Lou Kriesberg's "For All the People" and Related Thoughts About Paths Forward for the U.S.
Newsletter 326 - February 27, 2025
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Trump, Democracy, and the Chainsaw Metaphor
At this point, just over a month into his second presidency, it has become clear that Donald Trump is trying to swing the political pendulum vastly further to the right than many people anticipated (apart from his most fervent supporters and those on the left who had been most vocal about his authoritarian ambitions). Americans now have good reason to fear that their country, at least as they have known it since the Great Society (and, perhaps, the New Deal), is being dismantled with a figurative chain saw right before their eyes. Trump's "shock and awe" strategy has been able to attack his opponents on so many fronts that they are having trouble responding effectively — some may even be giving up and resigning themselves to the death of democracy as they know it.
The resulting despair is, not surprisingly, most acute among those on the progressive left who are seeing the things that they most care about being subjected to withering assault. Alarm over Trump's actions is, however, much more extensive. The political center, while less supportive of DEI and many other policies on the left's agenda, are still very concerned about (among other things) the economic impact of Trump's chaotic trade policies, the ways in which his immigration policies are upending labor markets, and the startling reversal of so many long-standing and bipartisan foreign policies and alliances (including, especially, his stunning embrace of Russian aggression in Ukraine and hostile actions toward Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and Panama). Beyond this, there is growing concern that Trump's all out attacks on anything and everything related to the federal government will prevent the government from performing a wide range of essential functions — including protecting American health and safety and providing a strong national defense in a time of heightened global tensions. Even among Trump supporters, serious concerns are emerging about whether or not he is abandoning his core, working class supporters in favor of his new billionaire allies.
History is not Over
Before giving into despair and hopelessness, however, it's worth remembering that history is not over. The intensity of Trump's initial actions are already generating a powerful backlash that will set the stage for a series of conflicts that will ultimately determine the fate of Trump's presidency and his influence on US and global democracy. To help all us better understand this rapidly changing situation, we are starting to collect and highlight articles that offer a variety of perspectives on the next chapter of the hyper-polarized political drama that has been the focus of this newsletter.
The first such article was recently submitted to us by Lou Kriesberg, a frequent contributor to BI and a a scholar who has done much of the pioneering work underlying our analyses of intractable conflict and our broader efforts to promote more constructive approaches to conflict. As you can see in his essay (posted below), he sees contemporary events from the perspective of someone who has devoted much of his long career trying to help us understand and advance the the social movements that have done so much to combat racism and other forms of injustice. (See, for example, our review of his most recent book, Fighting Better.) In this essay, Lou presents the case that America can rise again, and that it is worth working towards that end, rather than cowering in a corner, putting our head in the sand, or leaving for places unknown (many of which are likely to be suffering from related crises).
Our readers have also recommended several articles that provide supporting perspectives on Lou's core argument — perspectives that remind us that there are limits to Trump's power and that there are a great many emerging efforts to push back against his excesses. These include Robert Reich's very similar blog post, entitled "Ten reasons for modest optimism," Jennifer Rubin's "Democracy is Fighting Back" and Erza Klein's "Don't Believe Him." We discuss each of these briefly after Lou's article.
For All the People
by Louis Kriesberg
February 21, 2025
America will rebuild its pollical institutions to serve democracy. It will take many years, and the new American society may have greater guard rails to make our democracy more secure. Even if it takes many years, it may be less racist than it ever was. Reliance on evidence-based information may be greater than ever. Furthermore, the extraordinary extreme wealth and income inequality may be reduced and poverty greatly lessened. All this will take a long time, but the backlash to the extraordinary breakdown of the U. S. Constitution has begun and is growing.
