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The future of republicanism depends on the U.S. shaping its domestic agenda for the common good and using its influence on the global stage in line with democratic principles.

Is capitalism aging gracelessly, full of hubris and making trouble for everyone who loves it? Name me an empire that has gone out gracefully.

What you feel when you finally close this long book is the pointlessness of quests and knights and kings and, well, points… The point is that there is no point. And Grossman, being a wizard, actually makes that feel comforting. Particularly in these times. Because, he whispers, we are the story… We are collapsing… But we will not end.

Like those abolitionist pamphlets, We Will Rest! offers encouragement in times of uncertainty—a reminder of our fundamental humanity, and affirms the truth that rest is ours for the taking. And we’ve already done all we need to do to “deserve” the freedom it brings.

From a systems lens, Islands of Sanity are parts of the system that hold resilience when the rest of the system comes out of balance.

Social movements provide a unique mechanism for responding, creating common identity and purpose between strangers and allowing genuine, collective participation in building a better democracy. There is no better antidote to hopelessness than action in community.

Elections are always complicated things, although pundits sometimes try to pretend that they’re not. In this post I run through some different narratives or ‘explanations’ of Trump’s victory that I’ve noticed or heard since Wednesday and pull out a quote or add some commentary.

The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.