Hidden in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas, an impossible distance from any interstate, a little town with curving streets and Victorian houses sits —nestled in the hills like a treasure on a ley line. Since before the white settlers, the magic and grace of this valley moved native tribes to declare it a war-free zone. After whites arrived the town became a haven for entrepeneurs and artists. Sick people swarmed from around the country to cure their Scrofulla and other 19th century ailments in the cold springs. I live in this town in the year 2025, and we continue to be a place of peace, a haven for artists and LGBTQ —and a nexus of resistance in a deep red state.

Our group of activists meet weekly at a local restaurant. We plan rallies and actions, share news on various fronts in the opposition, and listen to speakers talk about go-bags, online safety at protests, and mental health. On the last hot day of summer we took a break to conduct a healing ritual for ourselves. First we wrote what makes us sad and angry on paper. Then we each threw our papers on a bon fire. As the fire transformed our despair we shouted and cried as we shared. From kidnappings by masked federal police to the tearing down of women’s rights, to crack downs on free speech —we let it rip. One transman said, “I’m disgusted! This is not America!” When everyone was done, we shared again, this time personal successes, good news from the opposition. And we blew bubbles into the warm night air, filling the void of fury and sadness with joy, songs, laughter, and hope.

People ask me: ‘How are you doing with all this?’ By ‘all this’ they mean the cruelty and abject corruption of Christian nationalist autocracy, and the abusive sociopath in the White House. I have a three-pronged coping strategy. First, I tether myself to truth whenever possible. Second, I participate in creative non-violent resisitance. Finally, I engage in daily rituals that slow my heart, ground me, and allow me to conjure the will to beat back this madness. We will live through this, but the hard work is to stay sane, safe, and healthy —and resist.

As far as truth, you have to wade through the muck to find the actual sink holes. Disinformation and propaganda get catapulted at us every day. Most of it? — hot air, aimed at discouraging us. The regime means to break our spirits with waves of horror and drama. But sometimes the news is malevolent and worthy of attention. For instance, ‘trans extremist ideology’ does not exist. It’s a lie. Since the beginning of time, two-spirit people show up in all races and levels of society. From 2013-2023 there were 5,748 mass shootings in the US. Five of those shooters were trans. Most shooters, in fact, were young straight white men. A study showing that far-right violence is much more prevalent than far-left violence quietly disappeared from a government website. Instead of citing evidence to find solutions to gun violence, the Heritage Foundation (writers of the Christian nationalist manifesto Project 2025) use violence to scapegoat trans people and quell dissent on the left. They even have an acronym: TIVE, which means ‘trans ideology-inspired violent extremism.’ If you are a trans activist, or advocate for trans people —you are now an extremist. Anyone who believes in equality and rights for all people, including trans, and willing to say it outloud —is an extremist. That includes most of us on the left. Indeed, the left is an enemy under the ‘antifa’ (anti-fascist) label. Whomever the trump government decides is ‘antifa’ –is now considered a violent domestic extremist. After every incident of mass shooting or political murder the regime’s propagandists rush out to shower the airwaves, screaming about trans left radical violence —even before we know the motive or background of the shooter. They plant the seed in the gullible trump base. The cult members get worked up. The next thing you know trans people receive death threats. Maga leaders punch down, as bullies do, they lie about violence, and pit ignorant Americans against vulnerable Americans. It’s easier to control people that way. Underneath all the blame and finger pointing the maga coop against democracy marches on, undetected for about 35% of US citizens. Or maybe that 35% just doesn’t care. In my red state, every trans and queer person I know has a go-bag packed and ready. The prospect of fleeing to a blue state or out of the country is real. The lefties are not far behind.

Because of the national tragedy of LGBTQ bullying, our group decided to perform a direct action in the thick of the night. In solidarity with the Pulse Nightclub chalking in Orlando, groups across the country are painting rainbow colors in crosswalks and on sidewalks. The Pulse Nightclub was an LGBTQ club, and the scene of a mass shooting. Forty nine people were killed. A rainbow colored crosswalk just outside the club memorialized the victims. Governor DeSantis ordered black and grey paint to cover the rainbow. He even installed cops overnight to guard so nobody would repaint with bright colors. Thus began the chalking, first on the sidewalks around Pulse, then across the country. Here in our town we joined the movement. On the morning after, the passers-by noticed stenciled footprints in red, purple, and orange in the street downtown, leading from one radiant chalk-painted crosswalk to another. Each bore the name of an individual victim or a public landmark of LGBTQ hate crimes: Nex Benedict, Harvey Milk, Q Club, Stonewall, Matthew Shepard, and Pulse.

Finally, to show up genuinely in this moment, in our descent into theocratic despotism, requires daily connection with the beauty of life. It’s the bridge to sanity and survival. Every morning I visit with a crow family on my four mile walk. They fly so close to me I can hear the air in their feathers. It’s not just about my yummy peanuts, either. They are friends, with names and quirks and individual caws. In the before-times this lovely dawn ritual was a lifestyle choice. Now I depend on it —the welcome kinship with crows, the deep breaths, the hope of a new day breaking on the horizon. I’m fighting for more than human friends. I’m fighting for my country and the planet. We just celebrated Autumnal Equinox, and now face the darkest time of the year. But I will not give in to the existential darkness of Christian nationalism. I hope you won’t, either.

Keep up the fight for democracy, and let me know what you’re doing,

Laurel Owen, October 2025

Notes: I intentionally did not capitalize trump’s name. I can’t summon the respect.

Also, I do not use AI in my writing.