Good day my good friend.

I did have a positive news newsletter prepared. But after waking up this morning, it just didn’t feel right, what with the political earthquake coming out of America.

You no doubt have your own thoughts and feelings about the election. You are entitled to feel how you do, and don’t let anyone shame you from it. And it is ok to feel that way for a while.

But once you process them, you have to fight the hell back. Our world is at stake here, and the only way people like us get anything is by fighting like hell for it. We have no other option, even if there are truly dark times ahead.

So in this newsletter, I am going to give you some ideas on what you can do. Because doing something always makes me feel better, and it might make you feel better too.

Oh, to those who favoured Trump. First, you might not like this newsletter, so give it a miss. Second – THE HELL?!?!?

Volunteer in your community

There are loads of volunteering opportunities out there in your community. In the UK, search the NVCO website for opportunities. Or even just Google ‘volunteer opportunities UK.’ Find something that interests you, sign up.

Do something good without asking

Obviously don’t do anything really stupid. But if there are leaves on the pavement outside your home, sweep them away. Cut back hedges that have overgrown paths (but clear away the vegetation when you are done). Do some small thing that helps your community.

Stand for office

You can join a political party, but there is nothing stopping you from just standing yourself, or even being co-opted onto your local council. See if you can get your friends to join as well. The LGA has some great advice on this for UK residents.

Shift your money

The two most powerful things you can do is cast your vote and shift your money. Check to see what banks are most ethical or environmentally friendly, and shift your account (I went to Triodos bank for this reason). Do the same with your pension, as many pension providers do offer more ethical pension plans. For example, Pensionbee offer a pension plan that invests in companies that align with the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Set up an action group within your own organisation

Just having a group of people talk about issues, and committing to actions to resolve them, is good. Organise it via your own internal messaging system or email. Set some time aside each week to just talk, and the actions will flow from there.

Use Liberating Structures to identify actions

I am a great fan of the Liberating Structures methods. I highly recommend getting a group together – friends, co-workers, whatever – and using these methods to get some ideas going on what to do.

Form a neighbourhood action group to tackle transport issues

Lobbying for change is very effective if you have a group committed to it. Good ideas for getting started is literally getting a group of your neighbours together and talking about it, and committing to action. Third Sector Protect has a really good post on how to set up an effective group.

Protest

This is a personal decision for you, as apparently protests seem to be cracked down on these days. But the fact of the matter is that protests ARE effective at enabling change. You can search for them online, but if you are unsure identify a few key groups in areas of interest for you, and search their websites for any details of planned protests by them. Join them.

Donate to good causes

Can’t make the effort? Give good causes your money then, so that they can do things. Every little helps, even if its only £5 a month or something like that. Every penny is usually appreciated.

Personally, I am reflecting on what can be done using this community and the community built up through Mobility Camp to do something a bit more radical. Because my word we need it.

If any of you are feeling anxious, though, and don’t have anyone to talk to, simply reply to this newsletter via email. As I am free to talk. This is truly a dark time, with autocrats on the move everywhere. And we need each other more than ever.

Some final reflections from me

Let’s get to the point. This is not good. Sod whether you agree with Trump or not. We are in a world of radical shifts where autocrats are on the march, and old thoughts of liberalism and our traditional socio-economic approach is barely hanging on.

But there is hope. That is hard for me to say. I make no bones about this – as a result of this shift towards autocracy, people will get hurt. Whether directly through conflict and cruel policy, or indirectly through climate change.

It is right for you to be upset. It is right for you to grieve about that. It shows you are human. Take the time that you need to process how you feel. Because there is hope.

I take hope from several things. Firstly, the momentum around several things relating to climate change is unstoppable. Renewable energy and electric vehicles are notable, and while tariffs and bans may work for a while, they delay the inevitable. There are literally millions of people working on such solutions, and that gives me a lot of hope for the future.

Second, and this just comes from personal experience – there are far more good people in the world than there are bad people. You might struggle to think this now, but even when you are divided politically there are good people wanting to do good things everywhere. But good people can be manipulated, and we need to do the hard work of working with them and winning them back. This is long, hard work, with no guarantees of success.

I have seen people who voted for Reform help out at food banks for 3 days a week. People who want immigrants deported organise and run football tournaments for people with cerebral palsy. There are good people everywhere, if you want to look.

Finally, even if the worst does happen, I take solace in this. We are an amazing, resilience species us humans. We have faced existential threats and civilisation collapse before, and each time it has been hell. But we have emerged from the other side. I highly recommend reading At Work In The Ruins, which sets out that even as the modern world seems to be crashing around us, there are seeds of hope. And we need to nurture them.

Take the time to recover from the shock, and process how you feel. And then get to work making the future better. It will be a long, hard road ahead. But the only way it changes is if we make it happen. I am willing to make it happen. Are you?

Take care, my friends.