What You Can Do Now: Real Actions to Resist Injustice, Protect Democracy, and Stay Sane
Wondering what you can do to stop the onslaught of horrid conduct and legislation from the Republican White House, Congress and Supreme Court? I have some answers for you and so does my friend and freelance journalist Susan Berger — so let’s get to it.
And, please, if you have info to add to this list, please email me at JillWineBanks@gmail.com. You can make a difference.
🖋 Start writing letters/emails
Start writing letters/emails to the editor or to your state and federal representatives and write opinion pieces. You can do it.
I learned how to write OpEds by taking a one-day course from The OpEd Project.
My timing was good. I took the course on a Sunday and on Tuesday Comey got fired and I had something to say comparing it to Watergate’s Saturday Night Massacre.
Writing helped me feel better by venting and ended up with my appearing on television to share my opinion and hopefully influenced others.
🧠 Coping with the psychological impact of politics
You can prioritize mental well-being by:
Limiting news consumption (but NOT tuning out – that’s what the Trumpers want you to do, but you must stay informed)
Engaging in stress-reducing activities
Fostering constructive conversations
Knowing and sticking to the facts to keep the conversation constructive
Seeking support when needed
Remember, it's important to balance political engagement with self-care and healthy boundaries.
Susan has experience as a 26-year cancer survivor. She and experts recommend:
Stay optimistic
Don't think of the big picture, it's too overwhelming day-to-day
Become more informed
Read Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning — it’s all state of mind; you can only control how you react
Look back at the history of United States and all the struggles this country has overcome: civil war, fight for civil rights, women’s rights, Vietnam, other wars — lots of struggles but lots of triumphs
Take breaks from news and social media
Exercise/physical activity — calms you
Connect with loved ones
Pursue enjoyable activities — reading, gardening, cards, learn a new language
Focus on facts when discussing politics
Find common ground / avoid emotionally charged arguments
Set boundaries when things become too heated
Limit exposure — especially on social media which is a significant source of stress
Seek balance in news sources
Seek support when needed
Sleep 7–9 hours for physical and mental health
Practice gratitude — take time to think about what you are grateful for.
Gratitude Alphabet: Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — known as the grandfather of gratitude — an exercise that reminds us of what we are grateful for when things seem dire.
☎️ Volunteer and Speak Up
Volunteer to do constituent services for your MOC or Senator or at one of the many organizations protecting immigrant rights or any other rights you care about: women’s, voting, environmental, other.
Make your opinions known to the President and Congress. CALL:
White House Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
One of the many things you can tell your federal representatives and Senators is the fact that 80% of federal workers live outside the DC metro area.
Every member of Congress has constituents who are federal workers whose jobs have been terminated or are currently at risk.
The charts on this website show the concentration of federal workers in each state (and also indicate the saturation of federal workers by Congressional district):
👉 https://ourpublicservice.org/fed-figures/beyond-the-capital-the-federal-workforce-outside-the-d-c-area/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20the%20vast%20majority,the%20mission%20of%20our%20government.
In addition to protecting those workers directly, your representatives should know that they are helping other constituents by protecting federal workers because many of those workers provide direct services to constituents, with 10.7% of federal workers outside the D.C. area providing health care services.
Others facilitate constituents’ access to Social Security claims or Veterans Benefits, or coordinate responses to natural disasters.
Here's something you can tell Democratic lawmakers to do for their federal employee constituents whose jobs are at risk:
Put them in touch with the network of attorneys willing to provide free legal services to federal employees whose jobs are lost or threatened:
👉 https://workerslegaldefense.org/
Democrats have to show they can deliver! If they just tell constituents, we can’t do anything because we are in the minority, there is no way they will win the next time around.
⚖️ ACTIONS FOR LAWYERS
WeTheAction.org has created a website for lawyers to volunteer no matter how much time they have. Click here to see the great matching system they have:
👉 https://wetheaction.org/team
🔧 ACTIONS EVERYONE CAN TAKE
Changing the makeup of the legislature:
https://swingbluealliance.org/calendar/ — Provides a day-by-day list of activities, including training for participating in phone banks and various in-person activities
Monetary donations: https://welcomepac.org/
Changing the makeup of the judiciary:
https://afj.org/about/ — Alliance for Justice, a progressive nonprofit with a focus on state and federal court vacancies, provides a vacancy tracker. They offer webinars on advocacy for non-profits, including 501(c)(3)s.
Participating in protests:
Info in advance of protests on what you should do if arrested:
👉 https://nlgnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/What-If-I-Get-Arrested-While-Im-Protesting.Booklet.June2020.pdfThe National Lawyers Guild will also provide lawyers as observers for protests
🌐 RECOMMENDED WEBSITES FOR GETTING INVOLVED OR GETTING INFORMED
Tracking litigation challenging Trump’s actions:
https://www.courtlistener.com — Great source for information about all the filings in the cases with PDFs of some of the briefs and motions
Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard in Los Angeles: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70496361/newsom-v-trump/
https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/ — organizes the litigation according to the executive order (or other action) that prompted it. Links to filings and detailed summaries, searchable by topic
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.html — NYT tracker with categories and PACER docket links
https://bots.law/little-cases/trump-litigation-bot/ — lists cases with links to detailed procedural histories and PDFs
Topic-specific litigation:
Reproductive Rights: https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/report/state-and-federal-reproductive-rights-and-abortion-litigation-tracker/
DEI litigation tracking: https://advancingdei.meltzercenter.org/
📣 STATEMENTS OF LAW DEANS AND LAW FACULTY MEMBERS
AALS: https://www.aals.org/rule-of-law-clearinghouse/
Includes:Letter that a large number of law school deans signed (though most of the top ten law schools’ deans did not):
👉 https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/news/2024/deans-letter-061824.pdfFaculty letters, such as the one from Harvard Law School faculty:
👉 https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/3/30/hls-faculty-letter/
🏛 BAR ASSOCIATION STATEMENTS
ABA Statement on Rule of Law, signed by many bar associations:
👉 https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/03/bar-organizations-statement-in-support-of-rule-of-law/More statements from state bars, specialty bars, and international bars (see dropdown menus):
👉 https://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar-leadership/resources/resourcepages/executiveorders/
📊 LIST OF FIRMS, CAPITULATING VS. CHALLENGING
Above The Law’s BIGLAW “Spine Index” — What actions big firms took in response to Trump, including removing DEI information:
👉 https://abovethelaw.com/2025/04/biglaw-is-under-attack-heres-what-the-firms-are-doing-about-it/Legal Industry Response to Fascist Attacks Tracker — Spreadsheet created by law students showing law firms’ actions:
👉 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J_bcoMqt46L05As7GN4ZqH4j6XKeI-Dm4ytJPRFtrwo/htmlview?usp=gmail#gid=287708862
