When Trump was reelected, we knew we had to do something. The 50501 movement began, and we joined up. The idea was regular protests so that the draconian policies of the Trump regime did not unfold in a political vacuum. To keep pressure on elected officials and remind them we were watching. And by we, I mean hundreds, if not thousands of similar protest groups all over America.
The side mission of Cascade Forward, largely played out through the Cascade Forward Project, was to build a stronger community from the lowest levels up so that we could withstand what we feared would be a long, dark age in America.
Then November 3, 2026 happened. And American politics changed as MAGA was totally rebuked by the United States.
Now, we are in a waiting period. Let the new congress be seated. Let's see what they do. We don't believe for a moment that the need for protest and demonstration has passed forever. But many of our concerns are likely to be addressed by the government in coming months. Where they fail, we will be there to remind them of the will of the people. And we won't be alone.
Whatever the Democrats are able to do, we know that our community will need to rebuild and heal after the chaotic decade of Trump rule and MAGA influence. And while we can hope for help from the new congress, we will have to do a lot of the work ourselves.
That's why for now, our focus is going to be less on politics and more on community building and mutual aid. The Cascade Forward Project will be directing a lot of attention to Operation Esperanza, our toy drive for kids affected by ICE. Last year we had several winter season projects going, but this year we are going to focus on one for now.
Why? Because we need to focus. We have been trying to do a lot. Lori and I worked on several political campaigns during this off season. We've been sleeping four hours a night, doing our best to run Cascade Forward, campaigns, our business (the soap company that is our main source of household income), and giving our three year old little girl the attention she deserves.
The trade off of focusing on the one project is that in the extra time that carves out, I can work on the fairly ambitious plans I have for Cascade Forward for next year. That includes a gardening based project that will provide fresh, organic produce to families in need, more regular Arts in the Park events, and a blog/podcast/video project highlighting activism and non profits here in SW Washington.
Rubble Flowers will carry on, as will our Weatherproof program. They will be a bit more background for now, but will return in full force next year.
For two years we resisted MAGA. Now that it looks like that fight is nearly done, we haven't stopped resisting; we are just shifting focus more to rebuilding, and using that political energy to make demands of a potentially more friendly government.
Thank you for being part of this movement, and for your continued support.
Austin Pressley