Hi everyone.

As a bit of an understatement, it’s been a crazy three weeks since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States.

I’ve been trying to find my footing in the midst of the gale-force winds. So far, I have a nearly 9,000-word draft of my intended next piece, which is (obviously) way too long and not nearly ready to see the light of day.

So tonight, I thought I would just share one thing.

I’m part of an LGBTQ choir here in Milan called Checcoro. Last year, we sang at a festival of about a dozen LGBTQ choirs from all over Italy. At the end of the festival, all the choirs joined together and we performed a special choral arrangement of “People Have the Power” by

It was an incredibly joyful and moving experience to sing this rousing anthem with so many others throughout the theater. Watching it still makes me smile and tear up.

I wanted to share it now because, at least for me, it doesn’t feel like we’re able to do much to stop the many terrible things happening in the U.S. and around the world, and I think we could all use some inspiration and motivation.

Ordinary People

Heather Cox Richardson, renowned historian and author of one of the most widely read Substacks, Letters from an American, wrote in her December 3, 2024 letter:

“[P]eople often look to larger-than-life figures to define our nations, [but] our history is in fact made up of regular people doing the best they can.”

She wrote again on January 19, 2025:

“[I’ve come] to believe that heroism is neither being perfect, nor doing something spectacular. In fact, it’s just the opposite: it’s regular, flawed human beings choosing to put others before themselves, even at great cost, even if no one will ever know, even as they realize the walls might be closing in around them.

“People are wrong to say that we have no heroes left. Just as they have always been, they are all around us, choosing to do the right thing, no matter what.”

Finally, she noted just two days ago in her February 7th letter:

“Maya Miller of the New York Times reported today that the congressional phone system has been jammed with tens of millions of calls from outraged constituents contacting their representatives to demand that they stand against President Donald Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk as they unilaterally dismantle the United States government and gain access to Americans’ private information. The Senate phone system usually gets about 40 calls a minute; now it is up to 1,600.”

I did the math; that is a 40x increase over normal. Not 40 percent more than normal, but a staggering 40 times normal! Do you know why that is happening? Because tens of thousands of ordinary Americans are taking action. They’re picking up the phone, calling their elected officials and reminding them that they are supposed to be public servants, there to serve and protect the interests of their constituents, not rogue unelected billionaires. They’re doing what they can to take back their power.

I’m one of them. I hope those of you who are American citizens will join me in calling and writing your elected officials today and demanding that they take action regarding the urgent crises facing our country.

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