In the second month of Donald Trump’s second presidency, I find myself overwhelmed as I consider how to proceed. I’m devastated at the state of our country. I’m exhausted from the damage done in only a few short weeks. I’m terrified of what’s to come. And I’m disappointed in my elected representatives.

For the past decade, the Republican Party has made it clear they will cosign any level of depravity, hatred and illegal behavior from the current occupant of the White House. They have drawn the most shallow lines in the sand for kudos on primetime TV, only to fold as soon as it became clear these stances didn’t align with his ever-changing impulses.

And through it all, the Democratic Party preached its focus on bipartisanship. Every communication about any legislative achievement has included that qualifier. I understand that bipartisanship has long been a hallmark of a functioning government and used to be the gold standard for legislation. When our government was working for all the people and simply needed to reconcile differing opinions about how to achieve its goals, bipartisanship helped us move forward in the most advantageous way for everyone.

Sadly, that is no longer our reality. Bipartisanship is no longer an exercise in finding common solutions to shared problems; instead, it’s been Republicans requiring Democrats to validate their increasingly extreme stances in order to allow the government to function. We’re contending with a Republican Party in lockstep behind a president who is eagerly signing a torrent of illegal or unconstitutional executive orders designed to both derail our way of life and hinder our ability to repair the damage being done to our society. His administration is removing invaluable resources from federal websites and interfering with our medical community’s ability to provide adequate care to the most vulnerable populations. He’s cosigning the blatantly illegal actions of Elon Musk and his lackeys. And the Democratic Party was so lost in the fog of “bipartisanship” that they failed to immediately and decisively reject these dangerous developments. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was shocked as some of them behaved as if any of this could be “business as usual,” with an attitude of “we’ll get them in the midterms.” While they’re currently taking a stand against the most egregious intrusions from Musk’s team, many of them clearly believe this standoff is only temporary. What they don’t seem to realize is that the Republicans have been leading them to the edge of a cliff with an authoritarian future at the bottom. The focus on bipartisanship over the last decade has meant that every time the Republicans have stepped away from the norm and further toward “conservatism,” Democrats have meekly followed suit in the name of bipartisanship. Simply taking a stand now doesn’t move us away from this authoritarian future.

We cannot allow this dynamic to continue.

If we who are uneasy about the actions of the current administration — especially our elected representatives — don’t reject all actions of this authoritarian government and demand a return to democratic governance, the ground will crumble beneath our feet and we all will fall. In order to salvage our democracy and our futures, we must reject the terms of engagement they’ve forced upon us as we fight to preserve our norms and our way of life. For our representatives, that means refusing to participate in even the most mundane legislative actions. Republicans have had no qualms over threatening to shut down the government over far lesser issues. We must now harness that same energy and shut everything down until they return to normal governance.

The actions of one individual can feel inconsequential in the face of such monumental forces. But we cannot underestimate the importance of our role as history is being made. Don’t forget that the policies being enacted are incredibly unpopular with the electorate: there’s a reason our current president disavowed Project 2025 during his campaign. We must, without compromise, focus on the reality and future that we know we want to build. In this current environment, that means nothing will get done. But isn’t it better to force inaction than aid in this damage through our own complacency?

Elaine Prehn lives in Longmont.