Invisible Resistance: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting Democracy
Long ago in Odyssean history, a giant wooden horse, perhaps the size of a fifteen-story building, was rolled up to the front gates of Troy as an offering to the gods for Troy’s victory over the Greeks, who for over ten years had been unable to breach the city’s impenetrable walls. The horse was a ruse, of course, built by the Greek army, marking a shift of strategy from might to cunning.
The great wooden statue was hollow, and inside crouched dozens of elite soldiers, armed and poised, awaiting the horse to be welcomed inside and transported to the heart of the metropolis. That night, under the shroud of darkness, the horse quietly opened and the unseen emerged. The warriors poured in. And Troy, stronghold of a decade, fell in a single night. Troy fell not to the sword alone, but to the stealth of the silent and invisible.
As Americans on both sides of the aisle fight to save our democracy, the legend of the Trojan Horse provides us with a powerful metaphor about the quiet and persistent patience of a strategy designed to work because of its hidden nature. It also inspires us to resist the authoritarian regime without needing to place our bodies on the front lines.
Many do not have the constitution, capacity, or ability to risk being arrested. If you are a single mother, for example, or the owner of a small business where those employed by you depend on their livelihood, it might be unwise to hazard retaliation. Sometimes visibility seriously increases risks for some LGBTQ+ and minority groups. But just because the front lines are not for you, doesn’t mean you do not have an important role in the pro-democracy movement. Avoid falling into the all-or-nothing trap of impotence. Your presence matters now more than ever.
Nature teaches us how to form resilient and successful transformative revolutions. It models for us an ecosystem made up of many diverse and different roles designed to dismantle the old and bring in the new. Taking up placards and marching in protests is just one role, but there are dozens of others. A thriving ecosystem of resistance includes not only the visible and more audible ones out front, but also the quiet, invisible ones in the background and everything in between. Where are you most resourced to survive and be effective in this pivotal chapter in human history? What is your part to play?
A democracy is a profoundly sacred and ambitious agreement between human beings. In a democracy, "...the most important political office is that of the private citizen," writes Louis D. Brandeis, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
One place you may wish to explore your rights and responsibilities as a citizen to protect and fight for our falling democracy is within the more hidden realms of subversion. Invisible, yet these places powerfully loosen the fingers of authoritarian grasp. For those who can move through mainstream and normative society without attracting attention, act without being noticed, and hence are powerful contributors to advancing justice. This is called Stealth Activism.
Below are 12 ways to be a Stealth Activist:
Digitally disobey - Privacy is power. If you want agency over your own life, you need agency over your digital life. Get in the habit of protecting your privacy online, because you are being surveilled. Your data is being collected, sold, and combined with other data somewhere. When online, stop before you just habitually give away information. Say “no” to cookies, don’t give websites your birthdate, and other private information.
Protect your children, too. If not over the age of consent, don’t put their images on platforms that harvest their data, which are aligned with hostile, exploitative governments.
Dinner conversations - talking about democracy is not political or impolite, it is citizenry. Befriend discomfort and be real. Find ways to be curious, and also compassionately clear. Find language that signals shared values, and use those values to find common ground. Build trust over time to bridge differences.
Fight normalizing - More and more absurdities and violations are becoming normalized in today’s Trump culture. Speak up and speak out when something needs attention, rather than just letting it pass by, embedding itself in a new normal.
Raise good kids - Raising children and grandchildren to be free-thinkers, critical contemplators, empathetic feelers, and compassionate, kind human beings is one of the most radical acts you can make these days.
Contact your elected representatives - Call them. Write them. Keep doing it. They work for you. Here is how you can find yours, and the direct links to their phone numbers and email addresses
Make change locally - use your influence in your local PTA, school board, your church or synagogue, your YPO, your Toastmasters, or the non-profit you support. Renew your library card and fight book censorship.
Make art/support art - Art is a wonderful way to spread the call for justice. It’s playful and pointed, and calls people in to consider new things. Shout out to my friend and Santa Fe artist, Shauna Claiborne of The Orange Rabbit Pottery, who takes her activism to the wheel.
Do not obey in advance - This is a core principle for resisting tyranny, as articulated by author Timothy Snyder in his book On Tyranny. Refuse to anticipate and comply with the demands of an authoritarian regime before they are explicitly made. Proactive obedience (such as remaining quiet or not making waves) is done from fear, yet accelerates the rise and consolidation of power by authoritarian regimes. By not obeying or complying in advance, you can slow down the siege.
Share information - We must reach far beyond the choir. Special information cards are being created and distributed far and wide via various outlets as an efficient and easy way to reach others with facts and raise awareness about the dangers of, and our rights within, an emerging dictatorship. Join me in distributing them everywhere - public restrooms, to friends and family, libraries, and other public spaces. Two of my go-tos are:
The Card Campaign for Democracy - here you can download and print (or send to a printer) all kinds of cards that inform and inspire. My favorite right now is America on the Brink, which examines our place in the authoritarian playbook and what we stand to lose if our democracy fails. The card includes a call to action.
The Immigration Legal Resource Center provides what are known as “Red Cards” — small credit card-sized multi-lingual cards that summarize our rights under the Constitution. You can order (or print) your Red Cards here.
Keep DEI alive but silent - You can embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into organizational policy and class curriculum without labeling it DEI. If you own a small company, keep your DEI policies and principles alive on your website.
Use your platform - Are you a blogger? Do you have any followers on your social media? Do you have a mailing list? Use it to spread facts, post photos, and art that inspires others to take their place in preserving democracy and to uphold justice. Challenge yourself to find language that calls people in to protecting democracy, rather than calls people out for not being on the right side of history. In other words, find language and signals shared values that do not flare up defensiveness, but instead invite curiosity.
Know your rights - With ICE ordered to gather up 3,000 people a day, it’s important to know your rights (and help others know theirs), especially in the heat of the moment when a masked ICE official decides to racially profile and attempt to disappear you, a friend, a family member, or employee. Resources for legal support can be found here.
Be small, but be viral in the fight for human decency, kindness, justice, and ultimately for democracy. This strategy bypasses the defence mechanisms of those who might target and retaliate. But even better, these methods can shift a culture slowly, subtly, and effectively.
Resources:
Carole Cadwalladr, Privacy Is Power:” How to Exist in a World of Tech “Broligarchs
AJ Hawkins, What Role Do You Play in the Ecosystem of Change?
Elizabeth Cronis McLaughlin, The Secret Form of Activism No One Talks About Immigrant Defence Law Center
MSNBC, The people’s guide to beating back authoritarianism with noodles, satire, and more
Kelly Wendorf is an ICF Master Certified executive and personal coach, published author, spiritual mentor, disruptor, and socially responsible entrepreneur. As founder of EQUUS® she specializes in the liberation of robust leadership capacities in those who are most qualified — the empathetic, the conscientious, the accountable, the generous, and the kind. Did you like this essay? Kelly is available for a wide range of services including Coaching, Workshops, The EQUUS Experience®, Retreats, Keynote Speaking and more.
