5 Ways to Meet the Moment

Why they cannot win

MAGA extremists are in the fight of their lives despite being having the power in state legislatures across the country, the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, and the Executive Branch. They have a historical amount of sweeping political power when the full chessboard is examined. After 103 Executive Orders (numbers 14147 to 14249) signed by Donald Trump as well as 24 proclamations and 27 memoranda—including actions like eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, one thing is clear: white folks are running scared (and so are some people of color).

I have a holistic therapist, Yadi, who I have worked with for several years. She introduced me to the concept of an energetic imprint, which is rooted in a childhood experience that is so consequential it shifts how we see the world and how we see ourselves. I have an energetic imprint that is rooted not feeling like I am enough. Yadi’s frame for that imprint is “if I am not careful, people will discover the real me.”

There are a few ways to address these energetic imprints we all carry. We can see it, do what we always do and stay in the loop of feeling insufficient. We can ignore it and hope it goes away. Or we can recognize its presence, nurture our inner child, and choose “radically different”. Radically different means to choose another course of action that helps us level up, become our better selves, and…meet the moment.

I am sure there are people bearing witness to what MAGA is doing right now and the read is “they gangsta” or “they killers” or “they cold”. All I see are scared bullies. The kind that have to pay people to be around them, to agree with them. The kind who have to steal land, ideas, and space. The kind that authorize the killing of the least of these. The kind that destroy the progress of those whom they never hope to see on equal footing. There are some who admire these kinds of actions—I cannot admire the kind of cruelty, harm, and destruction I am witnessing. In fact, I am deeply disappointed by it all. Deceit, Destruction, and damage are not “gangsta” it is cowardly. Their fight is from fear, but our fight? It is rooted in the need to survive. The attacks are relentless and as we drink from a firehose just to ensure those we love maintain the status quo—they seemingly expand their territory of abusive power…all the way to Greenland.

According to the Brennan Center, more than $90 million has been spent so far on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race with nearly $50 million spent in favor of Judge Brad Schimel. Elon Musk has maintained an outsized role in the race with more than $20 million spent from his America PAC and contributions of $1 million to two different individuals.

Elon Musk is using tomorrow’s Wisconsin Supreme Court contest to proclaim “the entire destiny of humanity” is at stake. And yet, their fears are not meeting the moment. But their fears are giving us the opportunity to meet ours.

We have struggled to meet the moment for several reasons. I can tell you I have been in denial since November and the more I see our leader fall short, the more enraged I find myself. I began to realize that my rage was a projection. I was frustrated with my own unknowing. With all my political experience, why I do not know what to do? Haven’t I survived a Trump administration before? Well, where is the muscle memory? The truth is we have not been here before. Despite its strong similarities, it is still so different. It appears that this Donald Trump administration is largely run by Elon Musk, a South African immigrant who spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election (and that is just what is reported by the FEC. The extreme approach to unraveling critical civil rights protections and the violent tactics used to deport people who have exercised the right to protest or who the administration has profiled using an antiquated law from 1798, the Alien Enemies Act. So, how do we meet this moment of terrorism and fear with the leadership that will sustain us and propel us so we never return here again.

Here are the five ways, we can begin to meet the moment:

1. We must accept what is. Denial will not serve us. Rejection of reality will not serve us. We must accept that this man is president, and he is seeking to destroy hard fought victories the American people have relied upon and taken some comfort in for many years.

2. We cannot meet scare tactics with fear. Fear will not carry us through these trying times and I have never seen a bully recoil in the face of fear. We must show up every day with the courage of our convictions, standing up for what is right because, as Dr. King instructed us, “the time is always right to do what is right.”

3. We must be faith-led and be okay with not seeing the full picture. It is a dark time in America, but we cannot let darkness prevent us from taking steps even when we cannot see our destination. We intuitively know that evil will not prevail.

4. We cannot expect what we will not do ourselves. Many of us have called on leaders to take bold actions, yelling loudly from the sidelines. Recently, a few hundred of us coalesced around a 24-hour marathon to tell the truth about what is happening in America. Now, that coalition is bringing the State of the People Power Tour to a city near you.

5. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. No, really. How do you want someone to respond when your rights are violated? When you are wrongfully targeted? If you are on the receiving end of a death threat? If your government funding is cut? If you laid off your job because DOGE doesn’t understand how government works. Radically different, in this moment, means not turning a blind eye to the pain or injustice experienced by your neighbor.

Let’s meet the moment.