The biggest action to take right now during the second Trump presidency might be psychological.
Officials in Washington, DC, and beyond who are comfortable overreaching in presidential power want you to shrink away from political and civic life. Your exhaustion, a perception of powerlessness, and numbness give them strength.
The lingering idea in some Americans’ minds – for decades but especially timely now– is that you can’t make a difference. History, political science, and current realities all over the country–beginning in Minneapolis– show, beyond a reasonable doubt, this thinking is misguided.
Realworld stories to disprove the myth of powerlessness
I’ve pulled nine examples, out of dozens, showing how everyday people’s political involvement leads to change. I’m going overboard on purpose with the number of examples, so stay with me. They all didn’t just their voices heard. They made their voices effective.
- Everyday people powered the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with Rosa Parks and the 40,000 other Black riders who boycotted the bus system, moved the country further toward its promise of equality under the law.
- The disability community won its legislative fight for rights in the 1980s, beginning with deaf students at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
- Marriage equality became law in the 2010s. People like Edie Windsor took the government to court and won. In four statewide ballot initiatives, millions of voters stood up to make their case for gay couples marrying long before the Supreme Court issued its national ruling legalizing gay marriage.
- A $15 minimum wage passed in several states over the past decade. Terrence Wise, the McDonald’s employee who started the push for higher wages, told Congress, “This movement has changed our entire country. Many people didn’t believe $15 an hour was possible, but it has become a reality for 22 million workers across the country.”
- Abortion opponents and supporters, after their respective losses at the Supreme Court over decades, each came roaring back with victories at the state level. Countless women told their very personal stories.
- In 2025, Black leaders waged a sustained, high-profile campaign against Target over its retreat from diversity initiatives. CEO Brian Cornell was forced out. The stock dropped roughly 30 percent that year. The boycott made a real dent.
- That same year, the Trump administration and Disney reversed course on censoring comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s free speech. Three million subscribers to Hulu/Disney/ABC canceled streaming subscriptions — with former subscribers posting receipts online — helped force the reversal.
- In 2026, Minneapolis residents won a hard-fought battle against ICE’s lawless, brutal tactics in their city. Two innocent people were killed; many others were hurt. Sustained public pressure forced the administration to back off its most extreme moves. (At least temporarily.)
- On AI data centers, small towns and counties are pushing back against Big Tech and the local officials clearing the way for construction — despite higher energy costs, more noise, and falling property values for nearby homeowners. Hundreds of these compute warehouses have already been built or are underway. But in some communities, the protests have grown too loud to ignore. Projects have been paused or killed outright.
Individually, and especially together, each of us holds enormous power. Many more of us need to use it.
