Action Defending Democracy

In my blog of July 4, 2025 titled Action Defending Democracy, my focus was on the maxims for surviving and thriving authorianism that are set forth by Ruth Ben-Ghiat . These maxims are:

• Participate in non-violent protest in your writing, your work, at home, and on the streets
• Develop resilience for the long game – engage in things that bring you joy. Have fun with friends and family, keep hope alive.
• Use tools of opposition now, while you have them; they may not be available in the future. Speak out! Support those who are speaking out.
• Form communities, relationships and friendships with others, particularly with people who have a long history of dealing with discrimination and oppression.
• Model the values you want to see in the world.

It is now only three months since that post, and the challenges that we face continue to grow, with many people in our communities, particularly Brown and Black people, under attack, and with growing threats to our individual and collective health and well-being. We are not the only people in the world facing these horrendous challenges, but in the United States, the challenges are alarming becasue we have not faced them before. For anyone facing this kind of challenge, it is essential that people maintain awareness of what is happening in their own environment and around the world. But for our own health and well-being, we must focus on what we can do for our selves, our families, and our communities, and resist the temptation to fall into despair. As nurses, we can bring forth our disciplinary emancipatory and sociopolitical knowing in reflecting on the current situation, and consider things that we can engage in our everyday lives to resist frustration and despair. We can and must take action to protect those who are being harmed, and take action to care for ourselves.

In a recent conversation with my colleagues and friends Lucinda Canty and Lucy Mkandawire-Valhmu, we reflected the pure joy that we have experienced in our work together, and celebrated the release of our book – Knowledge Development in Nursing, 12th Edition. This book is a model of the values that we, as nurses, bring to the world – the processes of decolonizing nursing knowledge by honoring the traditions of all people of the world. Our publisher has been unwavering in supporting this work, which focuses on equity and social justice as a foundation for our discipline. For inspiration related to modeling your values, see Lucinda’s House, and Lucy’s blog post Allies and Advocates – Transforming Cultural Competence.

I have also been inspired by a widely distributed quote from Venice Williams posted on social media on November 26, 2024 – which expresses the resolve that remains at the heart of our actions defending democracy –

You are awakening to the same country you fell asleep to. The very same
country.

Pull yourself together. And, when you see me, do not ask me “What do we do
now? How do we get through the next four years?”

Some of my Ancestors dealt with at least 400 years of this under worse
conditions.
Continue to do the good work. Continue to build bridges not walls. Continue
to lead with compassion. Continue the demanding work of liberation for all.
Continue to dismantle broken systems, large and small.
Continue to set the best example for the children.
Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.
Continue right where you are. Right where you live into your days.

Do so in the name of The Creator who expects nothing less from each of us.
And if you are not “continuing” ALL of the above, in community,
partnership, collaboration? What is it you have been doing? What is it you
are waiting for?
~Venice Williams~.

So to all who visit Nursology.net and see this post – remember that nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. Resist despair by finding the “something” that you can do, and engage with others to keep your own health and well-being alive in this challenging time. Here is a video of Ruth Ben-Ghiat discussing her maxims for surviving and thriving – take a few minutes to be inspired!