The United States of America had been characterized for centuries by the oppression of native peoples and enslaved African peoples. Only recently has such oppression been largely overcome. However, that progress has often been challenged. Most notably, a great Civil War was fought to end slavery. At the Gettysburg cemetery, Abraham Lincoln called upon the people to strive so that "government of the people, by the people, (and) for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Presently, the United States is again profoundly divided. The present division can be traced back to the responses to the economic depression, following the economic crash of 1929. That was countered by the New Deal of the Democratic Party lead by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Following World War II, the government, still led by the Democratic Party, took many measures to increase social and economic equality. Counter wise, the Republican Party generally sought to diminish the government and its egalitarian policies. That intensified and the Republican party ultimately was captured by a version of radical right-wing populist groups, dominated by Donald J. Trump. That party defeated the Democratic Party in presidential and congressional races in 2024.
Mr. Trump assumed unconstrained presidential powers, disregarding basic provisions of the Constitution. He acts out his wild ambitions, dismissing any laws and norms that might limit his actions. The country ‘s government has become “of, by, and (for)” only a few persons. Consequently, many people in the country are beginning to suffer a diminishment in their freedoms and their living conditions.
Non-violent resistance is growing to restore constitutional provisions and correct widely undesired policies. There are many non-violent forms of resistance which have been effectively pursued.1 They include recourse to the legal court process. Very many cases are underway and advancing to higher levels of courts. It is likely that many new governmental Trumpian policies will be found to be counter to long-standing law. In addition, public protest demonstrations are a common form of resistance. They are certainly underway at present. Resistance also is conducted by noncompliance to unwanted policies. Another important form of resistance is to persist in doing what is newly prohibited or newly prescribed. The great Polish Solidarity movement against Soviet rule was characterized by people “living like they were free.” Undoubtedly that was effective in Poland. It has been effective in America in gaining status equality by women and by LGBTQ people. It can be the case now, notably by people who had recently won greater equality.
In addition to these confrontational forms of resistance, resistance may take a more competitive form or even cooperative form. For example, proposing policies to prepare for and recover from the disasters of floods, hurricanes, and wild fires aside from global warming attributions may be attractive. Fostering improving conditions for workers may be promoted for the shared benefits of all family members and businesses can lessen antagonistic and divisive relations. This can be the case also in seeking more and better child care programs or raising minimum wages. Emphasizing the broadly shared benefits of increasing affordable housing and universal medical care also can be effective. Local civic groups or elements of the Democratic Party can pursue such strategies.
It seems to me that the Trumpian insistence on relying on bullying to create a government by, of, and for the very few will produce a terribly sad, impoverished, and shameful country.
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1 See Gene Sharp’s writing on non-violence, Joseph Nye on soft power, and Louis Kriesberg on constructive conflict.
Robert Reich's Blog Post: "Ten Reasons for Modest Optimism"
Reich starts out "Ten Reasons for Modest Optimism" similarly to Lou:
If you are experiencing rage and despair about what is happening in America and the world right now because of the Trump-Vance-Musk regime, you are hardly alone. A groundswell of opposition is growing — not as loud and boisterous as the resistance to Trump 1.0, but just as, if not more, committed to ending the scourge.
His ten reasons for optimism (which he documents with examples) are:
Boycotts are taking hold.
International resistance is rising.
Independent and alternative media are growing.
Musk’s popularity is plunging.
Musk’s DOGE is losing credibility.
The federal courts are hitting back.
Demonstrations are on the rise.
Stock and bond markets are trembling.
Trump is overreaching — pretending to be “king” and abandoning Ukraine for Putin.
The Trump-Vance-Musk “shock and awe” plan is faltering.
Reich ends his blog by saying:
Those of you who want the leaders of the Democratic Party to step up and be heard are right, of course. But political parties do not lead. The anti-war movement and the Civil Rights Movement didn’t depend on the Democratic Party for their successes. They depended on a mass mobilization of all of us who accepted the responsibilities of being American.
We will prevail because we are relearning the basic truth — that we are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.
Erza Klein: Don't Believe Him
Ezra Klein's article Don't Believe Him came out on Feb. 2, earlier than than Lou's and Reich's post, so he hadn't yet seen a lot of the resistance. His reason to hope is that he doesn't see Trump as nearly as powerful as he seems to be.
Trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality. He is hoping that perception then becomes reality. That can only happen if we believe him.
The flurry of activity is meant to suggest the existence of a plan. The Trump team wants it known that they’re ready this time. They will control events rather than be controlled by them. The closer you look, the less true that seems. They are scrambling and flailing already. They are leaking against one another already. ...
There is a subreddit for federal employees where one of the top posts reads: “This non ‘buyout’ really seems to have backfired. I’ll be honest, before that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell. But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible.” As I write this, it’s been upvoted more than 39,000 times and civil servant after civil servant is echoing the initial sentiment.
In Iowa this week, Democrats flipped a State Senate seat in a district that Trump won easily in 2024. The attempted spending freeze gave Democrats their voice back, as they zeroed in on the popular programs Trump had imperiled. Trump isn’t building support; he’s losing it. Trump isn’t fracturing his opposition; he’s uniting it.
Jennifer Rubin: The Democracy is Fighting Back
A similar theme was voiced in The Democracy is Fighting Back by Jennifer Rubin on February 5, who wrote that "many Democrats have been dismayed that their lawmakers in the House and Senate have not been more forceful in their response to unprecedented attacks on the Constitutional order. Nevertheless, the tide may be turning," she says. As evidence, she lists all the lawsuits that have at least temporarily halted Trump’s efforts to undo birthright citizenship, freeze federal funding, and enact countless other illegal and unconstitutional policies. Meanwhile she points out
Trump has accomplished practically nothing on two big promises. His attempt to enact consumer tax (tariff) on goods from Mexico and Canada was met with a storm of protest. After phony concessions from angered allies, Trump backtracked and put those consumer taxes on hold. And while he has staged showy immigration raids, the results have been meager.
She does lament that Democratic Senators have not used all the legislative tools available to them (for instance refusing unanimous consent and forcing quorum calls). But she says "If activists can push elected Democrats into action, the Musk-Trump steamroller may grind to a halt."
Guy and Heidi's Observations
We find all these arguments to be, indeed, "moderately hopeful," perhaps more so. We very much like Reich's ending that successful movements, be they anti-war movements, the civil rights movement, or a movement to save U.S. democracy, depends on the "mass mobilization of all of us who accept the responsibilities of being American." This was sort of echoed by Jennifer Rubin, although she didn't call for the mass mobilizations of all Americans, but only Democrats. That is problematic, we believe, because this needs to move beyond a partisan debate. Democracy, and America are being torn asunder for both Democrats and Republicans, and we are all suffering the consequences together. So it is time to start working together turn off the chain saws and start using collaborative tools to repair the damage done and build a country that is better than it was before.
We are in the process of working on a number of essays that will explore these and related ideas in detail. But briefly, we believe that the "responsibility of being an American" involves strongly believing in, supporting, and actively working for the basic values of Western liberal democracy. Among other things, liberal democracy should, as Abraham Lincoln said, be a "government of the people, by the people, for the people" — and this means ALL of the people. It most certainly should not be "a government by, of, and for the very few," as Lou asserts that Donald Trump is working toward. Nor should it be a "patrimonial system," which is the way Jonathan Rauch describes Trump's form of rule — a system in which the state is "little more than the extended ‘household’ of the ruler; it [does] not exist as a separate entity."
But, we would argue, it also cannot be a government, of, by, and for Democrats or progressives, leaving no place, or only a subservient place, for Republicans and conservatives. This is the kind of government Biden was trying to build with his "whole of government" DEI programs and the bifurcation of the country into "the oppressed" and "the oppressors" (with Democrats in the first group and Republicans in the second), as well as many other progressive causes that enraged the right. It was that kind of illiberalism that resulted in the election of Donald Trump, and it is the fear of the return of such illiberalism (together, no doubt, with a fear of Trump's wrath) that is keeping many people from raising up against what is clearly a disaster for America.
