Touch Grass
I did not want to go canvassing this weekend. The weather was in that horrible in between place where it’s not so much raining as misting, not cold enough for a rain jacket, but not warm enough to be really comfortable without one. I was visiting a friend who wasn’t going with me, in a place I’d never knocked doors before. I had just gotten my COVID and flu shots, and was just generally uncomfortable.
But way back in 2018 when I was canvassing for Max Rose in Bay Ridge and Staten Island all fall, I learned a very important lesson - you can’t cancel canvassing. So I rolled out of my couch bed and walked myself to starbucks and walked myself to the meet up spot. And that’s when I remembered the other very important lesson I’ve learned about canvassing.
It always makes me feel better.
Even when you talk to mostly undecided voters or Republicans. Even when you get kicked out of an apartment building. There’s nothing like getting out there and meeting up in person with other people who care as much as you do, who are willing to leave the comfort of their homes and put on their tennis shoes and go talk to strangers. It’s the perfect reminder that we’re not alone, not in our anxiety or our hope. There are people all over the country willing to get up in the morning and put on their shoes and go talk to their neighbors. There are people willing to open the door and talk to you, to wave as you’re crossing the street, to commiserate when the sky opens up and it does rain on you for about five minutes.
Plus, you get a nice walk, you get to check out a new neighborhood, and you get to see everyone’s weird halloween decorations. I got to see a lot of cool doors and foyers yesterday, saw a few coffee shops and restaurants I wanted to check out, and a bunch of aspirational houses. There’s a whole big, wide world out there! A country full of people living their lives and walking their dogs and dropping plants and meals off for their parents and thinking about who they are going to vote for. And it deeply sucks that so many of them are voting for a corrupt racist and misogynist who will surround himself with people determined to strip our country of every ounce of freedom and opportunity. But when you’re outside, breathing fresh air and talking to people face to face, it's easy to remember that just as many people, if not more, are fighting for something better.
Find ways to canvass or other volunteer opportunities here or here.
Hurricane
A truly devastating hurricane swept inland this week, heading up through Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The devastation is mind boggling. There are towns in the mountains that as of Sunday were only accessible by air. You can find ways to help get resources where they are most needed here or here.
This is a devastating reminder that there is nowhere you can go to escape the impact of climate change - our storms are getting stronger and more violent. Our summers are getting hotter and our winters are getting colder. We can all be impacted by natural disasters, and we will all face the tragedy of them.
To address climate change, we’re going to have to take some big swings. Some parts of our lives are going to have to change. Some things will get harder and less convenient - but some will get better, and easier. Addressing climate change is going to cost money, but not as much as it would cost not to. And we will only make change by convincing other people in this country that change is not just necessary, but beneficial. And that will take conversations - many of them. And the more you get to know your neighbors, and your neighborhood, say by walking around and knocking doors and talking to people about voting, the more you’ll be able to help each other if the worst happens.
Call Congress
One of the conversations you can have is with your Representative and Senators about the bill recently introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders to block arms sales to Israel which they continue their wanton destruction of Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed by the Israeli military in Palestine. Polio has made a comeback there, children are starving, and Israel’s campaign has not been successful in rescuing the vast majority of the hostages. The U.S. has not used all of its leverage in pushing for a ceasefire so that rebuilding can begin. This is an opportunity to do so. Here’s a guide I made to contacting your representation in Congress.
Pep Talk
Much though I’m excited by the opportunity to elect our first woman president, our first Black woman president, and our first Asian American president, elections are not just about the candidates. Elections are about us, about coming together to choose how we want to take our next steps into the future. It’s adversarial, because we disagree, and because there are legacies of bigotry that we cannot escape. But every election is a chance at moving us closer to the country we want, the one where we are all free, where we can all thrive. Every election opens up new possibilities and brighter futures.
We have already made huge strides! Over and over again throughout history we have come together to make change, to end slavery and to expand civil rights and voting rights, to increase bodily autonomy, to let everyone love who they love. We’ve come together to close the hole in the ozone and save the bees. And even when our country was doing bad things in our name, there were people fighting back.
We can win this election. We can choose the more hopeful future. I’m not making any predictions - I’m just saying it's possible. We, as a country, have done harder things. And if those of us who believe in a future that expands freedom and opportunity, that believes in supporting each other and fighting for each other, are willing to take ownership of that future, are willing to bring our voices and our time and our energy together, I like our chances.
Let’s go.