Rev. Jared Rardin is a retired UCC pastor and a resident of Concord.

It’s been a breathless several weeks since the wrecking ball of the Trump administration has thrown much of the world into destabilizing chaos, uncertainty, anger and fear.

Almost overnight, it has declared economic war on the European Union, Canada, China and Mexico. Stocks are sliding and investors are rattled. The world’s military alliances are on edge, and the specter of Russian President Vladmir Putin’s influence is growing. Funding for lifesaving food and medical programs at home and abroad has been gutted. Businesses, nonprofits and universities that stand up for inclusion or stand against racism have been threatened with criminalization or defunding. The list goes on.

Eight years ago, in an article titled Saving Democracy in “The Christian Century,” Gary Dorrien warned us about President Trump’s authoritarian aspirations. “It’s hard to imagine that Trump will not take the path of the dictators he admires, since he does not respect Democratic institutions and does not take counsel from anyone outside the realm of military affairs.”

The slope is especially slippery now. As New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote recently, “The history of the world since at least the French Revolution is that rapid disruption makes governments cataclysmically worse. Trump, the anti-institutionalist, is creating an electoral monarchy, a system in which all power is personalized and held in his hands. That’s a recipe for distorted information flows, corruption, instability and administrative impotence.”

In short, our democracy is extremely vulnerable in this moment. Most of this is the Trump administration’s doing, but a piece of this is uniquely ours. We residents of the U.S. need large doses of both courage and care if we want our country to survive this time intact.

We’ll need courage because Trump has made good on his threats to punish those who dare to oppose him. The courageous voices that still remain in the GOP have fallen hauntingly silent, even among hawkish Republican senators who had, until recently, been vocal in their support of Ukraine. Suddenly their oppositional voices, too, have grown very quiet, as have the voices of many college presidents, corporate CEOs, reporters and major news outlets, professors and all those who would otherwise make for a healthy opposition but are truly afraid of retribution.

Thank goodness for the remaining examples, like Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, who dared to rule according to their reading of the Constitution rather than fall in lock-step with Trump. Thank goodness for Bishop Mariann Budde, for journalists who work tirelessly to bring us the events of the day and for all those who refuse to lay down.

But we will also need to summon the instinct to care, because our shared humanity is at risk. Together, we need to find a way to begin healing our divide: to be kind to one another, more humane again, quicker to care and slower to judge; to be more tolerant of one another’s differences, whatever those differences may be. We need to be concerned for all creatures who share this precious address called Earth.

In caring, we can only do our part, but every small contribution counts. Our instinctual kindness shows up when we hold the door for others; when we organize a block party; when we invite a friend to join us in our volunteer work; when we pay for the person behind us in line; whenever we turn off our devices; whenever we pray for one another; whenever we do anything that builds relationships and community. Because the most effective resistance occurs when the people come together.