✍️Your Community’s Voice is a Force. Let’s Unleash It.
In Every Town, Small Acts of Courage Add Up.
Editor’s Note: I’ve written two pieces to encourage courage—this one for trusted voices in every community, and this one for powerful voices at the top.
Local communities are known for their beauty, creativity, energy, spirit, neighborly trust and more.
But they’re also known for something deeper: people who care about truth and fairness..
Our local businesses, artists, nonprofits, faith leaders—they’re part of what makes this town feel human and grounded. People trust them. They listen.
Right now, that trust matters more than ever.
Even in towns that seem far from the national spotlight, disinformation and division show up—in conversations, on social media, even in local news or policy.
Silence creates space for fear and falsehoods to grow. What we do or don’t say sends a message.
Business and community leaders don’t have to make a speech or take a side in every debate.
But they do have a voice. It carries. And we should encourage them to use it.
Speaking out isn’t always easy:
For business owners, it can feel risky—like it might cost customers or strain relationships.
For nonprofit leaders, there’s the worry about donors or public blowback.
Community members worry about pushing people away.
That fear is real. It makes sense.
But silence doesn’t keep us safe. It just delays the danger. And the longer we stay quiet, the harder it gets to stand up when it counts.
We’re living through a time when core rights and protections are under threat—voting access, reproductive freedom, free expression, and even basic government services.
These aren’t just national issues. They ripple into local lives, local businesses, and local trust.
Here’s how community leaders can use their voice now—quietly, clearly, powerfully:
🎙 Post their values.
A small sign in their window. A line in their newsletter. A short post online.
Something that says: This is a place where truth, dignity, and respect still matter.
🏛 Speak out, when it counts.
Express what alarms them—honestly, in their own voice.
Attend a city meeting. Write a letter to the paper or an op-ed.
Use their standing as business owners, coaches, board members, neighbors ….
🤝 Support each other.
Join or start a quiet network of locals who care about protecting facts, fairness, and freedom.
Back workers, neighbors, and groups already pushing for change.
Take part with activists in rallies, forums, and planning meetings.
We’re stronger—and braver—together. Let's acknowledge and defend community leaders when they join us.
Thank you to the elected officials—local, state, and national—who are already speaking out and standing up publicly to defend our democracy against the Trump onslaught.
Your community can model what real civic leadership looks like.
Let’s not wait for someone else to speak first. Let’s make this town a place where courage is even more visible—and contagious.
To our leaders: Your voice carries.
Use it—before others decide what your silence means.
Also See
✍️It’s Time to Make the Powerful Pick a Side
No More Neutrality: Hold Leaders Accountable for What They Do—and Don’t Say.
✍️ What Every Public Official Swears to Do (And Why It Matters Now)
Too many are forgetting that their highest duty is to the Constitution—not to power.
✍️ The Danger of the Middle Ground
The real divide isn’t left vs. right. It’s inclusion vs. exclusion.
🟦 Executive Overreach & Abuse of Power
A ranked guide to organizations resisting authoritarianism and defending democratic norms.
A ranked guide to legal groups challenging anti-democratic policies and abuses of power.
🟥Freedoms of Speech, Press & Assembly
A ranked guide to organizations safeguarding free expression and civic participation.
🏛️ Contacting Washington State Officials & Key Departments
🏛️ Contact Information: Washington's U.S. Senators and Representatives