It’s a wild time to be an American. So much, figuratively, is on fire.
The news churns by the hour…
🚨 A government shutdown seemingly teeters on the edge of permanence.
🚨 The war in Gaza appears to be drawing to a close, but will peace last or remain elusive?
🚨 Trade tensions with China have stocks spiraling and businesses reeling.
🚨 Artificial intelligence is upending what work (not to mention education) will look like for all but those retired.
🚨 The war in Ukraine grinds on into another brutal winter.
🚨 A president appears to be wielding the justice system like a sledgehammer against his enemies.
🚨 Media power is consolidating into the hands of a handful of billionaires.
🚨 Corruption is shamelessly metastasizing in plain sight.
And through it all, the most dangerous feeling creeps in — not anger, not outrage, but numbness.
Because when everything feels like it’s on fire, how do you know where to aim the hose?
Focus on What You Can Control
In times like these, we turn to those who’ve endured before us. The Stoic philosophers — Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius — lived in a Roman world far more violent and chaotic than ours, and yet they taught a powerful truth: You don’t control what happens, only how you respond to it.
That doesn’t mean we check out. It means we tune in — to what matters most, to what we can influence, to what aligns with our values and beliefs.
We may not be able to control whether some unjust act, disregard for the law, or violation of rights occurs — but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless or hopeless.
This is the biggest reason we continually beat the drum for the power and hope of high-impact litigation being done by organizations like our strategic partner Campaign Legal Center. At a time when so many believe so little can be done, our movement is ensuring our rights, laws, and Constitution are defending in court. We’re stacking up victories, and you can be part of it, too!
This is how, everyday, we can remind ourselves that we are citizens, not spectators.
History Shows the Way
When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in 1776, he didn’t know whether the colonies would survive the war to come. But he did know what he believed. He knew that tyranny was incompatible with liberty, and that ordinary people — farmers, tradesmen, young women tending to households and hopes — could and should rule themselves.
When Americans marched in Selma, or fought corruption in the Gilded Age, or stood up to the internment of Japanese Americans, or demanded an end to Vietnam — none of them knew the outcome either. But they understood that showing up, and standing together, mattered.
It still does.
This Weekend: No Kings!
On October 18th, millions of Americans will come together for what’s expected to be the largest network of peaceful rallies in support of the Rule of Law and our Constitution in our nation’s history.
Find a Peaceful Rally near you: https://www.nokings.org/
These are not partisan events. They are constitutional ones. They are community-driven and citizen-powered.
It’s a chance to raise your voice — and hear others.
It’s a way to show the next generation that democracy still matters.
It’s a moment to trade despair for determination.
We are making a Bright America
Our name isn’t accidental. We believe in a bright future for this nation — not because it’s perfect, but because it’s possible. And we know that at the core of what makes American democracy possible is a long, historic reverence for the Rule of Law and our Constitution.
After all, we are meant to be a nation ruled by laws, not men.
History is calling. Let’s answer together.
I am pleased that this article has exposed the need to participate and understand it our home and community needs that is bring highlighted here. We do not want to live like North Korea.
I am grateful to have read this thoughtful, supportive writeup. So much of what we read today is passionate, alarming, shocking. I did share a great part of this article with my friends because our lives have been upended, and peace and security seems nowhere in our future—like so many other countries in this world today!! This article made a positive impression and I feel some courage to participate with others who are like me.