It was still early morning, and I was clutching my coffee while going through my email. In response to last week’s “good news blast,” many thanked AoCC for staying strong and celebrating small wins. But one email stuck out. A question.
Our subscriber wrote, If there are 45,000 of us subscribing to Americans of Conscience Checklist, why do so few people report taking actions?
An honest question, and a mirror we can look into together.
We Tally the Actions You Take
Did you ever notice that little checkbox next to each of our actions? You can click it after completing any action that supports democracy, equality, and justice. Behind every click is a caring person, doing their part in uncertain times.
At the end of each month, we tally these clicks to track our combined effort. The subscriber who wrote to me thought our numbers seemed “down.” But I have good news for you.
There Are Good Reasons People Stop Taking Action
No lie. Things are rough in these United States. This grueling state of affairs has led many people to stop participating, as have other factors, including:
- Emotional exhaustion: The constant assault on decency and democracy can make you furious and break your heart. It’s only human nature to shut down when it’s too big a problem—especially if you feel too small to make a difference.
- Uncertainty and mistrust: None of us knows what is going to “fix” this period we’re in. If you contact your elected officials, it may feel like nothing changes. It’s too complex to tell which actions matter most—or whether anything will.
- Isolation: Many of us consume news alone. We can’t bring it up in conversation. Taking any kind of action can feel pointless and lack momentum or direction. To feel courageous often requires company, and that may be what’s missing.
You’re Not Alone
Caring Americans feel exhausted, uncertain, and isolated. Our volunteer team feels it. I feel it. So when “only” 80 people take an action, it might seem like everyone else has given up.
But. Zoom out to the big picture. Those 80 people are part of an entire movement of Americans waking up to today’s injustice and choosing to do something about it. Every single one of those actions represents someone like you choosing care over cynicism, hope over fear.
It’s Actually Better Than You Think
Over the last nine years, I’ve seen our subscribers’ actions go up and down. The trends this year have been very good. Take a look:
- In 2022, our subscribers took 10,300 actions.
- In 2023, they took 19,400.
- In 2024, it dipped down to 17,300.
- But 2025? As of July 31, we’ve doubled the last two years combined—42,999 actions—and the year isn’t close to over yet!
Commitment Matters
Since January this year, our number of subscribers has increased by nearly 10%! If just one-quarter of us completed a single action this week, we’d take over 11,000 acts of care, justice, equality, and democracy. Could your action be the proverbial straw that changes the direction of our nation? We don’t know. But we’ll certainly never know if we do nothing.
That’s why we keep showing up. Each action in the Americans of Conscience Checklist is carefully researched and easy to complete. Our publication exists to bridge the gap between caring and doing. So right now, I invite you to take one or both of these options:
Option 1: Commit to taking at least one action this week.
- Open the latest Checklist and choose one action that speaks to you—whether it’s protecting voting rights, supporting fair courts, advocating for a separated family, or advancing equality.
- Take ten minutes to complete it.
- Important: Click the tick box next to the action you’ve taken to report to us that you’ve completed it. (We tally these every month!)
- If you have energy to do more, keep going!
Option 2: Join us this Sunday.
If you want to take action with a supportive community, join me and your Americans of Conscience peers this weekend. We’re gathering on Zoom for a session called Sunday Steadies (the opposite of “Sunday scaries”) to take positive, hopeful action together, led by Jen Hofmann, AoCC Founder and Director.
Join us in choosing joyful rebellion to create community, meaningful action, and connection to the larger movement. Come as you are—in your Sunday best or your Sunday sweats. Come with the latest Checklist or an activism project. Come with a friend or your pet. For 90 minutes, we’ll work together—one action at a time—toward our 2025 goal of completing 50,000 pro-democracy actions. We only have 7,000 to go!
Are you ready to recommit—or keep going? Join us. We’ll determine whether we make Sunday Steadies a regular offering based on participation.
Sunday Steadies Session Details:
- Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025
- Times: 1.5 hours, 12:30pm Eastern, 11:30am Central, 10:30am Mountain, 9:30am Pacific, 5:30pm GMT
- Bring: The latest Checklist, device of your choice, and a willingness to take action.
- Cost: This session is open to our subscribers and friends at no cost. Support is welcome, but not required.
- Join our first Sunday Steadies at this Zoom link:
- Meeting ID: 820 4001 4345
- Passcode: 2028
Together, We’re the Movement
Thank you for caring, showing up, and taking action. Your participation truly matters. I hope to see you on Sunday.
Warmly,
Jen Hofmann
Founder and Director
Americans of Conscience
I take actions. I just don’t take the time to tick the box and fill out forms. It seems like a simple thing to do, but it takes time away from other reading and morning tasks.
This is helpful to know, Suzanne! Thanks for your comment. I’ll be sure to pass this along to our volunteers, as they often want to know how people engage with our Checklist.
I had no idea you were tallying actions. I read the list, and sometimes print it out and share it with others, but it never occurred to me that you were gathering feedback.
For my own safety, and to prevent spam, I usually try to avoid any sort of feedback (such as read receipts) from my email.
I’m sure I’m not the only one, and the feedback numbers vastly under-report the number of actions actually taken.
PS – I REALLY appreciate the “Just Good News” section.
Thank you so much for this, Clay! We appreciate YOU! For what it’s worth, we collect zero personal data when you click the box. It’s designed that way so there’s no risk of spam to you. Thank you so much for being part of our community!
During tRump 1.0 I actively used your list. I am still active during 2.0, calling electeds, postcarding, protesting but through more local channels.
I totally agree the check boxes would be an under reporting.
Thank you for continuing your important work.
Thank you, Lola! We celebrate you deepening your engagement at the local level! When we all lift a little, we can all lift a lot!