Finding hope in the darkness
Amid the fear and intimidation, is there anything we can do?
It’s really dark out there
Since I published my post “Resistance is not futile” last March, we have seen the Trump Administration escalate pressure on citizens as well as immigrants, both legal and illegal. As the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) notes:
Even when a person targeted for a federal prosecution or enforcement action prevails or an investigation does not lead to prosecution, the consequences can be ruinous to the target’s reputation and livelihood…
This means that a president who flouts laws and norms governing the exercise of these executive powers can wreak havoc. Just as a police officer on traffic patrol can use pretextual stops to harass and discriminate, federal agents can abuse their power by directing accusations, surveillance, investigations, and prosecutions at the administration’s will to target political opponents or discriminate against vulnerable communities. Some of the most insidious abuses are exercises of legitimate powers in illegitimate ways or for illegitimate purposes.
Here are a few examples:
Since ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed citizen Renée Good in Minneapolis January 7, 2026, more than 1,000 demonstrations have broken out throughout the country protesting this act, including one involving “tens of thousands” in Minneapolis January 10, including members of the Minneapolis City Council. The protesters were supported by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey; however, Vice President JD Vance called Goode’s death “a tragedy of her own making” and her “a victim of left-wing ideology.” President Trump threatened January 15 to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy military troops for domestic law enforcement.
Since President Trump instructed state governors to “dominate the streets” in response to racial justice protests, he has called out the National Guard to disrupt peaceful protests in Washington, DC, and to supplement law enforcement in that city, and others including Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Memphis, Tennessee. CapitalB News, an online news source, noted that “Elected and law enforcement officials in those cities and states have rejected Trump’s assertion that crime dropped following deployments. Law enforcement and elected officials in these cities have rejected the President’s assertion that crime dropped following the deployments, and in several of them local data showed reductions in violent crime before deployments.
ICE agents have raided Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, and various locations in Texas, Florida, and Virginia, targeting mostly Latino communities. In Minneapolis, they targeted the Somali community, which the President has described as “garbage.”
The Trump Administration has committed numerous violations of Constitutional rights, including:
A federal judge found in May 2025, that Trump violated the First and Sixth Amendments by targeting law firms that opposed him, and by coercing law firms into providing pro bono work for favored causes.
The Minnesota ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit in January 2026 against federal agents committing racial profiling, unlawful arrests without warrants, and violations of 4th and 14th Amendment (Equal Protection clause) rights.
Spencer Overton, a professor of law at George Washington University, has cited twelve examples where the Trump Administration has worked to dismantle civil rights law.
The blogosphere, including posts on Substack, has editorialized heavily on comparisons between the actions of the Trump Administration and the first days of the German Third Reich in 1933. Because I prefer to cite sources I know to be reliable, I will not cite any of them, but will give you a USA Today article by Kathryn Palmer (January 13):
A social media post from the Department of Labor is attracting criticism for appearing to echo a Nazi-era slogan from the early 20th century.
The department posted to X on Jan. 10, “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.”
Dozens of users commented and reposted, expressing alarm and outrage over what they called an alarming echo of what the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum describes as one of the central slogans used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. That slogan is, “One People, One Realm, One Leader.”
The department’s post accompanied an 11-second video of a bust of George Washington over a black-and-white montage of iconic paintings of American history. They include several depicting the American Revolution and popular propaganda posters from World War I and II.
The agency did not immediately respond to USA TODAY requests for comment on the post.
It’s enough to make a normal person go home, lock the door, and remain silent. Which is exactly the wrong thing to do.
What are the risks of doing nothing?
A famous poem by Martin Niemöller gives us a reminder from the Third Reich why doing nothing is unacceptable:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
In my “Resistance is not futile” post, I linked to an essay by Alexander Solzhenitsyn exhorting Russians not to give in to their régime’s lies. He begins by describing the situation many of us now find ourselves in:
We are approaching the brink; already a universal spiritual demise is upon us; a physical one is about to flare up and engulf us and our children, while we continue to smile sheepishly and babble:
“But what can we do to stop it? We haven’t the strength”
After all, the Trump Administration threatens us, and everyone else with violence. Citing his Russian experience, Solzhenitsyn tells us what violence is about:
When violence bursts onto the peaceful human condition, its face is flush with self-assurance, it displays on its banner and proclaims: “I am Violence! Make way, step aside, I will crush you!” But violence ages swiftly, a few years pass—and it is no longer sure of itself. To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies. For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence. And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only a submission to lies, a daily participation in deceit—and this suffices as our fealty.
This is a perfectly logical statement. If a régime can persuade us with truth in a fair debate, it is normal politics. There would be no need to violate the Constitution or to commit violence against our own people. Because people are normally outraged when the government gets violent against us.
I will not quote the entire solution, but there is one. It is simple but challenging to carry out: “Never knowingly support lies!” Acting out the truth can be costly, as every dissenter from Socrates to Renée Good can attest, but we do not have to be so forward. Lesser actions can cost people their jobs or their reputation, but it is the only path that can satisfy our conscience. Our people are not facing tanks — yet, but even if we do, Solzhenitsyn reminds us:
Betrayed and deceived by us [Russia], did not a great European people—the Czechoslovaks—show us how one can stand down the tanks with bared chest alone, as long as inside it beats a worthy heart?
If we live the truth now, we will avoid the totalitarianism experienced by the Germans in the Third Reich or the Russians under Communism.
What is to be done?
Recently, a friend sent me this email:
Several of us are feeling concerned about what is happening in our country and would value a chance to talk together in a calm, respectful setting.
The goal isn’t to persuade or argue, but to listen, share perspectives, and think together about how we—as individuals—can respond thoughtfully and responsibly to the times we’re living in.
We hope to create an open-minded space where curiosity, empathy, and mutual respect guide the conversation, perhaps using the following questions to guide our discussion:
What concerns you most right now, and why?
What helps you stay grounded or hopeful?
What small, values-based actions feel meaningful to you personally?
This approach is simple and doable, regardless of our station in life. It commits us to living the truth, and might even point the way to the kind of community we will want to live in when this is all over. Which it will be, at least eventually. And this thought should be the basis for hope. Those of us who are elderly might not live to see it, but surely it will come.
Step 1: Do not abandon hope.
Step 2: Do not give in to their lies.
Step 3: Take whatever action you can, no matter how small. As Solzhenitsyn wrote, if enough of us take even these small actions, the collective result will be a society better than we even imagined.
Decide right now that you will not abandon hope.
Faithful Citizen with Harold Thomas consists of the musings of a mainline Protestant, libertarian Boomer who tries to keep up with the news while remaining true to his faith and the principles of the American Founders. Harold is an author and retired business analyst with degrees in political science and foreign service living in Columbus, Ohio.
What are your thoughts? Share your comments with us. Likes and restacks are also greatly appreciated!
This is excellent.
Thanks, Harold, for including a portion of the invitation to folks in our community to gather and encourage each other to not lose hope and do whatever little we can to push back on fascism in America.