Meeting this moment

Five years ago, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, the popular music group the "Dixie Chicks" changed their name to "the Chicks." Their explanation for dropping the word "Dixie," long associated with the Confederate South, was simple: "We wanted to meet this moment," they wrote on their website.

I think often of that short, sweet statement and what it might require of me. I, too, want to meet this moment. But what does that mean in practice? How do we meet this moment?

1. We change - If we can learn anything from the Chicks, it is that sometimes a moment demands a change, even of something that has long been cherished - like the name of their band. I'm sure that it meant one thing to those who were members of the band, and something quite else to others. In changing the name, they recognized that it was associated with a painful and unjust period in American history that was not aligned with their values. In this moment, we are all being asked to change, in one way or another. As for me, I have long been quiet about my own political views and experiences. I have subscribed to a "to each their own" mentality. But I don't think that is acceptable in this climate, when my own minding of my business enables corruption, authoritarianism, and unjust outcomes for immigrants and others.
2. We know what moment we are in - The Chicks knew what to do because they were paying attention to what was going on in society. And we must do the same. It is time to admit that the present moment is not business as usual. In just two months we have seen unqualified people put in positions of leadership over security agencies that exercise government surveillance, the removal of decorated JAG lawyers that are meant to constrain our armed forces and protect American citizens, the gutting of federal agencies for keeping us safe and for sponsoring research to advance human knowledge, absolutely massive proposed tax cuts for the wealthy, conflicts of interest in government contracts by the very people supposedly evaluating contracts for conflicts of interest and waste, the looting of private property, the illegal deportation of legal residents, targeting of immigrant student activists who speak out about Israel's war in Gaza, executive orders targeting the judiciary and law firms that do not bend the knee, and a Congress that refuses to meet this moment. In this country the separation of powers has been eroded to the point of irrelevance. We have a country hurtling toward fascism at an alarming rate and a number of fellow citizens cheering it on.
3. Clear is kind - I had a friend who was in an abusive relationship once. I had trouble believing some of the stories that she told me, so I often found myself calling her husband's behavior "crazy." What I failed to realize was that my friend had been so gaslit that she needed clearer language in order to understand her situation. The term crazy just shared in my friend's confusion, it did not illuminate it. When a mutual older friend of ours got involved, she immediately told my friend she was being abused and that she absolutely had to leave her relationship. My own response had been too muddled to help my friend see her situation clearly. I am remembering the lesson I learned from this. In our current situation we need to be clear: our democracy is on the line. We need to express urgency to others about the situation. The present situation is not "crazy." It is "an attack on fundamental institutions of democracy." Be clear when you describe what is going on. People around you respect your opinion and want to know what you think.