Write Your Representatives

Below is a letter I sent to my elected representatives. It's been a work-in-progress for about two weeks, but finally came together after the events of this President's Day weekend. Please feel free to copy, paraphrase, mangle, or use as-is.

Whatever you do: write your elected.

Senator Wyden and Representative Bonamici,

I want to begin by thanking you for your service. You have taken on an extraordinarily difficult duty in unprecedented times. I believe it is important to acknowledge that we, the voters, recognize the immense challenges you face. Our democracy, our Constitution, and our very way of life are under assault, and you are fighting against tyranny using the limited tools our Constitution provides. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to battle against an opposition that disregards the rulebook while you strive to uphold it. In normal times, we could expect nothing more than what you are already giving—but these are not normal times.

While I was unable to attend Senator Wyden’s recent town hall, I did attend Representative Bonamici’s on February 17th. This was just hours after I stood with protesters at the "Not My President's Day" demonstration organized by 50501 in front of our state capitol. At the town hall, I heard echoed many of the same concerns expressed by those protestors. I know you hear these frustrations, and I know you understand that your constituents are scared. You are intelligent, capable leaders, but I also understand that you may not have all the answers. Nevertheless, I want to reiterate what I heard from the people in my own words.

Representative Bonamici repeatedly urged people to continue calling, writing, and emailing, emphasizing that these communications serve as valuable ammunition when dealing with your colleagues across the aisle in D.C. However, I don’t believe that message fully acknowledged the underlying sentiment: many of us no longer believe that is enough. I live in a blue district, represented by a blue congresswoman and a blue senator, and yet my children are coming home from school asking about hateful rhetoric they’ve never encountered before. Neighbors are afraid to leave their homes. Friends worry they may soon lose access to life-saving medication for their children. On darker days, they fear for their children's very safety. I fear for my adult daughter’s future and well-being. Every day, we see images of children torn from their families, of women trapped in a foreign hotel holding signs that beg for their lives, knowing that their imminent deportation means certain death. This is already a life-and-death crisis for millions, and it is only getting worse.

This is our reality. I understand that writing, calling, and donating to the ACLU can make a difference. Indeed, I am writing to you now, so I have not entirely lost hope. But as one commenter at Senator Wyden’s town hall pointed out, the time to for these actions may have already passed. Representative Bonamici faced criticism for not being more forceful at the Department of Education, with some even calling for her to take direct, violent action. I do not fault her for choosing peaceful protest over reckless confrontation. However, that does not mean there are no alternatives. Imagine if she had taken out her phone, started recording, loudly declaring that she was documenting violations of constitutional law, and publicly identifying every officer involved. We must get in their faces. We must make them uncomfortable. Now is the time for peaceful yet unyielding activism. If we continue on the same, well worn path, all is already lost. We must fight fire with fire—without sinking to the opposition’s lowest common denominator.

No battle is too small.

The political losses we have already suffered have caused irreversible damage to international relationships, global stability, and the health and safety of countless people. Some of these wounds will persist for generations. Even if Trump were imprisoned tomorrow, I doubt the damage he has done could be undone in my lifetime or my children’s. It is easy to focus only on the most glaring issues and repeat statements like "chaos is the point," but within that chaos, dangerous precedents are taking root. Consider, for example, the executive order ending the production of the penny. On its surface, this might seem inconsequential, but if left unchallenged, it sets a dangerous precedent—one that allows the executive branch to nullify congressionally mandated responsibilities. If a president can arbitrarily halt currency production, what stops him from declaring that the Department of Education should exist in name only, with zero functional responsibility? Every single battle matters.

There can be no complacency. No action taken by this administration should be allowed to stand unchallenged. Small, insidious precedents pave the way for larger, more dangerous ones. People are already dying. If these precedents become normalized, Congress may lose all power entirely—at which point even more people will die. This is not the time for compromise. This is not the time to choose our battles. Ideally, Congress would bring all legislative work to a standstill until the rule of law is restored. At Representative Bonamici’s town hall, a constituent pleaded with her to block the upcoming Continuing Resolution until the executive branch complies with the law. That seems like the bare minimum. I acknowledge that the minority party has limited tools, but Republicans have mastered the art of obstruction. Learn from them. I know Senator Wyden opposes the filibuster, but when no other tool remains, perhaps petty obstruction is the only available recourse to save lives. Nothing should pass either chamber until the traitors are held accountable. Every inch we cede now enables further atrocities later.

I want to conclude with this: At the town hall, people repeatedly asked what they could do. While I was in Salem, I saw countless protest signs—some humorous, some dark, many outright grim. One recurring theme stood out: references to guillotines and the French Revolution. Take heed—people will not sit idly by while our country is gutted for the benefit of a handful of oligarchs. Democratic leadership is being asked—begged—to provide real, actionable direction. In the absence of strong leadership, people will organize themselves, and history has shown what happens when desperate populations take matters into their own hands. I am not a pacifist; in fact, I firmly believe that opposing fascism—by any means necessary—is patriotic. However, I truly hope it does not come to that. If you genuinely believe there is a nonviolent path to restoring liberty and justice, then now is the time to act. People are ready and willing to do more than send emails and make phone calls—they need to be more involved. I am begging you to help channel this energy productively before it is too late.

We have one chance to get this right. Please, do not waste it.