The Musk/Trump administration and Republicans are coming after all of us, starting with companies and organizations of influence and power. We saw it when Trump went after ABC News when it reported on Trump, which parent company Disney capitulated to the demand rather than fighting back, thus hurting the fourth pillar, the press. We saw it when Columbia University capitulated to Trump’s demands, thus hurting the higher education foundation (most recently the so called mighty wolverines, the University of Michigan, also capitulated, making the Musk/Trump administration appear more powerful). We saw it when Perkins Cole LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom capitulated to Trump’s demands without fighting back, thus hurting the legal system.
All of these organizations stood alone though. No one came to join them in fighting. Mind you, each of these organizations have deep deep pockets and could have afforded the legal battle on their own. But, the only defense I will allow them is that it can be very tough to stand alone, wanting help in numbers, and yet no other organizations of influence and power stepped into the fray to support their efforts. I know from experience how hard and scary it can be to stand alone while everyone around you stands silent waiting to see what is going to happen.
In many many ways individualism is engrained in us from birth. Everything we see and read is about how someone succeeded on grit and perseverance alone. The truth is, the story of all the people, government policies, and such assisted these people in becoming the American version of successful. Just to use Musk as an example, his success isn’t his alone. Although he did not start rich like Trump, his success story seems to have started with a loan from his father to launch Elon’s first business venture. How many of us can say our parents could have given us a loan of $28,000 (about the as $60,000 today) to get started? We have to also acknowledge some of Musk’s success is also owed to government subsidies, tax breaks, loans, and contracts to the tune of around $38B.
As the news of Columbia and Perkins Cole came out, I began wondering about individualism. That only we ourselves can be counted on. We have to find our way out of a bind alone. Only person we can trust is ourselves.
The question becomes, will this sense of societal pride in individualism be our downfall. Will we stand idly by as the Musk/Trump administration, with the implicit and explicit approval of Republicans, take down organizations one by one?
Will the competitive nature of our country make the organization not being targeted have their competitors standing by the side salivating at the possibility of taking their customers? Will the greed virus that infects the U.S. be our downfall because an organization only sees potential dollar signs rather than the loss of democracy and freedoms? Will it be that large organizations of influence are so caught up in going it alone that they do not know how to form coalitions to defend their sectors of influence thus saving them all from capitulating to people acting like tyrants and authoritarians. Because, no matter how you look at it, the Musk/Trump administration and Republicans are opening and actively behaving like tyrants, fascists, and dictators.
Why does it appear Columbia University and the University of Michigan didn’t reach out to Harvard, Yale, The Ohio State University, the University of California, Vanderbilt University, and so many others to collectively say no? Why aren’t they realizing if one of them falls, they will all fall?
Why does it appear Perkins Cole and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom didn’t reach out to WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, who are fighting back, to form a large coalition to fight back as a group? Why aren’t they realizing if one of them falls, they will all fall?
This question can be asked of all influential organizations targeted by the Musk/Trump administration. Why aren’t you banding together to fight back? Why aren’t you realizing if one of you falls, you will all fall?
This question can be asked of other organizations like Black Lives Matter, the Women’s March, Latino Victory Fund, the Hispanic Institute, Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG, National Organization of Women, American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, Habitat for Humanity, Poor People’s Campaign, and so many others joining and speaking as one voice to preserve democracy and freedoms. Each may have different constituencies, but if any of them fall, they all will fall.
Right now, from what I can see, it is mainly we the people who are standing up for our rights. There are people who, through their protests here in the U.S., and across the world, that are bringing Tesla down. There are people who through their boycotting are causing Target to lose significant sales. There are people through their support that have helped defenders increase their sales, such as has happened with CostCo. There are people protesting to protect the U.S. Department of Education, USAID, Medicaid, Social Security, and yes, even the post office. There are voters finally waking up to the nightmare we are living through and going to the polls as we saw in recent Pennsylvania special elections. All of which can give hope. We need to keep up the good fight AND those influential organizations need to do much much better collectively if we are to survive.
Individualism has its place, and will continue to do so. But, so does collaboration and coalitions, which is what is most important for the current hell of living in the United States of America at this very moment.
They need to do better!
I’ve often said we all need to be involved in saving democracy in the ways which fit our lives and our comfort levels. These can be from blogging, to reposting on social media, to calling your elected officials, to letters to the editor, to donating to organizations, to marching in the streets. Nothing is too little or too much. Here are some ways to get involved from the comfort of your own homes over the next few weeks:
- Donate to two Florida congressional candidates to help retake the U.S. House of Representatives: Gay Valimont and Josh Weil.
- Donate to Susan Crawford who is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The courts are all that appear to be standing between democracy and autocracy right now.
- Call your congressional members and let them know as one of the people they represent, it is past time for Musk to be fired and DOGE dismantled. Call this number and the switchboard will connect you to your representative or senator: 202-224-3121. Even if you don’t know who your members are, they will find them for you based on your address, which they will ask you to provide.
- Call the White House switchboard to express your disappointment in what is happening and that Musk must go: 202-456-1414 (switchboard) or 202-456-1111 (comments). I recommend the switchboard myself.
- Sign up for General Strike and commit to participating.
- Download the app Five Calls to help let your elected officials know you are paying attention and don’t approve. Website: https://5calls.org/
- Join a local group of Indivisible and join the Hands Off National Day of Action, April 5, 2025.
- Participate in the action items of 50501: 50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Movement.
- Continue to boycott companies who have bent the knee or no longer believe in equality. Don’t buy from national chains or companies, such as Target, Amazon, Tesla, or Walmart.
- Write letters to your local papers expressing your disappointment and tell your stories of how the Republican administration is harming your families.
- Plan to stop making any purchases from food and drink conglomerate Nestle starting March 21 through March 28.
- Commit to being at the Hands Off! protest in all 50 state capitols and Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 