Tim Hayes is retired as a junior high school teacher at Marlboro School, where he worked for over 20 years.
NEWFANE-We are being encouraged by leaders to stay connected, stick together, and let our voices be heard and, indeed, this is essential. We are marching in Brattleboro with signs, chants, and speeches. So many of us around the country are ready and willing to hit the streets in this way, and this should increase in size and frequency.
But I fear this is not enough. I hear so many friends saying, Yes, we need to protest, but what else can we do, now? I believe there are millions of us who are ready to do more - the young who want a better world to live in and, yes, those talented, recently retired boomers!
I know that the Democrats in Washington, D.C. must be doing a lot of strategizing, but if there is any clear plan - well, it seems to still be in the oven.
So here are some ideas.
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Stories are what seem to matter most to humans these days. The Republicans are creating a dominant story, led by a reality TV star who believes the truth doesn't matter. The rest of us are stuck in the secondary role of reacting to their ever-changing, fast-moving tales.
To outsmart Trump's runaway train toward fascism, we must create a fresh, effective strategy that is wilder, more newsworthy, and smarter than that of the misguided MAGA Republican actors.
We need to tell the Other Story - loudly, clearly and with impeccable honesty - in order to compete with the news cycle that Donald Trump dominates. Our story of opposition will let the world know that so many Americans oppose the Trump regime and stand for values we share with them.
(This sounds crazy, but it might not hurt to consult some Hollywood writers about helping with this story. Aaron Sorkin is my pick!)
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We need a highly visible "shadow cabinet." This is an idea shared by former Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina, who pointed out that this is a regular feature in many parliamentary governments, like the U.K., where the leader of the opposition party appoints shadow ministers.
Empowering such a cabinet - whether it is called an Opposition, People's or Shadow Cabinet- through broad citizen support would not only help create newsworthy stories but also give us a unified message, an organization to which we could contribute financially, and a solid foundation for effective advocacy and action. It could be the glue and the grease that keeps us moving forward toward 2026, 2028, and beyond. It would be a way to reshape what it means to be a political party in America.
Imagine a shadow cabinet member being invited to sit among world leaders - at NATO, the World Health Organization, the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (responsible for the Paris Agreement), and the other international organizations and projects abandoned by the Trump administration - to continue the good work of making the world safer and healthier for us all.
This shadow cabinet could coordinate the many legal battles already underway. It could also develop ways to inspire the private sector, for example, to accelerate investments in technologies and practices necessary to cut emissions, urgently achieving what is being curtailed by Trump.
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Equally important, this shadow cabinet - leading a newly branded Democratic Party - could also guide local and statewide work.
It could organize volunteer groups to help support government services that will atrophy or disappear completely under the Republicans' Project 2025 vision for the United States. The Democratic Party could, when possible, provide support, if not aid, to existing nonprofits that are already doing good work.
Imagine this: As the underfunded and mismanaged Republican-led Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) fumbles with the next natural disaster, who shows up to help? The Democrats, bringing highly trained, but recently fired, FEMA workers!
Imagine a low-income family, who had suddenly needed to figure out how to pay for and prepare lunches every day, being relieved to find lunches again at their school, provided now by volunteers from a local Democratic Party chapter.
Imagine groups of five families building their own affordable homes, being led by a Democratic Party chapter, guided by volunteer retired carpenters, and aided by the local savings and loan. I'll don my tool belt for that!
These are just a few potential stories that will remind Americans - and people from all around the globe - that we are a nation of good people!
And Pete Buttigieg, or someone like him, as the press secretary, could communicate all of this during a daily Democratic Party briefing, televised for the U.S. and world to see. In a way, he would be narrating the story.
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How to pay for it? Well, we just spent how many billions of dollars on an election? I'll bet many would donate significantly to save our democracy, especially if they just received a tax cut! The Democratic Party could have its own budget.
But the idea is that the Democrats, the opposition party to authoritarianism, need to have visibility not only in the media, but on the streets, doing what a democratic government should do - not just waiting for the next elections.
Protest marches that look more like organizing rallies - helping citizens plug in and get to work - would show voters a Democratic Party committed to helping all people live their lives, not creating a playing field for the wealthy.
By using the principles of democracy on a local and state level and continuing to make the world a better place for all, we can demonstrate the alternative to authoritarian rule.
And it would be no small bonus to resurrect the spirit of cooperation and remember the satisfaction of helping others, to displace the lure of cold, transactional relations ruled by the medieval premise that might is right.
Yes, we would have to embrace the irony that this harkens back to George H. W. Bush's "Thousand Points of Light" vision - encouraging, as he said, "a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in."
Indeed, these efforts might become bipartisan at the local and state levels, because they're simply what good people do.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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