December 17, 2025 – A few months ago, opinionator David Brooks called for a “mass movement” against Trump. But he stopped short of offering himself to lead the movement. Despite his position as a well-know conservative pundit, leading mass movements is not his thing. He has the megaphone, but is not comfortable using it.

Most of us don’t have the megaphone he has.

But we all have our comfort zones. Some of us are comfortable expressing our opinions on political issues on social media. It’s nice to get likes. And it’s nice to defend your position against contrarians who are seeing your posts because they are your friends. Maybe you can change one person’s opinion. And maybe they will go on to change another person’s opinion. It’s a comforting thought.

While Brooks was shying away from mass-movement leadership, some of us were out on the streets, joining our movement compatriots to protest the authoritarian actions of a president that moved the conservative Brooks to almost lead the charge against all that. It was “due process for all,” “we’re all immigrants,” and “ICE out.”

Joining a protest can be scary, I’ve been to scary protests. And being one out of thousands can seem a hollow gesture compared to what you could do if you were a New York Times columnist and TV personality. But let me tell you that it’s not really hollow.

It’s a minor point that you added yourself to the crowd size, that they keep obsessive track of. The major point is that you joined this crowd. You saw the people who had the courage to come out. You were one, yourself. You made yourself part of a movement. David Brooks didn’t do that, even though he has the megaphone and you don’t.

Over the last few months, I’ve been a member of the ICE Watch group for the school across the street for me. Most days, I stand with my whistle in an intersection looking for ICE vehicles. So far, I haven’t seen any. But one day around Halloween I heard the whistles and I ran toward them. ICE was present, but left. I didn’t see them myself. But I did talk to a guy on a bike who followed them till they left the neighborhood. ICE isn’t here every day, But every school day, people like my cyclist friend, stand watch at the school to protect our neighbors and their children.

This is the movement. It’s sad that David Brooks is afraid of that.

We each have ways that we can stand up. You can vote. You can take part in politics. You can contribute money. You can protect your neighbors. You can write letters to politicians. You can boycott billionaires.

These are all intrusions into our lives. Taking action is not always comfortable. Giving aid to those in need is not always easy.

But you don’t have to do it all yourself. (David, are you listening? Most certainly not.)

Our society has this myth of the rugged individualist. And it’s a lovely idea. But even in this me-first country, that’s not how things work. Things happen because people help each other. (Even corporations have share-holders.)

So find something you can join to at least restore sanity to the country. Or start something yourself. Do something that’s a little uncomfortable. For, if you don’t, it could get really uncomfortable—if it isn’t already.

And listen to the advice of tradition:

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

(This quote is frequently attributed to “the Talmud,” but is a free translation of a commentary on the Talmudic passage.)

Behind the Scenes: Why Pick On David Brooks?

Why did I pick on David Brooks? He’s neither the worst nor the best pundit out there. But he’s an alum of the University of Chicago, as am I. I take particular umbrage when a fellow alum goes off the rails.

The guy often has a brilliant and insightful analysis of a situation, but ends with a “never mind.” Forget what he says at the beginning because he is offering a contradictory prescription to solve what ever problem he’s writing about. He’s like Emily Litella in reverse.

And beyond the fellow-alum connection. For some reason, I keep getting promotions for his “We Need a Mass Movement—Now” article—like he’s leading the revolution. He most assuredly is not. The mass movement depends on all of us, not on David Brooks. Do David Brooks one better: do something that makes you uncomfortable.