’re only responsible for our actions.

In recovery circles, this is known as "giving it over to God"—recognizing that we're powerless over the results of our actions.³ We can only control what we do and how we react. Outside of that, we have no control.

I'm told that in this powerlessness lies great peace. In fact, one of the world's great religions—whose founder Jesus sounded a lot like at times—is centered around this notion.⁴ When we truly accept that our job is to love radically and resist persistently, regardless of results, we find the strength to keep going. Our role isn't to "win"—it's to remain faithful to love.

Jesus himself modeled this kind of radical surrender, even in the face of empire and oppression. When facing his own execution by the Roman state, he didn't give in to despair or rage.

Instead, he demonstrated what it means to remain centered in love while continuing to resist evil. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" wasn't a passive acceptance of injustice—it was a profound assertion that love is more powerful than hate, that peace can be found even as we fight against oppression.

The greatest commandment—to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves—doesn't come with an asterisk that says "only when things are going well" or "only if you can guarantee the outcome." We are called to love radically and resist evil persistently, regardless of the results.

This doesn't mean we stop fighting or give up. Rather, it means we fight from a place of groundedness and peace, knowing that while the outcome isn't in our hands, our commitment to love and justice is. We do what we can, where we are, with what we have—and then we let go, trusting that love is stronger than fear, stronger than hate, stronger than empire itself.

1. My most recent obsession is George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. I highly recommend it.

2. The clearest directives for nonviolence in the synoptic gospels can be found in Matthew 5:38-48 where Jesus commands "Do not resist an evildoer" and "turn the other cheek," as well as in Matthew 26:52 where Jesus tells his disciple who drew a sword "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." Luke 6:27-36 reinforces this teaching with "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." These passages demonstrate Jesus's clear mandate for nonviolent resistance.

3. The concept of "powerlessness" and "turning it over" appears in Steps 1 and 3 of Alcoholics Anonymous' Twelve Steps: "We admitted we were powerless..." and "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God." See Alcoholics Anonymous, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1953). While originally written about addiction, these spiritual principles have profound implications for any situation where we must accept our limitations while continuing to take action.

4. For an insightful exploration of the parallels between Jesus and Buddha, particularly around themes of non-attachment and acceptance, see Marcus J. Borg, Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings (Ulysses Press, 1997). Borg examines how both teachers emphasized letting go of control and finding peace in surrender.