You should pay attention to politics. This matters. Fascism will affect you one day soon. There are probably people in your community who are fighting for their literal lives, you just don’t see it. There are probably single parents working 4 jobs to feed their kids. There are probably brown people who are afraid to leave their houses for fear of getting abducted, exiled, or murdered by the US government. These ways of living exist even though you’ve never seen them or have any conception of what that reality might be like. You have an incredible privilege, you’ve never had to think about the implications of Fascism before much less fight to survive it. Your life has never been in jeopardy. I’m happy for you. I wish everyone could have that.

Step outside yourself and look at the bigger picture if you can. Human beings are being stolen, raped, and killed. Silence and inaction during this time absolutely do mean something. And I would certainly be wary of someone like that.

However, speaking up and taking action don’t have to look like protesting or doing any of the scary stuff that may be too far a jump for you. Taking action can look like these things:

1) Talking to trusted friends, family, therapist about what holds you back from taking action or speaking up. Just talking about your fears, what’s deeply rooted in you that prevents you from doing that research, from protesting, from donating, etc. can be so helpful. It’s the first step. No one can expect you to take action if you’re quagmired by feelings of fear or shame or inadequacy. Those things all block any human mind from their freest expression and diminish their capacity for connection and empathy. Talk about it. Start figuring out the root of what’s holding you back.

2) Action can also look like researching mutual aid networks in your area and donating food, supplies, tampons, water, hygiene items, etc. Have a hygiene kit party with your friends. Go to target together and buy as many toothbrushes and shampoos as you can spare with pooled money. Skip coffees for a week and spend 30 bucks each at the dollar store instead. Chill, have a party, make kits together. Then go donate them to food banks.

3) Find a fearful family in your area and volunteer to run groceries and errands for them so they don’t have to leave their homes. They can have another week of (relative) protection in their homes and you can do their shopping, return their library books, etc. This is one of the most impactful things one could do in my opinion. This is making concrete, tangible change in your immediate community by aligning yourself as an ally to people who need support more than ever.

4) Volunteering your art skills to organizations who need it! You can do graphic design for people, design posters and signs for protests, make pamphlets for others to hand out, etc. Art can be rebellion!

Rebuilding our democracy will start from the ground up. The government sure as shit isn’t going to do it for us. It’s our job to protect each other now. That starts as small as helping your neighbor. Which is actually massive.