Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Robert Reich, and other progressive voices have echoed this sentiment.

“Don’t try this alone!?”

The building evidence of hypocrisy, indiscriminate cruelty, and simple cluelessness has swept through the country faster than long-shots have been eliminated in this year’s March Madness basketball tourney. When it comes to Madness, the Trump administration has no peer.

It can feel overwhelming to try to fight the very uneven electoral landscape alone. It has been worked on for decades through gerrymandering and court decisions like Citizens United.

Monied people have always had some advantages, but what we’re experiencing today is purely about the rules being re-made by whoever can buy an election.

Elon Musk has spent close to three hundred million dollars in supporting Trump-related candidates and causes but has the potential to net tens of billions of dollars in government contracts, tax credits and subsidies.

Maybe it could be declared a good business investment for him, but it doesn’t seem aligned with the values behind the American experiment in self-governance.

I might laugh at the absurdity of the characters and escapades involved, but I have been so disheartened. Kristy Noem and RFK are jokes when it comes to their lack of qualifications. And Pete Hegseth, DOD, denying the impropriety of sharing very sensitive info about military maneuvers on a platform that can be purchased at the App Store, how ridiculous.

I think about the starving children from around the world whose modest portion of aid from the US has been cut off. Or federal workers who have been fired for no cause, not to eliminate redundancy but to eliminate services.

I’ve been eager to convey how wrong it is to misname such cuts as “government efficiency” when it’s like reducing your family’s expenses by leaving half your children at the mall.

Simply eliminating services does not eliminate the need. Privatizing usually doesn’t serve anyone except the individuals who win the contract to provide the services. Making maximizing profits the guiding principle for fulfilling everyone’s needs suggests that everyone must live in large metro area because that works best for the supplier.

Many of the same people who rail against Medicaid come from states and rural areas that depend on Medicaid to keep regional hospitals open and employ large percentages of their home towns.

All these supposed “efficiencies,” conducted without clear goals and measurements, means we are less capable of mounting life-saving research, addressing climate-related disasters or increases in mental health issues. We can’t even enjoy our national parks, now rendered grossly understaffed.

Okay, I‘m mad, and I haven’t even started on the intentional erasing or whitewashing of history to suit what some WANT to make others believe was true, but…

I read all sorts of articles, listened to hours of YouTube videos highlighting the best from pundits and podcasters. I signed scores of online petitions and knew there were others who were outraged by similar things, but it wasn’t until I attended an in-person meet and greet in the back of a neighborhood bar that I really felt I belonged to a group of people who could make a difference.

It was sponsored by Indivisible, a framework for self-organizing local groups to effect change and encourage participation in our civic life. The national organization provides guides on using technology to communicate and shares thoughts about what has worked in many places.

Unlike attending a $200 per plate or pricier dinner, you don’t have to pay to be heard, to have influence. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone — it’s been a long time since I attended a networking event  — but I wanted to prepare for the Hands-Off (as in “hands off” our social security, or Medicaid, or changing the Constitution) rally coming up the first Saturday of April.

A related event is slated to come together in my city but upwards of a thousand rallies are expected to take place throughput the U.S.

I kept my eyes and ears open at the gathering. I learned about various working groups that stay in front of legislators all year. I learned more about phone banking opportunities and found a member, a former art teacher, who posted photos of signs that were hoisted at other rallies. I picked out two slogans I especially liked. She made a hand sign for me.

Mission accomplished. I was thrilled.

Isn’t that what belonging to a community is about? Finding people who can provide the talents you lack and welcome your contributions?

Being part of a larger cause to promote the health and resilience of all is no small thing.