Am I afraid? Yes. Am I helpless? No, and neither are you.

In fact, the more of us who work together against the tribalism, the hate, and the attacks on our rights and our democracy, the more we can get done. And in Oklahoma, we have to work doubly hard.

Let’s start by being kind, and not just to those who believe as we do about politics, religion, or human rights. Kindness isn’t backing down. It’s being civil, starting conversations, and trying to understand why others believe as they do. Finding common ground is a good place to start.

There are answers we may have missed. It’s hard to notice the stock market’s records when you can’t afford housing. It’s hard to see the truth when you are working two jobs and have no time to read the news. It’s even harder when you’ve been led to believe that the media is lying to you.

Sometimes the media does lie. Sometimes they just don’t report on the truth. Why didn’t we hear more about Biden’s successes?

The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq have reached one record high after another in 2024, but there are opinion writers who want you to believe that the stock market has done well because investors believe Trump will be good for the stock market. I hope he can be, but it is the Biden economy that’s driven the records this year.

Economists are worried that tariffs will raise prices. Conservationists are worried that getting rid of regulations will hurt our already-hurting climate.

Worry won’t fix the problems. Worry won’t stop our governor from pushing tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and reduce aid to the poor. Worry won’t stop Ryan Walter’s assaults on public education. Instead of worrying, we have to take action.

Find out where you’re needed. Some of us have time to spare. Maybe we can be a reading buddy or tutor. Some of us have money we can contribute to local causes. Maybe we can contribute to the local food pantry. Some of us have the ability to connect to people. One underused skill is the ability to listen, to find out why people make the choices they do.

We can’t change the outcome of the presidential election, but we can help the people who will be hurt by Trump’s policies, even those who voted for him. We can let our elected officials know how we are affected by their policies.

None of us can do everything, but we can all do something. Let’s get started.