WHY GOOD NEWS?
It's crucial to relentlessly report on the abominations that are erupting
from the Trumpocalypse. But for the sake of our mental health, let's also
keep track of the good news. Here is a list of some:
http://tinyurl.com/gsos67q
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OPTIMISM IS A SOUND STRATEGY
"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future," says Noam Chomsky.
"Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are
unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume
there is no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope."
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THE DOWNSIDES OF NEGATIVE THINKING
From the New York Times: "All humans have a tendency to ruminate more
on bad experiences than positive ones. It’s an evolutionary adaptation
that helps us avoid danger and react quickly in a crisis.
"But constant negativity can also get in the way of happiness, add to our
stress and worry level, and ultimately damage our health."
Can we do anything to diminish the power of negative thinking? It's a
complex, nuanced subject, but here's a good start:
http://tinyurl.com/hjn2ugs
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P.S. Many of us may be hesitant to diminish our negative thinking. Don't
we actually need it now, more than ever, to help survive the
Trumpocalypse?
One of my heroes, radical historian Howard Zinn, said that negative
thinking tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we relentlessly
imagine the worst possible outcomes, if we concentrate on all the things
that are falling apart and going wrong, it cripples our capacity to make
constructive changes. "To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly
romantic," he wrote. "It gives us the energy to act."
More from Howard Zinn: "What we choose to emphasize in this complex
history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our
capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and
there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives
us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning
top of a world in a different direction.
"And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for
some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of
presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in
defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."
Read more of Howard Zinn: http://www.thenation.com/article/optimism-
uncertainty#
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KNOW AND LOVE WHAT YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR
Activist and author Naomi Klein tells a story about the time she traveled
to Australia at the request of Aboriginal elders. They wanted her to know
about their struggle to prevent white people from dumping radioactive
wastes on their land.
Her hosts brought her to their beloved wilderness, where they camped
under the stars. They showed her "secret sources of fresh water, plants
used for bush medicines, hidden eucalyptus-lined rivers where the
kangaroos come to drink."
After three days, Klein grew restless. When were they going to get down
to business? "Before you can fight," she was told, "you have to know
what you are fighting for."
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"MY FEELING OF CONNECTION DRIVES ME, NOT MY ANGER"
In the late 1990s, environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill spent two
years living in a redwood tree she named "Luna." Her goal was to save it
from being cut down by a logging company. She succeeded both literally
and mythically. Luna was spared from death, as was a surrounding three-
acre swath of trees. Hill became an inspiring symbol of artful,
compassionate protest.
Later she told Benjamin Tong in the DVD "The Taoist and the Activist":
"So often activism is based on what we are against, what we don't like,
what we don't want. And yet we manifest what we focus on. And so we
are manifesting yet ever more of what we don't want, what we don't like,
what we want to change. So for me, activism is about a spiritual practice
as a way of life. And I realized I didn't climb the tree because I was angry
at the corporations and the government; I climbed the tree because when
I fell in love with the redwoods, I fell in love with the world. So it is my
feeling of 'connection' that drives me, instead of my anger and feelings of
being disconnected."
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MY PLAN
My plan is to practice good imaginal hygiene -- curating the contents of
my imagination with care and reverence -- while also fighting the
Trumpocalypse and its associated racism, sexism, plutocracy,
homophobia, nativism, and militarism with all my sexy smart anger in full
regalia.
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12 WAYS TO RESIST THE TRUMPOCALYPSE
12 Ways to Resist Trump That Only Take an Hour a Day. Including making
your city a sanctuary, boycotting all Trump products, and reaching out to
independents.
More: http://tinyurl.com/h38rotr
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Cities and Towns Gear Up for Political Resistance Against the
Trumpocalypse. In the years to come, community bills of rights are one
strategy to shelter vulnerable populations. http://tinyurl.com/hjuyyzh
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Van Jones: ”What Trump wants to do at a policy level is much worse
than most liberals understand. It's going to be a Blitzkrieg against
everything we care about."
So: How to plan the resistance to Trump? Beyond direct action and street
protest, five clear opposition strategies are emerging.
More: http://tinyurl.com/hrnoxby
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Utah’s New National Monument Marks Big Win for the Protection of
Indigenous Cultural Sites.
http://tinyurl.com/go9ysst
Creating an LGBTQIA Safe Space in Rural America. Alternative art spaces
are critical to establishing connections for queer people, but especially for
those living in rural areas, where community is smaller and less supported
than in cities.
http://tinyurl.com/gnzdbrr
The Science of Creating a Compassionate World. Last year’s most
thought-provoking, important, or useful nonfiction books on empathy,
kindness, and moving the conversation forward.
http://tinyurl.com/jestaw3
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