Something incredible happens to humans when we go through hard or tragic experiences together and survive. When we hold each other close and rely on each other, it bonds us.
My early experiences taught me that even in dark times, we can find the strength to be good to one another. We can move past hatred to create a brighter future.
I grew up in a small, poor community in El Salvador. We didn’t have much, so we relied on each other. What we lacked in resources, we made up for with abundant generosity, ingenuity, and sincere care for each other, grounded in accountability. When things got bad, we had each other.
After I moved to the United States, I became a community organizer, which gave me a sense of the power people can achieve together. Now, as in no other moment in our lifetimes, is it important to remember that together, we have this power to control our own destinies. And we should never give it up.
This came to mind last month when the party of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s authoritarian president, rewrote the country’s constitution so he can serve as president over and over again. Bukele then moved to hold the 80,000 people he’s swept into megaprisons for another two years without charges or trial.
Trump admires “strongmen” like Bukele because he wants unlimited powers like these for himself. Trump has sent U.S. detainees to CECOT, Bukele’s notorious megaprison. And now he wants to create a similar network of camps and prisons in the U.S.
When Trump sends troops into the streets of our cities, arrests both migrants and U.S. citizens, and holds them without trial or representation in places like Alligator Alcatraz, he’s testing the waters. He wants to see how far we will allow him to go as he seeks absolute power.
When authoritarians seize power, they do it to benefit the corporations and individuals who profit off our pain. When we unmask those who are responsible for this pain, it allows us to move into action together, so we can fix what’s unjust — and hold the likes of Bukele and Trump to account for their actions.
Without a community to hold us through our fears, insecurities, and vulnerabilities, we look to “strongmen” to save us. But history shows us there’s a fast and slippery road from the loss of freedoms into authoritarianism.
Giving control of our daily lives to one man or government may give us a false sense of security. But if we allow our rights to be stripped away, we lose far more than we gain.
There is an old saying in Spanish: el jinete montará el caballo, hasta que el caballo se canse. “The rider stays on top, but only until the horse gets tired.” Even though the rider holds a whip, the horse can always throw him off.
We must always remember we have this power together. It has always been clear to me that the role of organizing is to first help people tap into their individual strength and then to discover and build our collective power.
The first step from powerlessness to power is to find your neighbors. Like I did, find a local community organizing group near you, where you can join others to reflect and take action. Because together we can, together we must, and together we will.
This article was originally published on otherwords.org and republished here under a Creative Commons 3.0 license.
