This past weekend, I joined 150 friends in a Zoom and we wrote letters to voters in swing states…
Wildfires, police killings, an incurable virus, disinformation and propaganda, racism, blatant disregard for the constitution and even democracy itself… It’s pretty easy to get real hopeless, real fast these days. But complacency plays into the hands of the incompetent administration. They need you to lose confidence in democratic processes. Screw that. Here are 3 things I’m doing that are giving me hope and maybe even making a difference.
1. Letter writing to get out the vote
Sadly, only half of Americans vote. Misinformation, complacency, gerrymandering and voter suppression all work to continue the minoritarian rule of the Right. We must do better. This past weekend, I joined 150 friends in a Zoom and we wrote letters to voters in swing states to encourage them to exercise their right to vote. We wrote 3,000 letters in an hour and a half. It’s part of an effort by Vote Forward that I found out about from my friend Ethan. It was a powerful experience of collective action and community building and it felt great to connect with decent people who want to make a difference. Hope is the best disinfectant for authoritarianism right now. I chose to write letters in Florida because my parents are there, Trump needs it to win and it’s been decided by fractional percentage points for decades. Join us by signing up here. Get in touch if you’d like to join my group this coming Sunday — you’ll love it.
2. Flipping the Senate
There are well over 300 bills stalled in the Senate, locked down by a thin Republican majority. The result? The Senate is at a historic low in its representation of the will of the people.
% of senators voting yes v. the % of population they represent for roll call votes. Source: GovTrack.us
They’ve packed our supreme court with conservative judges, killed credible impeachment proceedings and stalled COVID-19 relief. That’s not governing, leadership or progress. If just four Democratic candidates win seats, the chamber flips and we have a more representative, less stalled Senate. I’ve been giving monthly to candidates in North Carolina, Maine, Arizona and Colorado. For the next two months, I’m making a contributions to to the 12 most likely flippers in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. You can easily contribute to all 12 right in one shot right here at ActBlue.
3. Staying informed
We’re living in a really tough time for news and information. As the news business’ model implodes, it’s increasingly dominated by a race to the bottom for clickbait. Twitter is a dumpster fire of rancor and trolling. 80–90% of the trending topics on Facebook are far right spin. Provocation, emotion, noise, trolling and disinformation all contribute to leaving us more provoked, more confused, less informed and more hopeless. One of my favorite newsletters is the Americans of Conscience Checklist. It’s non-partisan, is clearly tied to actions, is sorted by issue and has a whole section each week of good news about values we can all agree on. It’s an antidote to cynicism. Here’s last week’s checklist. Sign up here.
What are you up to?
It’s hard to imagine the next 3 months aren’t going to be intense and turbulent. There’s a lot at stake and the current administration is neither playing fair, nor being honest. Getting out the vote, flipping the Senate and staying informed are the best ways I know right now to stay positive and make change. But I always wonder if there’s more I could be doing. If you have more ideas, please share them, directly or in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.