Resisting Oligarchy: They Cannot Withstand Consistent Pressure

“We are in the we are in the business of creating conditions...They cannot withstand the constant, consistent pressure." ~ AOC gives a master class in resistance.

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Every small action matters and collective, consistent pressure can protect democracy.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) understands the assignment. She, along with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), is leading Resisting Oligarchy strategy rallies to emphasize the importance of small and collective acts of resistance.

During her rally Friday evening, AOC encouraged people to know their power to resist.

“Don't let anyone take the focus off of what is happening right in this present moment. Elon Musk is not going after efficiency. He's not going after making these things better for people. He's trying to steal Medicaid so that he can enrich himself. He is trying to steal and gut NASA to line his pockets with Space X. He is trying to gut everything that is good in America for his own private profit. This is the culmination of what oligarchy is all about and what oligarchy seeks to do,” AOC told a crowd of New York federal workers.

”It's the seizure and the capture by the billionaire class of our democracy.”

“We have an obligation to resist kings. We have an obligation to resist oligarchs. We have a sworn duty to this nation, to resist oligarchy, including any billionaire that tried to undermine our Constitution. America is not for sale. They are only as powerful as we consent to believe them to be powerful.”

“Don't agree in advance. Don't go quietly, don't make it easy. Make them.”

“And there's specific ways that we all can do it. Document it. They want to do something, put it in an email. And I say this very intentionally, because we will work in the streets, in the courts, in public opinion, in our art, everywhere! We can overwhelm them.”

“We outnumber them. Understand our power in this moment! Don't give up our power. Don't shy away from our power. Every small action matters. They want us to give in to this idea of meaninglessness. They want us to be seduced by nihilism. They want us to be count down by cynicism. Don't let them. Every action matters.”

Watch here as the New York Democrat explains how she stopped DOGE’s attempt to access the sensitive data at the Department of Labor, which if compromised could have huge consequences for the American economy:

WE CREATE THE CONDITIONS

“We are in the business of creating conditions. There's not one act that is going to save all of us. It is going to be the constant pressure and commitment to saving our democracy. They cannot withstand the constant, consistent pressure. They will crumble under it every day. Our job is to wake up and say, ‘What can I do today?’ There is no act too small that that does not matter,” AOC told the crowd.

RESISTANCE AS BACKLASH