We urgently need to develop a vision for America in which everyone would want to live — an America, as Lou said in his title — for all the people. While we do urgently need to stop the Trump-Musk chain saw, we can't advocate going back to what we had before — a system in which Democrats steamrollered Republicans. We must develop a positive image of a democracy and a society to put in its place that a large majority of Americans can support and start working toward now. Fortunately, ideas of how this might be done are beginning to surface, coming from people on both the left and the right.
Several right-leaning commentators, for instance, agree that Trump is behaving in very dangerous and damaging ways, doing things that constitute a grave threat to democracy and the security of America and it citizens. Ruy Teixeira, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, for instance, says that Trump is "going too far, too fast," enacting policies that are far beyond what America voted for. But Teixeira's goal, along with several others with related proposals about how to move forward, is not to encourage or help U.S. society go back left. Rather, they want to push back against the most extreme and indefensible actions of the new administration, while also pushing back against the excesses of the previous one and the left more generally.
Similarly, in his February 12 article, George Will, a conservative columnist at the Washington Post, tries to help readers understand the things that both Democrats and Republicans have done over the years that have expanded the power of the Presidency in ways that have allowed Donald Trump to evade the kind of legislative and judicial oversight that our system of checks and balances was supposed to provide. As he looks at the massive societal transformations that Trump is unleashing, Will finds hope in the prospect that Congress and the Judiciary will, once again, assume their Constitutional role.
Similarly, Ruy Teixeira sees Trump's actions as regrettable responses to Democratic overreach and the Biden administration's many "whole of government" efforts to foster a deep state committed to advancing a wide range of progressive causes — causes that those on the right see as unfairly favoring Democratic constituencies at the expense of Republicans. For Teixeira, the key to defusing the current crisis is for Democrats to recognize and correct their excesses and try to cultivate a more broadly attractive vision for democracy — one that forsakes hyper-partisanship and tries to build a democracy in which we treat one another as we would like to be treated.
One example of such an effort is being articulated by Ro Khanna, a Democratic Congressional Representative from the Silicon Valley in California, in a strategy that far-right Republican Steve Bannon called "brilliant." Rather than defining themselves in opposition to Trump, Khanna wants the Democrats to focus on concrete and positive steps that will make everyone in America better off.
Our vision needs to be a much more democratic vision of innovation. It’s not Trump’s golden age for the few onstage at his inauguration or at Mar-a-Lago. It’s not a highly concentrated growth that comes at the expense of tens of millions of other Americans. It means growth, industry, opportunity in every last region, every last pocket, of America. It means vitality across the land. That’s who we have to be. That’s what we have to stand for.
This approach, we think, stands a reasonable chance of persuading many Trump supporters to move toward a new, more centrist populism that would actually do a better job of defending working-class interests than either Biden or Trump did or is doing. Rather than trying to overpower Trump and his supporters, this approach tries to persuade people that there really are better alternatives to Trump's extremism.
Though Trump likes to pretend he was elected by a "landslide," his victory was actually very thin, and the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate are thin as well. So it doesn't take many people to flip the script. If just ten percent of the people who voted for Trump decide that he isn't looking out for their interests, and their Congressional representatives aren't standing up to block Trump's harms, the story could turn dramatically in the next Congressional election.
Ruy Teixeira has very simple advice for Democrats: focus on policies that really will appeal to the working class and stay away from those that don't. This is an approach the tracks closely with what Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel recommends. It also tracks closely with our call for a vision of a democracy in which most people would want to live. As long as we frame our struggle as us-against-them, rather than us- together working to improve our communities, our states, and our country together, we are just adding fuel to Trump's chain saws. It's time to take that fuel away.
We will be writing more on this in coming days and months, and invite our readers to share your thoughts. But for the moment, we want to end on an upbeat note. Changing metaphors, while destruction appears to be raining down around us (and it is), umbrellas are coming out and efforts are beginning (metaphorically at least) to change the climate. We just need to work to change it in a way that is helpful for all, not bringing on even worse storms in the months and years ahead.
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Lead Graphic Credit: Drawing Created for this Post by ChatGPT.
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