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Don’t miss my recent post that has already reached thousands: Trump's "Authoritarian Offensive" Is Official (Thanks, Experts): What the Pundits Are Still Missing. People are living through authoritarian harm daily while experts debate. Understanding these harm patterns is how we protect ourselves, support each other, and prepare for what comes next.
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What you’re about to hear is an AI-generated conversation between two virtual voices, integrating ideas from this recent post:
This is part of an experiment — offering a way to absorb this work through dialogue, not just text.
The conversation pulls directly from my writing, but it’s designed to help you engage with the ideas differently—slower, more reflectively, maybe more personally.
I’m sharing this as a way to make the strategy and the emotion more accessible. I’d love to know if it’s useful.
Remember: Stay human. Stay strategic. Shape tomorrow.
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Paywalls begin in June. Right now, I’m offering 50% off annual subscriptions through the end of May. That’s just $25 for a whole year of content! Tell all your contacts who care about staying human, strategic, and motivated in the face of systemic harms. Forward this link to anyone. https://paultshattuck.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=6aba5ba3
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Strategies for Staying Human in the Face of Authoritarianism
If you’re looking for practices, tools, and deeper reading to help you stay grounded under pressure, this growing list is for you. It includes some of my previous posts and a section for other resources. These are starting points for staying human in hard times.
My Posts
Stay Human: 80 Tiny Moves for Everyday Resistance in the Authoritarian Harm Complex. What if staying human is one of the most powerful and most unappreciated forms of resistance? Shaping tomorrow and defeating tyranny takes more than big protest events and macro strategies.
Stay Sane: 80 Tiny Moves to Resist Digital Despair and News Overwhelm in the Trump Era. Tiny moves live in the terrain between hypervigilance and retreat. They keep us agile and motivated.
Staying Human Now #1: Start Where You Are. Authoritarian harm is real. So is your capacity to respond. These three tiny moves help you pace yourself with purpose.
Staying Human Now #2: Define Your Waypoints. Confusion is the tactic. Navigation is the countermeasure. This tiny move helps you plan your own path.
Staying Human Now #3: The Connection You Forgot You Needed. Authoritarian chaos thrives on disconnection. This tiny move helps you rebuild the ties that keep you human.
What It Means to Stay Human in the Trump Era. Staying Human Now #4 - Trump’s actions are engineered to grind us down. Staying human is a key resistance strategy.
From Authoritarian Harm to Clarity of Purpose. Looking Beyond Resistance: What if Our Collective Pain is Pointing to the Better Future Worth Fighting For?
Befriend Yourself: A Strategy for Staying Whole While They Dismantle Everything That Matters. Trump and Musk want to disappear you into a cell of despair. Kindness to yourself is how you stay human—and begin your escape.
When They Gut Your Mission: Start Here…. You’re still standing. That means you get to choose where to go next.
Blogs I recommend and have subscriptions to
Assembly Notes by Stacey Abrams. Yes, THE Stacey Abrams is now on Substack! What are you waiting for? Subscribe!
The Female Body Politic. Historian Lorissa Rinehart guides us through “deep dives into 250 years of women’s participation in American politics as well as analysis of contemporary events using this historical lens.” Take a break from hot takes designed to trigger you. Go for a deep dive instead.
Invisible Threads. Veteran journalist Kate Woodsome is pioneering coverage at the intersection of democracy and mental health.
The American Pamphleteer. “Because freedom won’t fight for itself—but together, we sure as hell can. Subscribe for bold, unfiltered takes on resisting fascism, building real community, and living with guts in chaotic times.“
How To Resist. Great blog about sustainable ways to remain engaged in activism and mutual aid.
Chop Wood, Carry Water. This blog is full of daily advice to take action and stay motivated.
Your Time Starts NOW. If you like my content then you’ll love these posts by Lori Corbet Mann. Their tag line “Practical tools and strategies to help you stay steady in turbulent times” reminds me of my own “Tools, insight, and inspiration for people doing good work in hard times.”
Slow Fox Life. I’m loving the posts here. They exude humanity and steadiness. And isn’t that what we all need right now?
Other Resources
ACT for Moral Distress, online course by Dr. Jaimie Lusk. “Navigate moral distress with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a powerful evidence-based treatment that allows us to hold our pain while taking valued actions.”
In Tumultuous Times, Think Like a Hostage. “Guidance given to hostages can foster psychological flexibility in tough times.” Very clever article by Dr. Jaimie Lusk.
Please drop additional suggestions for resources in Comments
My Consulting Services
Need a new strategic plan that protects your mission and your funding during hard times? I help mission-driven professionals and progressive organizations cultivate agility and resilience to navigate moral injury, authoritarian drift, and institutional harm without losing their purpose or humanity. Service include:
Strategic plan revisions to meet the moment.
Fundraising and communications.
Developing resilient data systems to track unmet needs and the downstream harms resulting from authoritarian aggression.
Let’s talk. Direct message me to start the conversation. Or request a consultation using my website’s contact form: Progressive Strategy Now website
***From Progressive Strategy Now, a publication of Paul T Shattuck LLC. The views expressed here reflect my personal analysis as a researcher and consultant, and do not represent the positions of any employer, clients, or affiliated organizations.
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