Discussion: how do you choose where to put your energy?

[tanaqui]

I'm sure many of us are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of different issues being raised by the Minority President's administration: attacks on the media, Russian interference, threats to the ACA and abortion rights, immigration, First Amendment rights and Net Neutrality, dismantling public protections for our environment and our finances....

We've already had a post about how to approach your activism once you've decided which issues you want to work on. But, as sathari said in a comment to the last check-in post:

[T]here are so many things WRONG, which are the MOST wrong that I need to speak up about RIGHT NOW?

So this post is a place for people to suggest ways we can each figure out where we're going to put our energies when so much is wrong but we can't tackle all of it.

Comments

[jjhunter]

I have a few core areas of "things WRONG" where I'm putting much of my efforts, but I think it's just as important to figure out what are things that are going right, and how to make them more right - how can I increase my local social efficacy? Where can I get news of people being awesome to learn from and celebrate and potentially ally with?

What roots me, what sustains me? It's key to invest in supporting those enough to generate resources for tackling issues on scales outside my own needs and my immediate communities' needs.

Doing things together with friends helps a lot - I enjoy being with them, and we get more done together than we would separately. We each have a slightly different focuses, so there's a sense of dividing the burden of keeping track of news and events and opportunities/strategies to act effectively for all the different things going on.

[marahmarie]

Similar to this, perhaps, I believe in celebrating successes and wins. We've already made small but important inroads against this administration, and every time we win any battle against it directly (ie, against their so-called travel ban, which was only a partial win, but which still might get struck down, as at least five states are suing over the rewritten version) or indirectly (Texas congressional maps have been judged to violate the Voting Rights Act or to be unconstitutional, an argument that's probably moving on now to the Supreme Court) I feel it's helpful to get the word out, and to celebrate these moments in clearly joyous ways.

1) it will make many of us feel better (doing so has actually done a lot for me, personally and I like to think it helps others who read what I write, as well)

2) it shows the other side we're rooting for their ugliest plans to fail

It's important to show a united front not just in contesting and fighting wrongs and injustices but in celebrating wins - and not just to stave off the exhaustion of So Much Wrong hitting us on a daily basis, as it does, and will. If we don't show them we acknowledge their losses and why they deserved them, they don't have any lesson to sit back and learn from. I think shaming the other side, when appropriate, even if just in outlining why we won each time and celebrating wins is needed to boost morale and show the other side people do care about the outcomes in more than a rushed "Cause of the Moment" way.