The former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama — who resigned the day before President Donald Trump took office the first time — published a new book about what citizens can do about his overreach in every branch of government during his second term.
In her book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, constitutional law professor and popular Substacker Joyce Vance gives readers hope and insights about how to protect democracy from Trump’s grasp.
“This is not a moment for Americans to look away and hope it will be okay if we don’t focus,” Vance said in a recent interview on KQED. Rather than become disengaged by the deluge of announcements and unprecedented actions that understandably overwhelm many Americans, Vance suggests that people “double down and focus on your area of specific interest.”
Her book comes out as Trump continues to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic cities and as the deadline to continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the country’s largest food aid program, draws concerningly close. Two federal judges ruled on Friday that Trump must continue to fund SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, according to the Associated Press.
“A throughline with this presidency has been an effort to claim a greater share of power for the presidency, which is upsetting the constitutional balance of power the founding fathers established,” Vance said. “The three branches of government are meant to act as a check and balance so that no one institution can become too powerful and imposes itself on the citizens.”
Her book, a New York Times bestseller, is “equal parts civic class, history lesson, and call to save the Republic,” according to a USA Today review. “Vance helps us understand how to avoid burnout and despair and exercise the democratic muscles we need to save the Republic.”
While her book seems at times “relentlessly optimistic,” according to Kirkus Reviews, she offers useful tips for how people can exercise their constitutional rights in the face of an increasingly authoritarian administration.
“What gives me hope is being in community with people — for one thing, young people — I find that they’re remarkably engaged on these issues,” Vance said.
“We don’t each have to fight the entire battle for democracy on our own,” she added, noting that concerned citizens can do their part by volunteering at food banks, reading to schoolchildren, and advocating for issues they care about. “There are so many opportunities to reinforce democratic values by finding something that you’re passionate about.”