Columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz: Still more heavy lifting

Daniel Cantor Yalowitz

Published: 07-07-2025 6:30 AM

The fight continues as the battle rages. In my lifetime, I have never seen nor experienced such bifurcation in politics and between and within our political “parties.” It all seems and feels unending, and who knows what (bad) news lurks just around the corner, pregnant and waiting for the release of the next news cycle? Am I the only one out there who feels exhausted and exasperated? The never-ending element of all this “news” has begun to feel like being forced to watch — and live — in that iconic Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. Over and over we go, doomed in a way to recapitulate all that happened yesterday again today until, and if, we learn and integrate our lessons into our lives.

What all of this requires is an attitude of fortitude and active engagement, perseverance, and a no-quit laser focus. This is hard work, “trench work” — no doubt about that. And we cannot persevere in isolation. Part of what keeps me going is the knowing that others around me are in this struggle deeply and with full-on commitment. When I tell myself “it’s too much for me,” I’ve learned to translate that message into “time to check in and support/receive support” from like-minded colleagues and friends.

We’re in the biggest fight of our lives: maintaining, even restoring democracy, bringing back kindness, mindfulness and respect. In addition, I believe we need to rebuild DEI, show our staunch support for our immigrant and LGBTQ+ and other “minority” neighbors, and offer out a ubiquitous and rambunctious “say no to all the lies” that emanate from Washington — wherever else our president and his team move, speak, and seek all the ego-glories of round-the-clock media coverage that they twist to their favor. The stakes couldn’t be higher, so much is in play while also being totally out-of-bounds with legal and ethical protocols. This is bigger than any one of us, and it can become unbearable to face each on a daily basis if we dwell and stew only in our own cubicles and mini-orbits.

“Heavy lifting”: this means doing the work of protest, extending our agency, voicing our outrage without violence, reading, researching, and looking squarely at straight facts — and being ceaseless in demonstrating an unwavering commitment to sanity, peace, and care for our fellow humans, the animal world, and our precious planet. All that we can do— and are doing — must be ramped up beyond all that we’ve experienced and observed. This means finding and rejuvenating and reinvigorating our resilience every day and being emotionally prepared to carry on despite the shock, disbelief, and incredulousness about how this administration is hell-bent in breaking us down in all ways heretofore thought impossible. In short, we are not living in “life is normal” times, and perhaps we’ll not find that sense of safety, trust, and security that seemed to once be alive if not thriving in all our communities.

Translated, this means serving and acting as much as possible as active (not passive) bystanders. Need (new) ideas? Become an enactor of “Making Good Trouble” (the late and great John Lewis) by interrupting the mis-truths, the manipulations and omissions of fact. Stand up and speak out (with others, whenever possible) against criminalizing and deporting persons who have every right to be here and live in peace. Write letters to the editor, pen a My Turn, attend a local meeting and speak your piece, ask questions. Put a sign in your window stating what matters most to you, and/or stand out publicly with that or another sign. Call or write a local leader or politician to express the full strength of your feelings. We need to arm ourselves with education — read, listen, learn. But do not believe everything, research more, ask penetrating and incisive questions of those whom we know and trust.

Keep it going! And know this … this is not and will never be easy or comfortable. Seek solace and support with others — they are your and my “go-to’s” who help to keep us in line and on track when things get to feeling bleak and dark and gloomy (which could be any and every day at this point). If this begins to sound like a laundry or shopping list — it isn’t: somewhere nearby, someone’s life and way(s) of being are being harmed, taken away, or broken.

Heavy lifting is still heavy, emotionally, physically, even interpersonally, but it is less so if we know we’re not alone. That call or conversation with a neighbor, a columnist, a city councilor, even a passer-by — they all have the potential to matter and make a positive difference. We can no longer depend solely on others to be the difference-makers: to maintain our livelihoods and our values, we must each find our way “in.” Interrupt, desist, resist, stand up, speak out: all are free tools at our disposal — for now. Without fervent ongoing action, these rights may be stripped away sooner than later. To spin the phrase for a moment, heavy lifting will make us stronger, together.

Daniel Cantor Yalowitz writes a regular column in the Recorder. A developmental and intercultural psychologist, he has facilitated change in many organizations and communities around the world. His two most recent books are “Journeying with Your Archetypes” and “Reflections on the Nature of Friendship.” Reach out to him at danielcyalowitz@gmail.com.

Article continues after...