It would be silly to pretend that 2025 was not among the most challenging years this country has faced in modern times. And because we are bracing ourselves for more of the same and maybe worse in 2026, many of us had muted New Year’s celebrations.

2025 was tough. It was painful. This was the year that America broke open.

Now the seedy interior of what lies within so many structures of power in our country has been revealed. It is not pretty. The weakness, the perfidy, the greed, the racism, the anti-semitism and Islamaphobia, the hatred of women, the perversion and indecency, the disregard for the intellectual, physical and spiritual safety of our children; the choice of nihilism over accountability, the absolute disinterest in the values of democracy. Sobering stuff, to be sure - even for those of us who have long known of the profound corruption that exists throughout some areas of government, business and law.

But this “breaking open” has revealed other qualities that live at the core of this country as well. And these we must celebrate. There are many good people in this country. So many of us have responded to this moment with determination and demand. So many of us have taken the time to lift up our families, our communities, great art and music, even our pets, in the midst of it all - putting love at the center of how we navigate this moment. I have deliberately taken time to look at what I’ve written this year, what I’ve accomplished, the loving and joyous moments I’ve experienced with family and friends, in spite of all the challenges.

I have been profoundly heartened by the decency, determination and resilience of so many across the country who have engaged in actions big and small - holding conventions, protesting and marching , challenging, using their cellphones and bodies to bear witness, making phone calls, voting, fighting back, speaking truth to power, praying, standing in the gap , starting boycotts , dancing in the face of trouble, teaching and learning, running, walking, reporting and litigating– all with the demand for justice and equality, and for what is right and true, and humane.

This too is America. And it is growing.

This may be an unpopular view, but I believe that our opponents are on the decline. You can feel it. They are no longer sure of themselves. Naturally this presents as intensified cruelty, racism, and irrational action. That is because cruelty and hate is not a belief system. It is an exhale, a howl of pain, of insecurity, of spiritual emptiness, and of arrested development. It can only be sustained by constant action. This is what lies at the heart of the daily barrage of terrible they keep churning out.

They need to perform their cruelty and hate in order to sustain the energy of their movement. They need to do things, and they need us to see them doing it. That is why there is something new every day - a relentless curriculum of activities to fuel their hollow movement.

But this is also why every time we stop them from action - by standing in their way, by securing judicial injunctions, when juries refuse to indict protesters, even when we just refuse to engage with them - it throws them into confusion. How else to explain the unhinged reaction to the refusal of some of our best artists to perform at the Kennedy Center after Trump added his name to the building.

Yes, they have been relentless. But we have done well by remaining focused on three or four issues, with a little wiggle room to respond to the latest outrage. I am of the belief that we should hold on tenaciously to the third rail issues for Trump – the ones that seem to unravel his focus, his syntax, and those around him. Right now it is the Epstein files and the just-released Congressional testimony of Jack Smith. Don’t let either of these go. Some will say, “let’s move on.” Don’t. Already the Epstein files and Trump’s shameless effort to block their full release has begun to fracture Trump’s congressional coalition. More is on the way. And if I’m reading the earliest reviews of Smith’s testimony correctly, many people in Congress will have some explaining to do it. It will be good to demand answers of these representatives just as they are preparing for primary elections in the Spring.

I have long been of the belief that we focus too much on Trump. We need to force cracks in their front, separation among their troops. We would do well to remind ourselves that Trump’s worst excesses are only possible because of supine Republican leadership in the House and Senate, and his cabinet members, aided by lawyers in the DOJ and other departments, who have abandoned any semblance of ethical leadership.

Impeachment is a readily available tool for cabinet members who abuse power. Democrats are not in control of either chamber of course, but reminding the public that these are impeachable offenses holds the line on the standard of conduct we have the right to expect and demand from sworn government officials - whether or not the electorate “voted for this.” Approval of the public does not absolve illegal or unethical conduct. And most of the public does not approve of these excesses.

Likewise, lawyers are bound by a code of conduct in the jurisdictions where there are admitted and where they practice. Just as Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Jeffrey Clark, and other Trump lawyers learned, membership in our profession demands a standard of professionalism that cannot be surrendered to political loyalty. AG Pam Bondi, AAG Todd Blanche, former DOJ attorney, now federal circuit court judge Emil Bove and others may soon learn the same.

