Listen To This Story

As kindness and morality become increasingly rare in our current administration, it’s essential that we embody these values in our own lives, through calm, dedicated, small actions. By modeling kindness, and firmly holding onto our values, we counteract the messaging from the administration in Washington that is leading Americans down the path of cruelty. 

1. Sign the petition to reinstate the Librarian of Congress. 

Carla Hayden served as the 14th Librarian of Congress from her bipartisan appointment in 2016 until May 2025, when Donald Trump dismissed her without explanation. Hayden broke barriers as both the first woman and the first Black American to hold this position. I signed this petition to get her reinstated. Of course, Trump is the decision maker, so it will go nowhere other than providing awareness of injustice and trying to stand for what’s right. But that is worth something.

2. Join local groups in a leadership role that matches your skills.

When I was handing out letters to Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) at Hopefest a couple months ago, a woman stopped me to ask about the initiative. She then asked if I would be interested in joining the League of Women Voters as a communications person for them. The leadership at the local LWV is turning over now (as it does every cycle), and so I joined.

As a nonpartisan organization working to improve voting rights throughout the country — through local and national outreach — the goals of the LWV truly align with mine. They have been steadfast for many years, which means they have the structural integrity and strength to get their initiatives over the finish line, unlike a lot of new groups that are still scrambling to fill their position charts and write their mission statements. 

They are a fount of actionable information for would-be activists. Among the materials they distribute are clear, effective ways to contact your congresspeople, and case studies and research on such issues as life-saving abortion care, redistricting rules, and voter registration.  And, despite the name, they’re not just for women. If you are looking for a good organization to help facilitate actions you can take, look for your League of Women Voters here.

3. Take a chance on the young. 

Our best electoral hope, both in Florida and in the nation, is the youth vote. Getting younger people involved in politics and allowing them to shake up the old paradigm will be instrumental in our ability to wrest the country back from MAGA conservatism. Florida Future Leaders (FFL), formed after the 2016 election, has made a difference in voter turnout on college campuses nationwide. Their research shows that turnout increased 120 percent at campuses where they were active. I donated $20 so FFL can continue to organize the college students in my state of Florida. 

4. Send letters to Congress about saving the right to dissent.

Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee have snuck a dangerous anti-dissent provision into their massive tax proposal, which is on its way through Congress now. This bill would aid Trump’s discriminatory clamp down on free speech by granting the executive branch the power to effectively shut down any nonprofit organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties groups — by accusing them of “supporting terrorism.” Then the government could use that accusation to suspend their tax-exempt status.

With students already being detained and deported for protesting and exercising their free speech in support of Palestine or to criticize US foreign policy, this bill could put even more pressure on universities to shut down student groups or silence them. Look at what’s happening with Harvard right now. Many institutions can’t withstand that kind of back-and-forth with the most powerful man in the country.

I sent letters to my congresspeople through this ACLU form to tell them to remove that provision from the proposed legislation.

5. Uncouple Signal and iCloud.

For those of us using Signal now for sensitive material, we must remain vigilant to maintain the privacy of our messages. One of the recent updates for iPhones coupled the Signal app with iCloud, storing information and data in that way as the default. 

I uncoupled them by doing the following: Go to iCloud Settings, click See All, scroll down until you find Signal, and click Disable iCloud.

6. Support teachers through the end of the year.

As we head toward the end of the school year, teachers remain woefully underpaid; the entire system is crumbling around them as the government takes aim at the paltry public school funding we still have. I was scrolling when I came across this note:

Happy Saturday! No child should be hungry at school. I teach Saturday school and snacks are needed for those who need them to stay focused. I teach English at a Title I school where 100% are on free lunch.

She linked an Amazon Wishlist, and since I have gift cards still to use up so Amazon doesn’t get free money, I bought some Takis off the list. Here it is, if you’d like to help, too. 

7. Keep some sneakers in your car.

One day in January, I gave someone shoes.

I was driving when I saw a woman in a coat walking a dog. She wasn’t wearing shoes. I wished I had my old running shoes in the car, but I didn’t. I went to a thrift store nearby and bought some used sneakers. I drove back and offered her the shoes. I lied and said they were my old running shoes. She took them. That was it. I drove away. 

She wasn’t asking for shoes or money. She was living her life. But it was 30 degrees that day, and no one would be walking their dog without shoes if they had shoes. She didn’t have to ask, and I didn’t stick around for a show of thanks. That was when I decided to start keeping used shoes in the trunk of my car.

It was months later when I saw another woman walking along the road without shoes. Just last week, in fact. The sun was high and hot, the asphalt black, and this woman was walking right on the shoulder on bare feet. She was not in good shape, tottering and looking as if she could be without housing. I passed her on my way to an appointment, pulled off and grabbed the pairs of shoes from my trunk, turned around, and headed back toward her.

No traffic behind me, I expected this to be quick, like last time. I asked her if she would like some sneakers. She said yes. I asked if she was closer to a 9 or a 7. She said 9. I held out the sneakers to her. But she didn’t take them.

She said — and it’s going to sound like I’m making this up, but I swear to God, she actually said — “I don’t deserve them.”

I said, “Yes, you do; here, take them.” But she still did not.

“I am homeless and there is no place in society for me and I don’t deserve shoes because I cannot live in society.” (Again, hand to God, she said that word for word).

At this point, I was blocking traffic. So I told her to hang on, and I pulled over onto the grass, got out of the car with the sneakers and walked to her.

“I don’t even know how to wear them,” she said.

“Just put them on, you can do it. They are yours. I have them for you.”

I looked at her feet and they were in rough shape — injured.

“They might hurt at first because your feet are hurt, but they will protect you from the road.”

“I can’t take them. I don’t deserve them. I don’t know what to do with them.”

I put them down on the road. 

“I will leave them here for you, if you change your mind. You do deserve them, and even if you don’t, the bottoms of your feet do. They haven’t done anything.”

She picked them up and looked at me. I had to head back to my car. I was late now.

“You should take them back.”

“Just leave them there, it’s okay. Or maybe you can trade them for something. I have to go.”

And then I told her I loved her, which was a weird thing to say. But it was true in that moment. 

“Come back!” she said, but I had to go. 

I waved goodbye and left her there, holding the shoes.

I have no idea what to make of that. Did I do the right thing or the wrong thing? I don’t want to force my shoe-wearing society lifestyle on someone. I don’t want to complicate someone’s already complicated feelings about themselves or everything. I don’t want them to feel pitied. I don’t know if she put the shoes on or took them with her or left them there. 

I think I’m glad I didn’t take them back.

***

It will be a long, hard, and slow road. Keep doing small things. Action feeds spirit and spirit feeds action. We don’t have to save the world tomorrow all by ourselves. 

We each do what we can. 

We make a difference. 

See you next week.

 Past weeks of “One Small Thing” can be found here.