I know there are many people in the architecture community who are upset over this election. There will continue to be a lot of soul-searching and gnashing of teeth - battling it out online and marching in the streets may be cathartic...  But the truth is we still live in a representative democracy and the people who do have the power to do anything are your local and state reps - and they need to see and hear from us. RIGHT NOW.

So - even if you didn't vote for them - even if you don't agree with their policies and beliefs - show up.  get your friends and community and your network to show up to hearings and meetings.  make phone calls - really inundate their office with phone calls.  Letters and e-mails are somewhat effective - but being present - either in voice or in person - has the biggest impact.  Be respectful and firm.  Showing up and yelling won't help anything.

The following is my opinion on the two most important issues right now:

The first thing to squash is bigotry, racism, and misogyny.  This will not be tolerated, and we need to make it known loud and clear that this behavior is reprehensible and destructive to our society.  The first task is getting reps to denounce this behavior and language loudly and repeatedly.

The second, is to keep repeating that tackling human-led climate change is imperative and anything that sends us backwards is not only irresponsible for future generations but puts us at a competitive disadvantage - especially in terms of energy independence -  with nations who are moving these goals forward.  This issue is especially impactful on our field and the entire building industry - not just in terms of energy use, but also in terms of escalating future costs of wasteful and sprawling infrastructure choices.

Ignore the trolls - keep fighting.