Kinda crazy but today, May 18th 2017 feels like we are on the cusp of some heavy shit. I mean the house of cards is feeling as though it could come down. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But, sometime. Preferably before fall. I would love to see that greedy, despot of a man go down by end of summer. I have the champagne stashed. I just need the moment.
If I had written this post last week I don't think I would have felt so emboldened about our prospects. But 45 has had a very bad week. With Comey being fired, and now with Mueller on the case, from everything I have read, #45 should be very scared. Which makes it a lot easier to feel kind of good for a change. I wish it was that easy, sadly I still have to get my folks to see that even after the house is flat on the ground, we will still have Pence and (most likely- but you never know) we will have to deal with the GOP and their budget, and their tax cuts and health care.
But this weekend I will send everyone good hearty articles to read that unwind this crazy. I am drinking my wine, and thinking about how we keep activating opposition and play defense while we watch the best worst drama in real time.
Friday, May 19, 2017
Friday, May 5, 2017
Engagement is hard
Over 100 days in. I realize we have a long way to go in this administration if it goes full term. Although that sounds similar to pregnancy this would be far from it. Rather this is a cancer, growing and growing, hoping that it can be removed, reduced, or destroyed via sheer will. But we know, the only way this cancer stops, is by our constant resistance.
Monday will be my activist group's 4th meeting. As per my experience in past activism, engagement is always key. It is also the hardest. Easy to be mad, easy to be disgruntled, hard to keep people showing up, marching, writing letters, making phone calls, not forgetting. Change is slow. Too slow for most. This is the first of many instances where as a activist leader you have to think about how to keep people showing up. How to make sure they feel like they can make a difference and that it is worth it to stay invested. Pep talks can be great, but they need more behind them. People need wins, they need reasons.
The ACA was successfully repealed by the House yesterday. That doesn't really mean anything. The bill is DOA in the Senate. But to those who are tip toeing into activism it feels like a loss. It is not. It is showmanship and was passed to try and make the Asshole in Chief look good. Whatever bill the Senate comes up with will be different and most likely won't be as damaging. Long story short, this feels like one more of an ongoing cascade of losses to the left.
How do I march? How do I keep inspiring my fellow activists to march? For me it is about empathy. I need to empathize that they have busy lives, that they are overwhelmed and scared and not sure what to do. For me it is asking for one action, a day, a week, whatever they can give. It is me asking them to stay in the fight, by whatever amount they can give. Be it one day a month, I will take it. If they can find one day a week great. But ultimately, I have to keep them in, to whatever capacity I can. But, we have to remind them, that this fight isn't just for today. This fight is for tomorrow, it is for the next generation, it is for soul of our democracy. I don't think I am overstating this. We are on the cusp of a true Oligarchy with the proposed tax cuts and condensed wealth and power. We have to fight for our kids, our grandkids. This is how we stay focused. We are moms, we are daughters, we are sisters. We must stay in, by any means.
Monday will be my activist group's 4th meeting. As per my experience in past activism, engagement is always key. It is also the hardest. Easy to be mad, easy to be disgruntled, hard to keep people showing up, marching, writing letters, making phone calls, not forgetting. Change is slow. Too slow for most. This is the first of many instances where as a activist leader you have to think about how to keep people showing up. How to make sure they feel like they can make a difference and that it is worth it to stay invested. Pep talks can be great, but they need more behind them. People need wins, they need reasons.
The ACA was successfully repealed by the House yesterday. That doesn't really mean anything. The bill is DOA in the Senate. But to those who are tip toeing into activism it feels like a loss. It is not. It is showmanship and was passed to try and make the Asshole in Chief look good. Whatever bill the Senate comes up with will be different and most likely won't be as damaging. Long story short, this feels like one more of an ongoing cascade of losses to the left.
How do I march? How do I keep inspiring my fellow activists to march? For me it is about empathy. I need to empathize that they have busy lives, that they are overwhelmed and scared and not sure what to do. For me it is asking for one action, a day, a week, whatever they can give. It is me asking them to stay in the fight, by whatever amount they can give. Be it one day a month, I will take it. If they can find one day a week great. But ultimately, I have to keep them in, to whatever capacity I can. But, we have to remind them, that this fight isn't just for today. This fight is for tomorrow, it is for the next generation, it is for soul of our democracy. I don't think I am overstating this. We are on the cusp of a true Oligarchy with the proposed tax cuts and condensed wealth and power. We have to fight for our kids, our grandkids. This is how we stay focused. We are moms, we are daughters, we are sisters. We must stay in, by any means.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Activist at 50
It's not particularly surprising I am an activist, again, at 50. Like a lot of people I was politically active during college. Then life came along. I got married, had kids, started a freelance career. When my two sons were younger I volunteered in the schools and was actively involved attending school board meetings and I knocked on doors for the local bond and levy. Now that I type this I realize I have always been an activist. To varying degrees, to varying commitments I have shown up, asked questions, organized meetings and participated. That's the word. Participated. I have always participated in our democracy. But now, I am a real community organizer.
