My father, who rarely initiates phone calls anymore, happened to call the day the Supreme Court ruled on Donald Trump’s immunity case.
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He asked how I was doing.
Given that the highest court in America formally concluded for the first time that presidents may be protected from criminal charges for criminal acts, I was not in a good place.
Six Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices concluded that if a president takes actions within his official capacity, he cannot be criminally prosecuted. A president can still be criminally liable for "personal" actions, but how to differentiate those from "official" actions remains unclear.
Legal experts say the ruling puts our democracy at risk. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”
This should be chilling to everyone -- whether you fear the official actions of a King Trump or a King Biden.
At any rate, I answered my dad honestly -- about the recent Supreme Court rulings, the disastrous presidential debate and how I felt about all of it.
“Talking to Aisha is scary,” he said.
There’s a balance between keeping it real and scaring people. This past week, I probably crossed the line.
For those of us fighting deep discouragement and existential dread about where this country may be headed, it can be helpful to think of people in similar positions in different historical times and places. When the present is too unsettling and the future too alarming, I revisit the challenging chapters of the past.
In 1978, Czech dramatist, political dissident and later statesman Vaclav Havel wrote “The Power of the Powerless,” which became a manifesto for those resisting Communist regimes. He argued that even when political rhetoric and the public sphere are filled with lies, it is still possible for individuals to live within the truth. If it’s the horrors of history that haunt us, the small, everyday acts of heroism should also inspire us.
Fortunately, the United States still has plenty of ways for its citizens to engage in social and political activism. The most basic and fundamental way is voting. But encouraging others that their words and actions matter is vital -- and helping them figure out how to get involved is even better. Often, the remedy to the angst and vitriol I see on social media is to spend time with the people who continue to do the work -- regardless of how uphill the journey may seem.
I know that for those who feel unheard for too long, there’s a strong temptation to disengage from the news or tune it out. When people feel disenfranchised and powerless, that's when we see resignation and apathy. There’s also a strong impulse to deny the severity of how things have changed and how much worse things might get. Denial is an age-old form of coping.
But, as Havel reminds us, the people are never helpless or powerless. Authoritarians wish to cultivate that feeling among people they wish to oppress.
Societies and institutions can change very quickly -- in either direction. A legal scholar reminded me that when good things have happened in history, it’s often right after moments that seem the most bleak.
Consider that the current string of right-wing judicial success is the culmination of more than 50 years of effort and strategy on the part of conservative activists. It was the liberal Warren court that dramatically expanded civil rights in America, and a strong conservative opposition rose against it.
When I have felt most depressed and defeated about politics, the media or the courts in this country, I remind myself that it’s precisely because I believe so deeply in our country’s greatest ideals that moving further from "liberty and justice for all" is heart-wrenching.
I texted my father later that evening to let him know that I was starting to feel better because I was changing my attitude. I wasn’t going to give into futility and fatalism.
“I’m gearing up to fight for a better country,” I wrote.
I considered it a promise to my father and my children.
We’re here to play the long game.