ELENA'S CREATIVE UPRISING - 2025 No. 02

A Bold Blend of Creativity, Wellness, and Activism

Elena Greco

Mar 04, 2025

In this issue:

Introduction: Keep Dancing!

UNITY and COMMUNITY
* Elena's Creative Community

CREATIVE CORNER
Behind the Scenes - what's coming....

WELLNESS
* Gratitude for Yourself - by Lucy Freedman
* Decentering the madness - by Celia Castro
* Don't Gaslight Yourself - by John Pavlovitz
* Objects that Speak - by Bernadette Geraghty

CREATIVE ACTIVISM
* Dan Savage quote
* We Must Save the Journalists - by Elena Greco
* Stand by or stand up - by Jenna Park
* The Singing Revolution - how Estonia defeated the USSR

RECOMMENDATIONS
Chill out with a little De Niro....

February 27, 2025

It’s been a hard month. And it’s been really difficult for me to write an Introduction for the Newsletter this time for the same reason that it’s been a hard month: there's just SO MUCH! So much of everything at once. Non-stop. I sometimes feel as though I'm wading through molasses.

The current Administration is like a volcano that doesn't stop spewing. I’m feeling rather volcanic myself. So much wants to come out in writing and I'm having a hard time choosing what to say first. In addition, I must somehow splice the essentially shy side of myself, who observes silently and wants only a peaceful existence, with the side of me that is driven to speak the truth, that is defiant, that will not be silenced. How will I get through the next four years this way? The next month? How will any of us?

Going forward, I'll be sharing information about staying well and supported through these chaotic times in the newsletter’s Wellness section. I’ll keep a constantly-updated list of reliable news resources, including information on legal protection and representation, on the Resources page of my website, which I’ll share in the Creative Activism section of this newsletter. Also in that section will be articles, essays and performances by colleagues which represent how we can incorporate activism into the creative work we already do. And I’ll share, in addition to my own writing and music, creative work and information by other writers and musicians in the Creative Corner section, along with information about the less creative aspects of creative work, such as good video habits and effectively sharing your work in a rapidly changing messaging environment. (Do let me know if you have a Substack I'm not already following or write a new piece or produce an event that might be a fit.) So ... lots of work ahead for me and for all of us!

I mentioned in my last newsletter that my activist focus for this year will be journalism. I save links to Instapaper that are currently relevant, tagging them with their subject, and journalism is one of my tags. In the last three weeks alone, I have saved NINETY-SIX links to information or articles about ways in which freedom of the press is being threatened by this regime. How can I possibly begin to write a short paragraph about this topic when I have ninety-six articles to read and glean information from? Answer: I can’t.

So I’ll need a minute to gain a bit of traction with organizing information about all the insanity and chaos that is now a daily occurrence so that I can put it to use. I’m developing a method of staying awake to developments, engaging in some form of activism, while pursuing necessary self-care in the face of daily psychological violence, and adding a touch of joy or pleasure to each day. That seems to be a good plan for all of us, don’t you think? I’ll share more about that soon in the Wellness and Creative Activism sections.

It took the Nazis less than a year to co-opt and take complete control of the German government. Depending on how you mark the beginning and end of the regime, some say it only took them 53 days. (We are 38 days in to the current Administration on Thursday, February 27.) Already Musk/Trump has taken a wrecking ball to our government, has corrupted the Justice Department, and shows no inclination to obey the judicial branch. I refer to Musk/Trump as one entity (should I call it the Mump? the Tusk?) because I am of the opinion that Musk “arranged” for Trump to win the election, so Trump doesn't risk hampering Musk’s actions, and therefore Musk will be and is our de facto President, with Trump vamping for the camera, cosplaying the King, and acting as though he has control when in fact Musk is the one captaining the ship and taking a torch to our country. They are essentially one now, two sides of an ill-minted penny.

Will our country continue as the greatest democracy in recorded history, or will it become a copy of Nazi Germany of the 1930s or of Orbán's Hungary or Putin’s Russia now? Will the country we grew up with, which valued, maintained and defended human rights and freedom of speech, continue to grow and flourish? Or will this country be a thing of the past, confined to our collective memory (though not our digital one, after the brown shirts erase it), “deleted” (Musk’s childish term) by a fascist regime, as Germany was in the 1930s, Afghanistan was in the 1980s, and Hungary was in 2010? Will women continue to reach their potential, personally and professionally, or will they once again be relegated to the status of property or baby incubators, with almost no rights at all, as they were in the 1950s? Will we as US citizens all be allowed to express ourselves fully or be stifled by the fear of punishment by the regime if we speak our mind or sing our song?

As for the latter item, I find it interesting that Trump chose at this moment, rather than later, to destroy The Kennedy Center, our national performing arts center. Naturally, when he made himself head of the Board, all talented and distinguished performers, managers and funders left the organization. The Center is now a mere shell in which only crude and untalented performers or board members will choose to participate (because eminent ones will want to avoid damage to their reputation), so it is essentially kaput. Years of glory destroyed in an instant.

The question is why? I was interested why it was important to him to destroy our national arts organizations and their funding (by cutting grants for the National Endowment for the Arts) so early on in the takeover and whether there was a corollary in the Third Reich, something he's known to admire. I did an internet search, and AI informed me, “The Third Reich began actively taking control of the arts in Germany in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power and initiated a process called "Gleichschaltung" (coordination), which aimed to align all aspects of German culture, including art, with Nazi ideology; this was primarily overseen by Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment.” So goodbye quality arts and arts funding in our country while this regime is in place. With Trump in charge of The Kennedy Center and our arts in general (or at least their funding), expect dismal results, because literally no one who possesses artistic quality will work with or under him.

