What Does Midcoast Resistance and Resilience Look and Feel Like?
We’ve had a week that feels like months.
Here in midcoast Maine we’ve also watched two of our state leaders--Senator King and Governor Mills--speak up. For those of you not readers of Heather Cox Richardson (find her daily blog here), it’s worth quoting a bit of Senator King’s words, because it informs the actions to take this week. On February 20, Senator King took to the floor of the senate, urging his colleagues to wake up:
“Many of my friends in this body say it will be hard, we don’t want to buck the President, we'll let the courts take care of it…. [T]hat’s a copout. It’s our responsibility to protect the Constitution. That’s what we swear to when we enter this body.
“What’s it going to take for us to wake up…I mean this entire body, to wake up to what’s going on here? Is it going to be too late? Is it going to be when the President has secreted all this power and the Congress is an afterthought? What’s it going to take?
“[T]his a constitutional crisis, and we’ve got to respond to it. I’m just waiting for this whole body to stand up and say no, no, we don’t do it this way. We don’t do it this way. We do things constitutionally. [T]hat’s what the framers intended. They didn’t intend to have an efficient dictatorship, and that’s what we’re headed for…. We’ve got to wake up, protect this institution, but much more importantly protect the people of the United States of America.”
Our role as midcoast Maine residents is to respond to the situation at hand, staying informed, and informing those who work with us at all governmental levels about what we see. If you agree with King--then spread the word. Thank him. Thank Governor Mills for standing up to the rule of law, having the courage to confront those who are abusing their power.
Sources of Information and Inspiration
There are several newsletters that provide accurate and timely information about the crisis, the emergency at hand. Some we recommend this week are: What Did Trump Do Today?; The Hopium Chronicles; Chop Wood/Carry Water; The Contrarian; Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance.
For inspiration we’d recommend Code Red, by Freeport’s Kathleen Sullivan, and Meditations on an Emergency, by Rebecca Solnit.
Congressional Actions/Needs
Golden ((202) 225-6306), Pingree ((202) 225-6116), and King ((202) 224-5344) all need to hear your voice this week regarding:
1) their role in standing up to the executive branch (over-assertion of executive authority re shutting down federal offices, blocking congressionally approved grants to states and nonprofits, violating our privacy with computer access, etc.)--see King’s words, above;
2) Maine House Reps (Pingree and Golden) need to be told to VOTE ‘NO’ on the SPENDING BILL, Tuesday 2.25.25. (Call any time starting now and if they’re not available leave a message.) And YES if enough of us call our calls can make a difference. This bill will take away health care and food aid in order to give the rich bigger tax cuts. Trump endorses this bill which means he lied when he said on Fox News that Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid would not be touched.
3) To vote no on the SAVE Act--upcoming legislation that will limit voting rights, especially for women who have changed their names when marrying (a provision includes the need for voters to have same name on their IDS as on their birth certificates).
(We highly recommend an app/website called 5 calls to make dialing our federal representatives easier.)
Upcoming Local/National Actions
2.28.25, Friday, Nationwide. Buy nothing day.
3.1.25, Saturday, Audacitycat organizational meeting and Rockland standout, 12 noon, Chapman Park (the corner of Park & Main, next to the Walgreens). For more information see audacitycat.com
3.7.25, Friday, 5-6 pm. Organizational meeting for local Democracy and Resistance reading group. FMI email: mmulhern2727@gmail.com.
3.8.25, Saturday, Rockland standout, 12 noon, Chapman Park (the corner of Park & Main, next to the Walgreens). For more information see audacitycat.com
3.15.25, Saturday, Nationwide Shutdown. All Day. See Shutdown315. See more here and here.
Concluding Thoughts
We’re fortunate to live in a midcoast community that cares about what’s happening on a national level. Visit the Audacity You Tube page to get inspired by your neighbors. Sign up for their newsletter.
It’s easy to feel powerless. Yet local civic engagement is the seed we need to sow now. Start with your town’s governing boards. Attend town select board or council meetings, ask what’s happening to federal grants and other funding. Ask the school board how the loss of federal funding is affecting their programs. And spread the word about what you find: Email this newsletter, email your paper; post the news on social media.
Can we come up with additional opportunities for civic gathering and engagement? Can we create potlucks and citizen forums that bring us face-to-face?
One of the key societal indicators for receptivity to autocratic forms of government is loss of trust in government. And loss of trust in fellow citizens. Our job in the midcoast now is to talk about trust, why it was lost, what it looks like to regain it.
Governor Mills’ pushback regarding school funding reminds us that when we act courageously--on behalf of the greater good--we sow the seeds of trust.