Don't lose resolve to fight for better country

At the one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration, and he and his GOP allies continue their all-out assault on the environment, international diplomacy, the free press, and the most vulnerable populations among us, now seems like a good time to regroup. There's no doubt Trump has done a lot of damage: pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, calling white supremacists "fine people," playing nuclear chicken with North Korea - it's enough to send a person running to Netflix to binge watch until the national nightmare is over.

But we can't afford to let apathy and outrage fatigue weaken our resolve or slow our responses. Now more than ever we need to marshal our energies for truly useful actions. Fighting with strangers on Twitter or commiserating with like-minded friends on Facebook isn't really useful, is it? It may feel good for a while, but it doesn't generally bring out our "better angels," as Lincoln might say.

Don't know where to start? There are lots of apps and websites to help: Wall-of-Us will email four concrete actions of resistance each week. If you're more ambitious, Daily Action will text you every weekday with ideas. They'll help you contact your members of Congress to share your views or suggest that you make a donation, however small, to organizations and candidates fighting for what you believe in. You can also meet lots of great people by joining local groups that are advocating for progressive change. Indivisible Illinois is a good resource for that.

These acts may feel small, but multiplied by millions, they can change the world. The silver lining to these dark times is that people all over the country are figuring out that this thing called civic engagement matters. Netflix can wait for a while.

Janet McDonnell

Arlington Heights