January 2026

As I was driving on unfamiliar streets on a recent trip, I thought about how much I rely on other drivers to follow the same traffic rules that I do. I assume, as I approach a 4-way stop, that almost all of the time, the other cars will also stop and let whoever got there first go through in an orderly manner. I realize I still have to look both ways and check, but I have a fair degree of confidence that I will be safe if I proceed as I have been taught.

We have certain societal and cultural norms that make life safer and more pleasant. If every car drove at whatever speed the driver wanted, and used whichever lane they liked best, and approached intersections in unpredictable ways, I would be terrified to go out. It helps all drivers, as well as pedestrians and cyclists, to have some predictability in our behavior. For my life so far, this has been a given. People who drive have to pass a written and a road test and have a valid license to operate safely in a community. While not 100% reliable, and while there are some bad drivers who are inattentive or under the influence of alcohol or illness, these are the exceptions.

Likewise, air safety relies on pilots understanding and obeying air traffic controllers. If planes tried to take off and land wherever and however they chose, air travel would be extremely unsafe and impractical.

But now, with the Trump administration in office, many of my assumptions about societal norms have been challenged. I thought it was not acceptable to use certain words in public, especially if one is a public figure. When I see the president saying “F* you” to a heckler, and then White House press office saying it was an appropriate response, it bothers me. I could go through a litany of norm-shattering incidents in the past year, from Cabinet officers lying to members of House and the Senate during formal hearings; to pardoning convicted violent criminals and drug smugglers; to removing historically accurate information from official websites and museums; to destroying public health protections and undermining safe medical practices.

The current administration is so far removed from the realities of day-to-day life that they can’t see the damage they are doing. The president’s motorcade can ignore traffic signals. He travels in an armored limousine with Secret Service vehicles surrounding it. He doesn’t have to worry about someone running a red light.  When Air Force One or the government planes used by senior officials take flight, they get priority over everyone else and can operate on their own schedule and with their own rules. They don’t have to endure flight delays or circling an airport waiting for a gate to become available.

Each individual act has consequences that I don’t like. Together they undermine our fundamental societal structure.  Our governmental system operates based, in principle, on the people giving consent to chosen individuals to wield power on our behalf – of the people, for the people. When those in power recognize or fear that the people no longer consent or support the actions they are taking, they resort to lying, misinformation, withholding files, stonewalling court orders, and ultimately violence against citizens, in order to hold onto the power they were initially granted. This is very dangerous.

And so, on MLK Day, I express gratitude to all who are standing up for what is real, for what is right, and using what power and privilege we have to push back on these dangerous behaviors, policies, and practices. We still have power. We need to use it to vote, but that isn’t enough. We need to step up now, to keep stepping up now, before it gets worse. Kudos to those in frigid Minnesota who are resisting illegal ICE kidnappings and violence. Kudos to all of us who have stood on street corners with signs and slogans and chants. Kudos to all who have been able to provide funding to legal resistance efforts and to provide food and support to families impacted by ICE raids. We need to keep it up, make it bigger, and just say “NO” as loudly as we can to so-called leaders who are putting their personal insecurities, dementia, power lust, and egos above the needs of the people they purport to serve. May it be so.