Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, seemed horrified and fragile as she spoke a few days ago about being afraid of Donald Trump and his retribution tactics.
I understand the fear. I respect the fear.
Sometimes, it is good to allow fear to cause you to change the course of your action. But this is not the time. So, let’s proclaim that we are often afraid, but we are standing up anyway.
Catherine Meeks
In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
Fear is immobilizing if not embraced. This is a major strategy for the Trump regime, as is true for any person or group attempting to bully folks into their desired way of behaving. An image that comes to me is reflected in what I have read about the eye of the hurricane being calm. It has been said the eye is clear, and the winds are light. But in contrast, when we think of the winds swirling about the eye and causing all types of destruction and fear, it is hard to imagine the possibility of anything different.
The swirling hurricane of destruction and immorality that is rampant in this administration at the moment causes us to be unstable. And since we are all human, it is easy to understand the sense of instability is simply a very natural response to the chaos. The strategy of creating chaos is destabilization, which has worked fairly well for this group to a point, although it will get weaker and weaker as folks continue to find their paths to resistance.
But it is important to note there is not any reason to celebrate yet. We have lawlessness and immorality dancing in the streets and seeming to believe it has a sustainable path to destroying our way of life in this country and in other countries as well. So vigilance continues to be required of us and always will be required because freedom is not free from struggle.
Perhaps it was our hope that we could live without struggling to keep freedom alive that helped create the space making this nightmare possible.
As a person who is a member of an oppressed minority group, I know better. Freedom is not free. My experience has taught me that vigilance is a part of the paradigm I must engage. It is an engagement that occurs with fear. It occurs in spite of the fear.
As an African American, it is not simply fear of retribution, it is the experience of retribution that informs me.
“Acquiescing to the fear and the bullying behavior that reinforces it is far worse than confronting the possibility of the retribution.”
But it is clear that acquiescing to the fear and the bullying behavior that reinforces it is far worse than confronting the possibility of the retribution that might come from resisting.
No one can speak for another person, but it is clear that thousands of us are ready to confront fear and stand as public resistors. This is exactly what we have to do every day. The only way to stop a bully is to stand still and confront that energy with strength and determination to stay grounded.
How does one get to the eye of the hurricane of fear? It is not simple, but it is possible.
First, it is important to separate fact from fiction. Take a bit of time to determine as much truth as you can about a given situation and then try to determine how the facts sit with you. This helps to move beyond imagination, which can lead us into many rabbit holes of fear if allowed to do so. When you begin to imagine resistance, it is important to think about the real cost that could result.
As a college student, it was important to know my resistance could have caused me to lose my scholarship or my life. As a youngster, I was more concerned about my scholarship than my life. It is important to think as clearly as possible about what you are willing to pay for resistance.
Serious personal interrogation is necessary about the principles you hold that are non-negotiable. This type of self-reflective interrogation can help move us through the swirling high winds of the hurricane toward the calmer eye where we can hear the quiet heartbeat of courage and whatever inner directives come to us to support the path to resistance.
Also, hope is one of the elements that must be used to diffuse fear.
Recently, I moderated “A Conversation on Hope” with three Episcopal bishops. Although there are many paths to hope, this conversation is encouraging. We cannot afford the luxury of swirling in the winds of the hurricane and becoming immobilized. We have to stand up and find our way to the eye so we can act.
Let’s keep being a half shade braver.
Catherine Meeks was given the President Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement and Service Award in August 2022; was listed by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 500 women to watch in Georgia in 2022; retired as the Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies at Mercer University; is a community and wellness activist and midwife to the soul; and the author of The Night Is Long, But Light Comes In The Morning, Meditations on Racial Healing, She previously served as founding executive director of Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing and currently serves as founder and executive director of the Turquoise and Lavender Institute for Transformation and Healing. She lives in Atlanta.