WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY?

 "You now know what you would do for your country if your country was ever in this much danger.  It's whatever it is you're doing right now.  What you're doing now, what you're planning to do for the next six weeks, that's what you're made of." -- Rachel Maddow, MSNBC 9/23/20

"There is no more time for silence.  ... All women and men of conscience must speak or they are complicit in America lurching towards a dangerous cliff of autocracy and chaos." -- Dan Rather, Veteran Journalist

"This is how democracy dies." -- Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee

These are just a few responses to an Atlantic article published yesterday outlining the current president's plan to steal the election.  We already know there is an active Russian influence campaign to try to disrupt and discredit our election.  The current president is aware of this and complicit in it as he uses the exact same talking points:  The election is "rigged"; mail-in ballots are fraudulent; we can't trust the outcome.  He is suppressing the vote in many states through arcane voting laws, gerrymandering, closing polling places, and slowing down the mail by appointing unqualified crony as Postmaster General who has removed mailboxes and dismantled sorting machines in mostly large Democratic cities, but in other areas too.  He is preparing a legal battle if he is not declared the winner on November 3, and is planning a work around to appoint Republican electors chosen by state legislatures who will cast votes for him by overriding the will of the people due to "vote fraud".  Eventually this would go to Congress and the Courts, leaving the U.S. in chaos for weeks/months with the endpoint a victory for him, since by then he plans on having made his third far right wing Supreme Court appointment on the Court.

Yesterday, when asked by a reporter if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, he said, "Well, we're going to have to see what happens.  You know that I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.  Get rid of the ballots and you'll have a very -- we'll have a very peaceful -- there won't be a transfer frankly, there'll be a continuation."  He also noted, "I think this will end up in the Supreme Court and I think it's very important that we have nine justices, and I think the system's going to go very quickly.  Having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation."

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I know I'm living through history.  

I know that these years of a corrupt, chaotic, and despotic presidency will produce a library full of books that my grandchildren may have to read for their history classes. (Are there still history classes?)  

I know this election is a defining moment for the United States of America and its experiment in democracy.   

I know that the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg last Friday was a jolt to women, who knew that without Justice Ginsberg discrimination on the basis of sex might still be rampant, not to mention the vacancy she leaves may push the Court to the far right, endangering abortion rights, affordable health care, LGTBQ rights, safety regulations, religious freedom, immigration, the upcoming election, and on and on.  

I know that the social/racial flashpoint that is occurring right now in response to police killings of black people is a wake-up call for all of us and a moment when, finally, some white people are seeing past their own privilege to take to the streets with their black brothers and sisters to demand an end to systemic racism.  

I know this summer's record number and size of wildfires and hurricanes is the earth's way of crying out for healing.  A thick blanket of toxic smoke covered whole states, and our town, for two weeks.  We barely left the house, keeping all doors and windows closed on what should have been beautiful summer days, had the sun been able to penetrate the smoke.

I know this Covid-19 pandemic, which has now infected nearly 7 million Americans and killed over 200,000 is not slowing down, not going away, and may be only one in a long string of similar health-related deadly consequences of climate change.

The world is turning.  Sometimes I think all of this is a purge.  We are at the point of change or die, in many ways.  Incremental change, half measures, and good intentions are not cutting it.

So....what am I doing?  How am I responding to my country being in this much danger?

It turns out there are few flashy heroic measures for most of us.  Most of us are just trying to survive this swirling chaotic storm, take care of our families, find some measure of happiness and contentment.  But my motto is "If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot." I'm doing a little.

I am passionate about the right to vote.  I am passionate about making sure everyone exercises that right. I am taking that passion to my desk, volunteering with four different organizations to write letters and postcards to prospective voters, especially in Swing States, especially under-represented people of color, to urge them to register and vote in this election.  I write and write and write.  I buy lots of stamps.  I pour my heart into each message, envisioning a person reading my words and maybe, just maybe, being moved to cast a vote.  I realize these cards and letters may also go directly into the trash, but studies have proven that a hand-written note to a specific person increases voter turnout 3-5%.  Sounds paltry, but adds up to several million potential voters at the polls.  I've written a couple of hundred notes and still going strong.

I also plan to do shifts of text banking for Democrats once I figure out the tech expertise I need to get up and running.  I am intimidated by it, but it feels like a teeny tiny thing to figure out compared to doing nothing after the letter/card campaigns end in mid-October.  The last push will be phone calls and texts.  I can do that.

I'm donating to candidates -- not just for president, but for key Senate races.  

I'm posting pro-Democrat information on social media -- a countdown to Election Day (a bit of a misnomer, since over half the states have already begun absentee and early voting), and Biden/Harris positions on various issues.  I'm hoping my FB friends will pass these on to their FB friends, but so far I'm not seeing any 'shares'.  Still, I do what I can.  

What I can't do is worry too much that others aren't joining in with activism.  Maybe some are and I don't know it.  Maybe some just aren't interested.  Maybe some are too busy, too tired, too distracted, too overwhelmed, too cynical, too afraid.  Over the past few years at various times my political buddy and I have tried to organize and enlist friends in joining us in calling legislators, writing letters, etc.  Not much interest, so we gave up.  In this time of physical distancing, we can't even try to gather anyone together, and she and I don't even see each other in person, so I am going solo.  I've found some enthusiastic online groups, have taken some fun and inspiring online trainings, listen to a few political podcasts -- all of which keeps me informed and motivated.  I do what I can.

So, what am I doing for my country?  I'm trying.  I'm eating healthy, walking regularly, practicing yoga and meditation, seeing my family with distance and masks when I can, calling and Zooming with friends, feeling deeply connected to and grateful for my husband, growing some of my own food, learning and writing about the Enneagram personality types to better understand myself and others,  paying attention to the news of the day, finding rest and relaxation amidst also clutter-busting this big old house.  I am living the best life I know how to live, alive to each moment, and ready for whatever comes.  And I am 100% committed to the actions I can take to preserve our democracy, to elect leaders who share my values and vision of a world of equality, compassion, diversity, generosity, and justice. 

I'm writing some letters, donating some money, sending some texts, making a few calls.  It doesn't seem like nearly enough.  But...If we ALL do a little, it adds up to A LOT!  No doubt there is something you can do too.  It's time to do it. 

At least, that's the view from here...©