It is true that the Supreme Court will have an outsize influence on how things unfold this year. Frankly, there are several cases before the Court this term that will be consequential to determining whether we will be left with enough of a constitutional infrastructure from which we can fight and overcome authoritarianism, and build a stronger and healthier democracy post-Trump. Among those are: 1) Trump v. Barbara, the case challenging President Trump’s Executive Order that seeks to carve out exceptions to the 14^th Amendment guarantee of birthright citizenship; 2) Louisiana v. Callais, the case that will determine whether and how racist redistricting maps can be remedied; 3) Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, , the case challenging Trump’s invocation of emergency powers to impose erratic, arbitrary and extreme tariffs on foreign nations ; 4) Trump v. Slaughter, the case challenging President Trump’s effort to fire the heads of independent, multi-member federal agencies; 5) Watson v. Republican National Committee, the case arising from Mississippi, where the validity of mail-in ballots that arrive after polls close on Election Day is being challenged; and 6) Trump v. Illinois, the case challenging the deployment by the President of National Guard troops in Illinois. Trump suffered a stunning loss in that case on the emergency docket just before Christmas. But a review on the merits will not reach the Court until later this year. And Trump may raise the stakes by attempting to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploying active members of the military (rather than National Guard) to control and intimidate “blue” cities.

Some people think that because the Supreme Court will decide these cases there is nothing for ordinary Americans to do. After all, brilliant lawyers are litigating the cases. But the justices are very much aware of the national zeitgeist, of criticisms, and of public discourse about the cases before them. As we saw last week when Justice Kavanaugh attempted to walk back the zealous and dangerous concurring opinion he issued in Noem v. Vazquez-Perdomo, . Kavanaugh’s Vazquez Perdomo opinion, which appeared to approve racial profiling by ICE agents, gave birth to the viral circulation of the term “Kavanaugh stops” on social media, to describe the brutal and racist interdictions by DHS authorities. Kavanaugh sought to “clarify” his position in a footnote in Trump v. Illinois, insisting that racial profiling is of course unconstitutional.

Ordinary Americans can help shape the environment in which these cases are reviewed and decided. Every video showing the abuses perpetrated by ICE agents on citizens and migrants alike matters. The justices may be cut off from much of this information – especially those who appear to have a Fox News habit. But their clerks are not. And even if it is only to provide a stronger hand for the “democracy wing” of the Court (I’ve decided that that is what they should be called rather than the “liberal wing”), your efforts to put critical information into the public matters.

You can also support the organizations doing the most consequential litigation including, Democracy Forward, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Democracy Docket, Casa of Maryland, the ACLU, CREW and others.

We must also remember that we still have the ability to influence the passage of local legislation. The recently enacted mask ban for law enforcement in California is an example. Petitioning local courts to bar ICE arrests in courthouses is another. Local ordinances and state laws providing special protections for churches and public libraries or day care centers and schools, may also be avenues ripe for local activism.

Protecting our own neighborhoods and community must remain a priority. The bold resistance of Chicagoans to the effort to kidnap and disappear neighbors and community members has set a powerful example for all of us for how we can stand-up as ordinary citizens. As the weather gets colder, ICE and other DHS officials will attempt to enter buildings more than before. We should understand what our rights are as it relates to access to our homes, our businesses, libraries, and schools.

Lastly, mutual aid will become more important as the effects of job losses, the end of healthcare subsidies, retaliatory cessation of funds to blue states, and inflation, intensifies. Churches, temples, gurudwaras, other houses of worship, and grassroots organizations must play a key role in ensuring that people in their communities have food, a roof over their heads and heat to survive the winter.

Yes, this year there is much we must do. But 2025 taught us that we can do it. We know that tens of millions may acquiesce, but we also know that many millions more will fight.And the stakes are too high for us to give up.

Two final notes. First, remember that Democratic and Republican Primary Elections for the House of Representatives begin in some states in March. That is eight weeks away. Check Ballotpedia for all of your election information for federal, statewide, and local offices. https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page

Second, this past November’s election was indeed a “blue wave.” If you elected some candidates you like in that election, beginning in January, support them, hold their feet to the fire, offer your assistance, attend their meetings, get their number in your phone on speed dial. Stay engaged. Supporting an official should require almost as much work as opposing one. Start doing citizenship differently than you’ve done it in the past. Election Day was just the beginning.

Lastly, hold on to your spiritual and emotional core - especially now when we are tired after a year of relentless attacks. Keep your sense of humor. Do not isolate. Occupy public places - libraries, parks, ice skating rinks, concerts and festivals. Touch base with friends and family often. Share family stories and photos with the kids. Exercise. Read books. Get what vaccinations you can. Keep bottled water in the house. Sleep. Buy a satellite radio. Stock up on batteries.

Most of all, believe that we can do this.

Wishing us all a healthy and democracy-restoring New Year!