As America falls deeper into the Trump Administration, it’s more important than ever not to become complacent to what goes on around you.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has done nothing but terrorize the American public and dismantle decades of progress through his 75+ executive orders, promising a “complete restoration of America” in his inaugural address.

Here are some highlights.

• Announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, beginning March 12. 
• Paused the prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing government officials.
• Banned transgender athletes from women’s sports, forcing federal agencies to interpret Title IX to prohibit trans women from participating. 
• Attempted to eliminate “anti-Christian bias,” a violation of the freedom of religion.
• Established a migrant detention center at Guantánamo Bay. 
• Signed executive orders removing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts from the military and reinstating soldiers expelled for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. 
• Attempted to end birthright citizenship, targeting U.S.-born children of undocumented and some legal immigrants. This order was blocked on Jan. 23. 
• Left the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement. 
• Renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. 
• Pardoned over 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.

If this list makes you feel scared or angry, good. If you’re not angry, you’re not listening.

This isn’t even a complete list, which is almost scarier.

The important thing is to do something constructive with these feelings. It does no one any good to just sit and fester and whine.

Gil Scott-Heron wrote “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” in 1971 with this sentiment in mind.

“You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out,” he wrote. “The revolution will not be televised/The revolution will not be brought to you.”

Despite Kendrick Lamar’s statements during the Super Bowl halftime show, this rings true. You cannot passively participate in a revolution through shared Instagram posts and complaining and expect things to change.

In addition to these executive orders, Trump has also begun restricting press coverage in the White House briefing room.

“Press outlets ‘pool’ their resources when coverage by all would be impractical; a selection of print, video, radio, online and photo news organizations alternate in doing the reporting,” NPR reported. “The Trump administration has barred the Associated Press from covering major events because it has not changed its guidance for calling the body of water between Mexico and Florida the Gulf of America, rather than the Gulf of Mexico.”

The president’s chief regulator of broadcast media has instigated investigations of each of the major broadcast outlets: ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR and PBS.

“The message is clear,” Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, tweeted. “Given that the White House has already kicked one news organization out of the pool because of coverage it does not like, it is making certain everyone else knows that the rest of us can be barred too if the president does not like our questions or stories.”

Instead of the aforementioned outlets, coverage will instead come from Voice of America (VOA), which is funded by Congress, podcast host Sage Steele and Brian Glenn of the Right Side Broadcasting Network.

The New York Times reported, White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claims the new policy was intended to allow “new media” outlets — such as digital sites, streaming services and podcasts — “to share in this awesome responsibility.” She added, “Legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well.”

This is, of course, a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution. 

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their press corps.”

It is your responsibility as an American citizen to stand up to the Trump Administration’s tyranny.

Get involved in your local government, sign petitions, write letters to your local representatives and news outlets and most importantly, do not allow Trump’s actions to be normalized.

This is not normal, but if we sit back and hope the problem will solve itself, this constant state of anxiety and fear will become status quo in years to come.

German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller wrote the 1946 post-war confessional “First They Came” in response to German complacency to the Nazi Regime’s imprisonment, persecution and murder of millions.

He calls for you to stand for your neighbor, otherwise there will be no one left to stand for you when the time comes.

Do not allow history to repeat itself.

Stand up for yourself and your neighbor.