Trump seems to envision himself as a modern-day Hitler, someone he has professed to admire greatly and has studied, so expect him to follow the Third Reich’s playbook with more frequency. Or combine the Third Reich’s agenda with Project 2025, and you can predict the coming months. We are at the effect of a combination of three unsavory elements—theofascists, right-wing extremists (Federalist Society, Heritage Foundation), and a tech billionaire alliance—which have been plotting this takeover for years, actually decades, and they’re going to throw all of it at us rapidly. They came in with a plan, ready to act.

Despite the truly horrible things happening, all of which seem to demand action (or resistance), it seems important for each of us to keep our focus narrow and to do our best to find like-minded individuals who can augment what we bring to that particular focus. Remember that there is strength in unity. There are more of “us” than there are of “them”—i.e., the ones who would sacrifice our beautiful country for their own power or greed. There are literally more than twice of us in actual numbers who want to save our country. We are not powerless! Together, as one united group of many interests and views, we have the power.

And as for the Democrats (I’m using the term for now to represent all who oppose the coup d'état currently happening in the US), it might seem that they aren't doing anything, but they very much are. Hundreds of lawsuits are being and have been filed. Judges have issued injunctions. Townhalls are being well-attended. People of integrity and courage, such as the SDNY prosecutors who resigned rather than openly break the law at the demand of the so-called US Justice Department, are taking personal actions. Many groups are creating social media pages and groups where they post the blow-by-blow destruction happening in their part of the country or to our government in order to thwart the fascists’ attempt to suppress the media and hide information. Thousands are protesting in the streets, and I suspect that those protests will grow ever larger and more frequent.

What is lacking is not action or commitment but effective messaging. The old-guard Democrats are terrible at it. The younger Democrats and especially the Progressive wing of the party are extremely good at it. Let's get our messaging ringing clear and true, shall we? Just as the Republicans are quite successful at marketing the message they want people to believe, we need to learn these skills and employ them immediately! Listen to people like Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Beto O’Rourke, Chris Murphy, and Jasmine Crockett, for example. Forget about differences you might have with their political views and notice the way they communicate, both how and where. Things have changed dramatically in the last five years in the world of messaging. We need to pay attention to that and use it!

There is no lack of drive on our part, those of us who want to save our country. What is lacking is leadership and organization. Political forces, campaigns, and movements usually require time to coalesce and create a strong foundation and message, but we do not have time! The current regime has taken a wrecking ball to our government and our country in only four weeks! Action is required NOW. The old-guard Democrats need either to collaborate with, or get out of the way and yield to, the younger or more message-savvy ones in the Party who are already standing against the takeover. There is no more time. Do it NOW!

I also want to underline the need to keep making art and to keep finding joy. There’s a quote from Dan Savage that's a really great model for us right now in the middle of this crisis. It’s in the Creative Activism section below, and I’ll post the text here, as well: “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night. The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for. It didn't look like we were going to win and then we did. It doesn't feel like we're going to win now but we could. Keep fighting, keep dancing.”

Grieve, fight, dance, repeat!

UNITY and COMMUNITY

Strength in Unity, Support in Community

Elena's Creative Community

ELENA'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY fosters real community to helps us stay strong and focused! This transformative online group is designed to provide meaningful connection with a like-minded community and support your inner exploration, personal empowerment, creativity, and productivity.

We have two free online multi-genre Work-Together sessions each month
on the first and third Saturdays at 2:00 pm US Eastern (New York).
For the month of March, they'll be on March 1 and March 15.
If you're interested in attending any of the work-togethers, drop me your email address so that you'll always receive the video link in the future. You only have to let me know once.

Things you might work on in these multi-genre work-togethers: a) writing the next chapter of your novel; b) learning your song lyrics; c) generating and sketching ideas for your next art installation; d) preparing a monologue for your audition; e) creating a plan for marketing the book you wrote; f) doing research and organization for your next op-ed; and so on. Many people find that working within the intentional group space is supportive and highly productive. Try it and see! If you want to try out the Work-Togethers, just Reply to this Newsletter. There's no obligation, so what have you got to lose?

CREATIVE CORNER

All things related to creativity and the creative arts
Future issues will contain the work of other creative artists, in addition to my own work

BEHIND THE SCENES (click to read) is a peak behind the curtain of self-producing an album. The stories and information are relevant to almost any music production, whether recording or performing. Subscribers (it's free!) receive the latest series posts on alternate weeks.

I realize it might seem that this series is dying a slow death ... but there is another segment just around the corner! Yes, I'll be posting a new piece in the series this month, one that feels a bit risky, but we're living in apocalyptic times, so here goes! Can you guess my secret? If you're a Substack subscriber of mine, you'll get it first.

WELLNESS

All things related to health, healing, and transformation

I'm sharing a few posts by colleagues this month which remind us to appreciate ourselves, to allow ourselves to grieve or feel whatever we're feeling, to support ourselves with beauty and ritual, and most of all to support one another....

Gratitude for Yourself - by Lucy Freedman
Decentering the madness - by Celia Castro
Don't Gaslight Yourself - by John Pavlovitz
Objects that Speak - by Bernadette Geraghty

CREATIVE ACTIVISM

In addition to my own work, I'll also be posting comments, stories and links here from others which unite their chosen activist focus with their creative genre. Let me know if you'd like to share an article, project or event that's connected with your activist purpose.

We Must Save the Journalists - by Elena Greco

Stand by or stand up - by Jenna Park

Learn how Estonia's Non-Violent Singing Revolution defeated a very violent occupation and led to Estonians gaining independence from the USSR in the 1980s. This is the power of creative activism combined with unity and community.

The Singing Revolution - informative website
The Singing Revolution - inspiring YouTube trailer (2.5 min)
Watch the entire film FREE on Tubi - click HERE (1.5 hrs)