How to Save Democracy This Week
How to Save Democracy This Week
Week of 3/7/2022
Well, things have gotten somehow even more out of hand since my last democracy newsletter. I am not going to spend too much time on Ukraine, because I am not a foreign policy expert and I do not have foreign policy recommendations for you. But I will say that all people deserve to live free from the violence of empire building. All people deserve to make their homes unmolested by the ambitions of autocrats and wealthy men. You can find ways to support marginalized people in Ukraine here. And I recommend reading this piece: “On Watching Ukraine through Palestinian Eyes.”
In the meantime, in the immortal words of Marvel’s Nick Fury (something which I have found myself quoting all too often in the past few years): “Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”
On to defending democracy here at home:
Across the country, Republican legislators and governors are making their hatred for queer kids known. The “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida, the attack against gender affirming care and trans kids in Texas, and banning books with queer themes join the many anti-trans bills that have already passed all over the country. And while the Equality Act has been stymied at the federal level, it’s up to the states to protect LGBTQ+ rights. Here’s how you can help:
What legislation has passed in your state? What books have been banned? Make sure you’re up to speed on where things stand at home.
Call your state legislators and let them know that not only are you against these anti-LGBTQ+ laws, you support affirmative legislation that protects the civil rights of all people. You can find your state legislators here, or reach out to me for help!
Donate to local organizations protecting queer kids, like the Transgender Education Network of Texas or Equality Florida.
Donate to (or volunteer with) Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for Governor of Texas.
Protect our Senate majority! Because Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema refuse to help us get rid of the filibuster, the Equality Act is never going to pass in the current Senate. To overcome this obstacle, we need to protect our current Senate majority by making sure these incumbents (who all voted to get rid of the filibuster) keep their seats.
I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also suggest that you call your Senators and tell them to pass the Equality Act already, but that is more future proofing than it is likely to impact the legislation this year, much to my chagrin.Organization plug: Sister District works to pair volunteers from blue states/districts with carefully chosen races in red and purple states/districts. If you live in a place with a safe Democratic majority and you’ve been looking for ways to help, they offer a myriad of volunteer activities, and I can personally attest to their excellent training and support for volunteers.
Finally, as you may have noticed, I moved you all over to Substack. There’s no difference between this and my earlier emails except these look fancier. If you want to share this with friends/family/etc., tell ‘em to subscribe! I plan to post these every other week until probably mid to late summer and then they’ll come weekly just like in 2020.