8 ways the Left is Holding Itself Back

I started writing this piece when Trump was re-elected. But at the time, I didn’t feel right publishing it. We were in crisis. Everyone I knew was afraid, exhausted, and feeling defeated. And I didn’t want to pile on to that. I didn’t want to look like I was scolding people who were already being crushed under the weight of this government.

But now we’re at a turning point. We are facing the single greatest threat to American democracy in our lifetimes. And if we want to survive this authoritarian regime we need to get more strategic. This wasn’t written to shame anyone. I’ve been guilty of it all. I’ve repeated these patterns enough to learn from them. And I’m writing this not from a place of superiority, but from experience. From learning. From screwing up and trying again.

Also, to preempt the usual “but the right does this too” response- yes. Obviously. The right has built an entire political machine out of manipulation, cruelty, and disinformation. But this post isn’t about them. It’s about us. And how we, on the left, are sometimes getting in our own way.

Here are eight ways I see the left hold itself back from making bigger waves.

1. We Cherry-Pick Science Just Like They Do

We love to say we’re “the party of science.” And in a lot of ways, we are. We cite climate data, research on gender and sexuality, crime stats, mental health studies…the works. We dunk on conservatives for ignoring evidence and relying on conspiracy theories. But when it comes to political strategy, we ignore two essential sciences: psychology and sociology.

These are the sciences that explain how people form beliefs. How the brain protects us from change. Why facts often don’t work and why shame almost never does. Two books changed the way I approached all of this: How Minds Change and The Righteous Mind. They helped me understand something so important; people don’t always reject facts because they’re hateful. They often reject them because their brains are trying to protect them.

If the truth threatens your relationships, your community, your sense of self- your brain might not even let you see it. So when we scream facts at people and expect them to wake up, we’re misunderstanding how belief even works. The better we understand how humans actually process information, the better we can reach them. We can love science and still completely miss the science of human behavior.

2. We Overcomplicate Everything

I love a good deep dive. I love research. I love nuance. But sometimes, our obsession with facts and logic makes us forget something basic:

Belief starts with emotion, not logic.

We form beliefs emotionally, and then use logic to justify them. That’s why long threads and charts and data drops don’t often change minds. Especially if the person you’re talking to already feels threatened. You know what does work? Deep canvassing. It’s a strategy rooted in storytelling, values, connection. A study out of UC Berkeley found that deep, emotional conversations can change people’s minds on the hardest issues-trans rights, racism, immigration-in just 10-20 minutes. Not because of facts. Because of connection.

If we want to persuade people we have to speak to the heart, not just the head.

3. We Play the Blame Game

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shared a story about a Trump voter regretting their decision or getting deported, only to be met with:

“Good. They deserve it.”

And I get it. I do. It feels good to point fingers. It feels righteous. But these stories aren’t shared to make you feel sorry for anyone. They’re shared as warnings. As cautionary tales. Because this regime doesn’t just come for “the left.” It comes for anyone not useful to its agenda. When we waste our energy on blame, we lose potential allies. And I’m not saying we have to forgive or forget. But if someone is waking up to the light, we don’t gain anything by shoving them back into the dark.

You don’t win movements by shrinking them. You win by building.

4. We Encourage Apathy (Without Realizing It)

Comments like:

“Voting doesn’t matter.”

“The system is rigged.”

“We’re doomed anyway.”

Whether it’s a bot, a troll, or just someone who’s tired — it doesn’t matter. Those messages do their work for them. This regime wants you to give up. If they can’t scare you into silence, they’ll lull you into apathy. That’s how they win. And I know it’s hard. I’ve felt defeated, too. But survival means fighting what feels natural when that feeling is trying to shrink you.

You don’t fight fascism by sitting it out.

5. We Gatekeep Activism

I didn’t grow up doing this work. I wasn’t always politically active. But when things got bad, I picked up the phone and called my rep.

And people told me: “That doesn’t work. That’s pointless. That’s not real activism. What you should be doing is XYZ…”

But that one call is what lit the fire and catapulted me into community activism.

Being ignored is what radicalized me. It pushed me from awareness into action. And I’ve seen it happen over and over again. But too often, we act like there’s only one “right” way to resist. If you’re not radical enough, loud enough, strategic enough, you’re dismissed. If you’re too disruptive, you’re “hurting the cause.”

The truth is we need all of it. We need the disruptors and the bridge builders. The loud and the soft. The organizers, the artists, the educators, the agitators. We all have a role to play. We’ll get nothing done if everyone plays only one role.

6. We Fall for Fearmongering and Fake News

We clown on the right for falling for fake headlines and conspiracy theories. But the left isn’t immune. We get swept up in viral tweets, scary posts, and panic spirals. Things are scary but you don’t need to exaggerate the danger we’re in. The truth is terrifying enough.

Before you repost, ask:

• Is this verified?

• Who’s amplifying it? What do they gain from sharing it?

• Is this meant to mobilize or demoralize?

Fear is a powerful tool. Don’t let them weaponize it against you.

7. We Try to Force Values

I’ve been here. I’ve said the thing. You’ve probably said it too:

“How can you not care?”

“You have no empathy.”

“How do you sleep at night?”

But you can’t force someone to share your values. You can’t shame someone into compassion. Morality isn’t universal or objective. it’s shaped by life experience, community, trauma, survival. So instead of trying to convert people to our values, let’s start with the ones we already share.

Take abortion. Right-wingers might say we don’t care about fetuses. We say they don’t care about pregnant people. But underneath it all? Both sides value human life. Start there. Build from there. Because if the goal is fewer abortions, we know what actually works: sex ed, healthcare, paid leave, childcare. Progressive policies. They don’t have to betray their values to support progressive policies, but sometimes, people need help connecting those dots.

We don’t have to agree on everything. We just have to agree on something, and move from there.

8. We Ignore Local Power

For a long time, I thought my platform was my most powerful tool. That speaking to hundreds of thousands was the best I could do. But what I’ve seen here in my own town has changed me.

Local action matters. Protests, conversations, one-on-one community support; this is how resistance spreads. This is how movements grow. We break protest records not by telling people to show up, but by being ignored until we can’t stay quiet anymore. This regime wants us isolated. Fighting in comment sections. Feeling alone. But I know I’m not alone. And I want you to know you aren’t either.

This fight is hard. But it’s winnable. And it starts exactly where you are, and in your own back yard.

Final Thoughts

We don’t need to be perfect. We just need to be aware. Strategic. Committed.

We need to stop sabotaging our own momentum and start stepping fully into our power.

We’ve got strategic work to do.

Let’s get to it.