Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
Nearly a year after Donald Trump’s second rise to overbaked power, countless Americans remain stunned, dispirited, and doubtful that individual voters can create meaningful resistance to what is fast becoming government by fiat. Many also wonder if it is even safe to openly push back against a madhouse White House.
Author and politician David Pepper, a former head of the Ohio Democratic Party, has a new book that speaks directly to readers who are unsure how to help the nation survive the Trump Administration’s war on freedom. Titled “Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual, Second Edition: The Trump Era,” this 2025 work is an updated and refocused successor to Pepper’s 2023 how-to guide, “Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American.”
Engagingly written and solidly researched, Pepper’s new guidebook is organized into two parts, “Resisting Autocracy” and “Going on Offense for Democracy.” The first part spells out 10 specific actions individuals can take to help resist America’s quickening slide toward dictatorial government. Two examples: “Do not dismiss the most bizarre, ostentatious and odd happenings as too outlandish and irrelevant to be taken seriously.” (Remember Greenland, for example?). And: “[I]f the Trump Administration shows us anything, it is: always, always stand up to bullies, at all levels. Caving to them doesn’t stop the bullying—it only flashes a bright green light for more bullying.”
The book’s second part delves into specific ways to lift up democracy’s banner and surge toward the next elections’ front lines, while pushing back against authoritarianism.
“The battle for democracy must be fought in all 50 states,” Pepper contends. And it is critical, he adds, for Democrats to realize that “[w]e may be working hard, but it’s not at the scale that we need to succeed. And it’s not strategic enough, against a group … which is not only working tirelessly, but highly strategically, and at an incredibly large scale. For them, attacking democracy is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, both private and public, it’s full-time, and whenever they can, they put the full power and authority of government behind it. They put the law behind it. They invest your tax dollars in it!”
If you’ve already donated $10 to a candidate or organization this year and think that’s all you’ll need to do to help save democracy, it’s time to wake up and smell the festering autocracy. If you believe the 2026 midterm election will return Democratic majorities to the House and Senate, keep in mind the various schemes Trump and his Republican minions have hatched to rig, delay, control, or cancel that crucial vote. The time to speak out and punch back is now.
“We are in the second term of a president whose policies are deeply unpopular and whose incompetence and extremism are leading to terrible outcomes for everyday Americans,” Pepper emphasizes. “The fact that billionaires have been the face of this administration only makes the damage they are doing even more toxic.” The author’s underlying hope is that readers will find their best resistance options and answer this question: “Now, what are you going to do?”
“Saving Democracy” describes a wide range of causes and strategies that individuals and groups can pursue at local, state, and national levels. And one good starting point may be to help others who are already pushing back. “While we all are at risk,” Pepper stresses, “certain people and communities are clearly the first and most obvious targets of this administration. They will need our protection and help. We can’t look away as they are attacked.”
If you live in a state where most elected officials are Republican and some expect to run unopposed in 2026, could you upset that dynamic by throwing your hat into the ring and give voters another choice? Could you convince a savvy friend to run? The Democrats’ new strategy, Pepper contends, should be to battle for every available office—local, state, or federal—even in “red” states.
“[I]t’s a long game, the other side has a big head start, and we’ve been fighting this battle the wrong way for too long,” Pepper writes. “The sooner we fight it the right way, the better.”
“Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual, Second Edition: The Trump Era,” by David Pepper, St. Helena Press, 424 pages, paperback and ebook formats.
Si Dunn is a freelance writer in Franklin, Mass. He previously worked for newspapers in Texas and Arkansas and currently is a book reviewer for Lone Star Literary Life.
Email sidunn@sagecreekproductions.com
