We're in this together. For the past two years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her chart-topping Substack 'Civil Discourse' with these four words. In that time, she's guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms, the unprecedented felony conviction of an ex-president, and the approaching spectre of a second Trump Administration. Now, that it's upon us, Vance helps us understand how to avoid burnout and despair and exercise the democratic muscles we need to save the Republic. GIVING UP IS UNFORGIVABLE is a clarion call to action - putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Vance's message is hopeful at its heart, while acknowledging the daunting challenges that lay ahead. She is the Constitutional Law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context, the political history, and the practical reasons that the rule of law still matters, while also empowering you to do something from the small (that conversation you've been meaning to have with your uncle, volunteering for your favourite political cause) to the big (starting a grassroots movement, running for political office). Consider this the birth of a countermovement to Project 2025, a rallying cry for citizen engagement to counter the 2nd Trump Administration and save American democracy.
