REFLECTION: Practicing Resistance

PRACTICING RESISTANCE, our congregational theme for the month of January, is a challenging subject that has many aspects you can explore in this month's PRACTICING RESISTANCE ministry packet. In this time of political turmoil, however, I invite you to read about my own practicing-resistance journey, and also to explore what path your resistance practice has taken you so far, and where you might want to go with it in the future.

January 20, 2017: Inauguration Day:

Despite my *considerations*, I had placed myself among the UUSMers who had gathered in Beck Hall to pick up protest signs. (Our signs back then were very idealistic – Black Lives Matter, Love is Love, Science is Real, Kindness is Everything.) Then we headed over to El Camino Real to wave signs and demonstrate our extreme displeasure about Donald J. Trump having just become president of the United States.

A San Mateo Daily News photographer captured this image of us that landed on front page of the weekend edition:

Why did I have *considerations*? Expressing resistance in public had always been foreign to my nature. Both of my parents were raised by Jewish immigrants who had escaped the late-19th/early-20th century political instability of Eastern Europe that included murderous pogroms against Jews. My parents taught me that safety could best be found by keeping our heads down, being quiet and well-behaved citizens, and avoiding displays of Jewish identity among non-Jews. (Wearing a Star of David or a Chai still feels risky to me; a UU chalice seems far safer.)

And so, that day in 2017 was the very first time I had ever engaged in political protest about anything! What made it feel safe to stand up for my beliefs was not just the necessity of the moment, although that was certainly a strong motivator. The main reason I became able to practice resistance is that I did not have to stand alone. In 2017, my beloved congregation was standing right beside me, but it took eight more years before I finally found the social-justice warrior that lives inside me.

It happened last spring when I discovered Indivisible San Mateo, the local chapter of a nationwide movement of neighbors dedicated to preserving democracy and standing up for the rule of law. With a bit of encouragement, I joined the nationwide "Hands Off!" day of action on April 5, 2025, during which millions protested the second Trump administration's proposed cuts to our country's social safety net programs. It felt a bit peculiar – and kinda scary – for me to be waving "Hands Off" signs for all the world to see, but there were literally thousands of people marching right beside me, doing the same thing!

"[N]one of us have to resist alone," Rev. Scott Tayler explains in this month's PRACTICING RESISTANCE Overview. "[W]e certainly need [to be] pushed and prodded…. But maybe what we need most is to be reassured…that when the road gets too treacherous and the forces against us grow too big, others will be by our side. Maybe it's not more courage that is required, but more connection."

It was at Indivisible San Mateo's meeting the following month that I first heard protest songs being played and sung by a group of musicians who called themselves the Freedom Strummers. I immediately asked if I could join the group by playing my ukulele and singing, and I was welcomed with open arms. I wanted to contribute to Indivisible San Mateo and find my place in the resistance; becoming a member of Freedom Strummers enabled me to combine my love of music with my desire to practice resistance in connection with others. And ever since, this way of practicing resistance has been an integral part of my life.

Here I am, strumming and singing with the Freedom Strummers at the No Kings Protest on June 14, 2025.

It's important for each of us to find the right way to practice resistance, especially given the current political environment. In an article entitled Archetypes of Resistance, published last January in Self & Society, Jungian psychotherapist Satya Doyle Byock explains that we are currently engaged in a "long-haul battle" to save "democracy, humanity, and very basic human decency."

But what's the best way for YOU to participate? "We will each be called to rise to the challenge of finding that intersection between self and society that best reflects who we are," Byock declares. "In trying to make sense of my best role, I’ve been pondering…the ancient roles that go into the enduring work of transformation, peace, equality, and freedom…." She identifies 20 archetypes of resistance (and says there may be more), suggesting we use her list to determine how our skills and personalities can be applied to the challenges we face. "No single role is superior or more important than any other," Byock points out. "Each person has a part to play in the larger work."

Please consider clicking the link for Byock's article, so you can review her 20 archetypes in detail and see the names of people whose behavior exemplifies each archetype. For purposes of this reflection, however, here is a summary of Byock's archetypes (omitting quotation marks that would make this summary difficult to read): 

• The Healer provides medical services, defends public health, and protects us in body and spirit. 

• The Musician helps us process emotions, lifts our spirits, translates pain into something we need to hear, and creates a rallying cry to motivate change.

• The Cook provides food to sustain bodies and beings at any scale (church, home, restaurant, refugee camp), recognizing that community and connection are part of the assignment.

• The Neighbor helps to hold the community together by being available to offer a cup of tea, an ear, a meal, or even a bed.

• The Observer witnesses what is unfolding and records it for the rest of us – for the present and the future – so it doesn't happen in the dark.

• The Civil Servant works courageously on the front lines of politics, speaking truth to power and defending our institutions.

• The Orator clarifies the mission and encourages the work, pointing us in the right direction and offering hope and inspiration.

• The Benefactor provides the money and reliable financial support the movement needs, sometimes in a public role but often hidden and at great risk.

• The Keeper of Law exists at every level of the system, protecting the most vulnerable, defending immigrants, voting rights and the Constitution.

• The Prophet watches out for our future by gathering information and putting it together in ways we cannot yet see.

• The Wisdom Keeper protects our cultural treasures for the future, and also makes them available to us for information and inspiration in the present.

• The Leader orients us toward integrity and morality in the scariest of times, modeling that for the rest of us – all without being invested in fame or prestige.

• The Writer shares the news clearly and factually, helping us not only stay oriented to reality but also to the deeper callings required by change.

• The Defender may carry weapons to protect our institutions and communities, but may also be a savior who knows when to put the guns down.

• The Seed Keeper thinks about the future, protecting what needs to be protected, saving seeds for harvest or acting as seeds themselves by going underground to protect knowledge.

• The Code Maker can communicate without the risk of being heard or hacked when public information networks can't be trusted, passing information safely along where it needs to go.

• The Artist inspires and serves the soul by transforming grief into beauty, creating in the face of destruction.

• The Organizer knows what needs to be done, taps into networks of care and support, and helps us get educated and organized.

• The Underground Guide protects vulnerable people, creatures, and resources without ever being known or seen, building networks of trust and communication.

• The Soul-Tender helps us replenish our spirits by tapping into the spiritual and non-rational spaces that convey hope, despite the realities we face.

So what is your role in the resistance? What is the place where your self and our society intersect, so that your skills and personality can best be applied to that "enduring work of transformation, peace, equality, and freedom"?

Regardless of the role you choose, one thing's for certain: you will not have to practice resistance alone.

…it starts when you care

to act, it starts when you do

it again and they said no,

it starts when you say We

and know who you mean,

and each day you mean one more.

– Marge Piercy, from The Low Road

Seeking a deeper dive into PRACTICING RESISTANCE?

Check out the one-page PRACTICING RESISTANCE Overview,

and the complete PRACTICING RESISTANCE ministry packet.