Recently, Obama sent a post with the subject line: Hope. 

I am wondering if any Valley Courier reader is struggling with this issue. I do until I go ahead and write Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. I've written a couple of times now and watch their social feeds, too. This tactic helps because I feel like I'm doing something about the dictator and unelected shadow president as they destroy our beloved country. 

So, doing my part means a lot to me, and it means I've turned my anxiety into action. We can all do this.  

Obama writes: "Living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won't always win out, but continuing to fight for the change we believe in. Since the last election, the foundational principles of our democracy have been challenged, and it would be easy to give in to fear and despair. But the change we seek- the change we need- will not come if we wait for another person or time. The best way to make a difference is to get up and do something. Don't wait for the next election. Go out and make a difference right now. Because through your actions, you will fill others with hope. And you might just fill yourself with hope." 

Ultimately, he asked the email recipient to give "$5 or $50, whatever you can afford," to the Democratic National Committee. 

Senator Bernie Sanders is also calling on citizens to fight the Oligarchy. His YouTube channel has videos from his various town halls in rural and out-of-the-way small towns. Bernie tells the truth and doesn't use "shock and awe" — not like the administration in their political tactic of "flooding the zone." 

Tonight, with the moon going through the eclipse, Rachel Maddow shared on MSNBC the "blistering ruling" from a district judge who ordered the administration to hire back those fired employees. Find the video on the MSNBC channel or at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3A_nbdo2w 

That judge eclipsed the raging orange in the Whitehouse, and it instilled hope in me, and I expect hope for others, too.  

Overcoming my trepidation of the future, I also binge-watch Law and Order SVU. I like the phrase the detectives use when they get to a victim: "I got you." Let's try to bring hope to one another by taking action. Let's be our country's hope and rally around our democratic republic, where everyone matters, and that includes our civil rights and our compassion and love for all of us.

Nelda Curtiss is a retired college educator and long-time local columnist. Reach her at columnsbynellie.com or email her at columnsbynellie@gmail.com.