We’re at war with Iran. Donald Trump, unsurprisingly, has broken yet another promise – to not involve our country in foreign conflicts. As I write this, there is majority disapproval of the bombing, but historically any such opposition tends to be short-lived, as Mark Twain observed in The Mysterious Stranger, another catastrophe of global proportions in the making. Another heartbreak.

What are the most common feelings when the heart is broken? Bitterness. Betrayal. Grief for what was and might have been. And overarching all these deep feelings is the overwhelming sense that one will never be whole again, that spring will never come again, that life is now gray, dingy and drab – devoid of color and passion.

But then, slowly, life returns. New shoots push their way through the concrete cracks. One morning, the sunlight hits you just right in the face, and you smile a smile that is part remembrance, part renewal. And it’s in that moment, and moments to come, that you recognize that you are healing, that the long convalescence of the heart in winter was just that – a rejuvenation.

So as with our lives, so with America. Our collective hearts are broken, and we are just beginning to knit up the unraveled sleeve of care and apply the balm of Gilead.

In this case, our balm is the reform and strengthening of our democracy. And it is the next step we all must take as our national healing progresses.

There will be those who will say it can’t be done, it’s too late for reform, better save what you can and just hope for the best. That is neither a winning nor a hopeful strategy. It assumes that America is broken beyond repair and can never be made whole again, that it can only limp into the future as a fragment of what it was and what it could have been. That is wrong.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said, “There is no heart as whole as a broken heart.” That sounds like a paradox on the surface, but when you look inside that broken heart, you find the seeds of its renewal, dormant and needing only light and space to grow. And the engine that drives that growth is knowing that you are not alone.

That is the best thing that the “No Kings” and other anti-Trump groups have given us. Members from all generations from the newest to the greatest, of all politics, colors and creeds, stand together in resistance to tyranny and commitment to a robust democracy. They believe, as Rebbe Nachman did, that if breaking is possible, fixing is also possible.

So how do we fix America? What must be done?

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s book “Tyranny of the Minority” offers a road map. In studying the successes and failures of democracy around the world, they recommend these remedies: remove all semi-loyal politicians (DINOs), make it easier to vote, eliminate gerrymandering (on ALL sides), abolish the Electoral College in place of the popular vote, eliminate the filibuster, end life terms for Supreme Court justices, and make it easier to amend the Constitution. Many democracies (e.g., Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden) have already eliminated some or all of these, and their democracies are thriving.

A tall order. Especially for the out of power party, dominated by an authoritarian party that is unwilling to accept reform, especially to those democratic vulnerabilities they have exploited to their advantage. But there are millions of Americans who have – and would – support these reforms if put before them for a vote. The party that speaks for those reforms, that shows a way forward – not backward – can win.

For starters, Democrats must form a shadow government, designed to provide true information about the current administration’s doings while proposing alternatives such as Levitsky and Ziblatt propose. AOC, Jasmine Crockett, Jamie Raskin, Pete Buttigieg, Tim Walz, Robert Reich, Bernie Sanders, Jim McGovern and Sheldon Whitehouse would all make first-rate members. Representing the loyal opposition, they’ve already taken the first steps towards establishing a shadow government – now it’s time to declare it exists and put it into action.

Support for new candidates is also critical. One name that comes up time and again in the media is Kat Abughazaleh, who has declared for Congress to represent Chicago’s Ninth District. She is a terrific speaker, with a deep understanding of the GOP’s strategy and the heart and courage ro promote democratic reform and ways to resist tyranny. You can find her at katforillinois.com Also Sen. Joel Ossoff is facing strong MAGA opposition in Georgia: you can donate to his campaign at https://secure.actblue.com.

The gates of Hell, according to Dante Aligheri, are supposed to be adorned with the legend, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” But we’re not in Hell. It just seems like it. That’s what Trump and his sociopathic coterie want us to believe – that we can change nothing, that it is better to abandon all hope and accept the yoke of servitude to the fascist state. To that, all freedom-loving Americans must reply – as General McAuliffe did to his German adversary – “Nuts!”