On November 10th I woke up devastated. Like so many Americans who found Trump unelectable. I booked my tickets from Portland Oregon to Washington DC for the Women's March the day the march was announced. I organized 9 other women to attend with me, including my 2 daughters. We marched in our gifted pussy hats, made by mystery knitters we would never get to thank. We cheered. We celebrated that we were a part of history. We went home united and giddy, unaware of the news coverage. The confused people who didn't understand why we marched. how could we march when the man had just been inaugurated? Surely we were just sore losers.
10 actions in 100 days. That is what the march organizers promised. The first action was fine. Everyone mail a postcard. But then the second, the third, they weren't enough. Word of a guidebook called the Indivisible Guide had started circulating. It made sense. It has a plan. We needed a plan. Social media started connecting the dots, the women like me who were obsessed with the news. Obsessed with what the hell was going on and did we have any way of combatting it. This Indivisible thing seemed to be growing.
And here we are.
My little Indivisible group that I started with my grumpy old man neighbor, has gone from 6 members to 63 in one month. Our group is titled with only the small little section of the city that most locals won't even recognize. Yet here we are. Our first meeting in February had 6 people attend. On Monday night we had 25. I just posted the event for April, and 12 people have already RSVPd. Today I add 'Community Organizer' to my LinkedIn profile.
That is why I started this blog. I realize, I am not alone. All over America, right now, there are women like me, organizing. Creating FaceBook pages, websites, meetings, making it happen. WE are the CHANGE. We will make this wrong a right. Together we will pick our way through the minefield of this insanely surreal world our democracy has left us with. I realize today, as I keep working activist efforts into my day, from the FaceBook posts, petition signing, phone calling, email writing, activism has become part of my daily routine. Just like choosing to eat more vegetables and walk 10,000 steps, activism is now a part of my lifestyle. It is exhausting, and empowering. I am not alone.
It's not particularly surprising I am an activist, again, at 50. Like a lot of people I was politically active during college. Then life came along. I got married, had kids, started a freelance career. When my two sons were younger I volunteered in the schools and was actively involved attending school board meetings and I knocked on doors for the local bond and levy. Now that I type this I realize I have always been an activist. To varying degrees, to varying commitments I have shown up, asked questions, organized meetings and participated. That's the word. Participated. I have always participated in our democracy. But now, I am a real community organizer.
On November 10th I woke up devastated. Like so many Americans who found Trump unelectable. I booked my tickets from Portland Oregon to Washington DC for the Women's March the day the march was announced. I organized 9 other women to attend with me, including my 2 daughters. We marched in our gifted pussy hats, made by mystery knitters we would never get to thank. We cheered. We celebrated that we were a part of history. We went home united and giddy, unaware of the news coverage. The confused people who didn't understand why we marched. how could we march when the man had just been inaugurated? Surely we were just sore losers.
10 actions in 100 days. That is what the march organizers promised. The first action was fine. Everyone mail a postcard. But then the second, the third, they weren't enough. Word of a guidebook called the Indivisible Guide had started circulating. It made sense. It has a plan. We needed a plan. Social media started connecting the dots, the women like me who were obsessed with the news. Obsessed with what the hell was going on and did we have any way of combatting it. This Indivisible thing seemed to be growing.
And here we are.
My little Indivisible group that I started with my grumpy old man neighbor, has gone from 6 members to 63 in one month. Our group is titled with only the small little section of the city that most locals won't even recognize. Yet here we are. Our first meeting in February had 6 people attend. On Monday night we had 25. I just posted the event for April, and 12 people have already RSVPd. Today I add 'Community Organizer' to my LinkedIn profile.
That is why I started this blog. I realize, I am not alone. All over America, right now, there are women like me, organizing. Creating FaceBook pages, websites, meetings, making it happen. WE are the CHANGE. We will make this wrong a right. Together we will pick our way through the minefield of this insanely surreal world our democracy has left us with. I realize today, as I keep working activist efforts into my day, from the FaceBook posts, petition signing, phone calling, email writing, activism has become part of my daily routine. Just like choosing to eat more vegetables and walk 10,000 steps, activism is now a part of my lifestyle. It is exhausting, and empowering. I am not alone.
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