Intro
Introduction
This isn’t a popular opinion, but we all should be running towards the dumpster fire that is politics, put it out, and rebuild. The sooner more of us do something, the sooner we can clean politics up, make it at least semi-noble again.
Let’s first define what “doing something” is not. It’s not being a news junkie and reading your New York Times or watching FOX News or Pod Save America. It’s not commiserating with friends over 5 bottles of wine at a Michelin restaurant. It’s not rage posting.
Nor is it remaining silent and sitting on your hands wishing away the corruption and toxicity.
Active political involvement is standing up for your freedom, equality, and pursuit of happiness. It means much more than making your voice heard. It means making your voice effective. The 15 action items in Enter the Arena show you how.
This tiny book, the first in a series, is a self-help guide for politics, as much as I don’t necessarily love that characterization. But my goal here is to deliver action items everyday voters can so, beginning tomorrow. Pick which are most comfortable for you. Some are very public and visible; others are more behind the scenes.
I should warn you at the top: Don’t expect to actually feel better until new people in both parties come into office who have moral and mental clarity. Rebuilding and reimagining our democracy isn’t an instant gratification sport.
In his book Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, George Packer writes, “Tocqueville described self-government as an ‘art’ that needs to be learned. It’s what Americans no longer know how to do, or even want to do together.”
A re-education on how to get what we — we, not me—want from politics is long overdue.
The public has the starring role in shaping what happens next. The politicians aren’t the protagonist in this story; we the people are.
No. 1: You are not powerless. Far from it.
In 2025, Democrats experienced paralysis. A few elected officials even went on TV to say they had no power. Major fail on their part. I know what they meant technically, given the vote makeup in Congress. Still a counterproductive thing to say.
Plenty of rank-and-file Democrats felt powerless too, unsure what to do about the shock to the system of the Trump presidency. The party has moved past that now, but the moment exposed something worth remembering: democracy requires participation, not handwringing.
Liberty only works if people demand it. And we need to see that it works — call it civic return on the investment of time, tears, and tenacity.
So here are a few examples, out of dozens, of the ROI, where public participation directly led to policy change. I’m going overboard on purpose with the number of examples. Stay with me.
Five movements
A mass movement by definition is millions of people clamoring for the same policy change, or being fed up with the status quo. Everyday people got involved and powered massive political and policy victories.
- 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, as a result of people like Edie Windsor and millions of voters who said yes to gay couples marrying on the ballot.
- 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.
Corporate boycotts
- 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 sustained boycott made a real dent.
- That same year, the Trump administration and Disney reversed course on censoring comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s free speech on the airwaves. Three million canceled streaming subscriptions — with former subscribers posting receipts online — helped force the reversal.
Local backlash
8. 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.
- Today, when it comes to 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.
Movements, boycotts, and local protests are all powered by the same thing: everyday people exercising civic agency. Powerlessness is a myth. Individually, and especially together, each of us holds enormous power.