Thank you once again, Richard, for your clear and precise assessment of our cultural and political devolution into the vortex of tyranny and oligarchy. But we all need to find ways of pushing back against this encroaching horror,

I have only one suggestion for what all of us ordinary people can do, as we spiral downward into the Trumpian vortex:

Form a "Satyagraha Study Group" among a handful of trusted friends, either in person or online, and then read and discuss three books in this order:

1. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder;

2. Gandhi on Nonviolence, an anthology of brief Gandhi quotes edited and curated by Thomas Merton, and

3. From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, a practical guide for undermining tyranny and restoring democracy, based on multiple examples from the late Twentieth Century.

"Satyagraha" (meaning "grasping the truth") is the name Mahatma Gandhi coined for his nonviolent liberation movement in India, which later inspired visionary leaders like Martin Luther KIng, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, and Wangari Maathai (and many others, lesser known). It consists of three "pillars" of practice:

1. AHIMSA ("doing no harm")--nonviolent noncooperation with evil.

2. SATYA ("Truth")--speaking truth to power

3. SWARAJ--self-discipline, self-reliance, and solidarity.

--All practiced mindfully, strategically, and relentlessly.

Make your own Power Point presentations summarizing each of these books, which you can use to stimulate discussion--and strategizing--within your study group. This is very easy for Snyder's book, which is organized around twenty brief suggestions, each accompanied by a brief summary of each chapter. Put each suggestion with summary on a Powerpoint slide, and you're good to go, with either a big screen for an in-person meeting, or on Zoom for a virtual meeting. Then discuss these suggestions--and strategize!

I made my own PowerPoint presentation of Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny, which I'll send you if you wish, but it's very easy to make your own as well. Share this and your plans and your presentations widely; make this idea go viral, if possible.