Super Tuesday

Friends, I have sent more than 5,000 get-out-the-vote texts since Monday morning, and by and large, it has been a pleasure.

I find it so challenging to articulate what I like about politics, but it energizes me to no end. Tom thinks it’s because I’m a caretaker type. That I love to help and support others, and politics offers, optimally, a scaled way to do that. Maybe he’s right. I sincerely enjoy listening to and connecting with people. If I can help in any way, to do so is an honor. I think I am idealistic in the sense that while government seems, is, so very broken, it is, ideally, such an earnest way to care for others. Others you know, complete strangers, folks with whom you disagree, babies and children who don’t have much voice at all, the very planet we call home.

But is that enough to make the more stressful, uglier times worth engagement? For me, yes.

We are lucky to live in America. That fortune, for me at least, means we work to maintain its democracy as functional. We use privilege or time or love or whatever to inform ourselves and expend the energy to educate, inform, and inspire everyone to participate so that the democracy is a truly representative one.

And yet.

America is so troubled. Poverty, racism, sexism, news sources that are so false and propagandistic that to call them news is an insult to new…it takes real effort to be accurately informed and it seems to take, sadly, a greater sense of community than many have to really care about everyone with whom you share this land.

Today alone I was told that:

-“things were becoming too gynocentric, that feminists don’t care about equality- ‘they want it THEIR WAY. I am tired of being man-shamed for being male. Liz should do something about this…But she is much better than Bloomberg or Biden. Really, we’re all on the same team.’ The cognitive dissonance and untruths there boggle the mind.

-”you clearly have never read the Constitution. I am a triple minority and only by going back to the republic as it was founded will give me a real voice.” Erm, at founding, people owned slaves, had slaughtered Natives, and women had zero rights.

-”you should come to my church and see the true way and be saved from the lies you’ve been told. Democrats are anti-Semites.”

-”I’m for Bernie. Fuck off!”

Respectfully, I disagreed with all of these statements. Women and minorities are still not equal to white men in economic and too many other terms, and in most of my experiences, churches aren’t bastions of fact, truth (I do really like my mother-in-law’s church! They are sincere Christians walking the walk every day!), or tolerance. If you’re for Bernie, and I’m for the Dem, we are legit on the same team, so why divide and be ugly? But, ok. Room for all of us in the big tent. Please, though, can we keep the tent big? With plenty of room to welcome others?

tired Em

Plenty of room for most others was where the majority of my conversations today fell. I had such meaningful exchanges with Dems, Republicans, and independents from across the country: Utah, Oklahoma, California, Texas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan…

I talked with tortured undecideds and proud already-voteds. I told Trump voters to have a good day, and they wished me the same. I thanked everyone who asked questions and everyone who voted for Liz. We just talked and challenged each other. And in both the identical and hazy spaces was connection and appreciation. I learned a lot, they learned a lot, we stayed open, we negotiated. In recent minutes, folks I talked to hours ago have followed up with me, letting me know what they decided, how they voted.

It’s meaningful, these fleeting but important connections. I am glad to know why Joseph in CA voted for Elizabeth but didn’t like her exchange with Bernie about women and the presidency. I am thrilled for Jodi who grappled all day with her decision but chose the candidate that made her heart sing. I applauded and thanked those who voted Biden or Bernie because both are good people and want to make America better for all, even though their approaches are dramatically different. And honestly, I appreciate the trump voters who thanked me for reaching out and wished me a blessed day. I detest everything about their candidate of choice, but if we lose all civility, we lose civilization.

If you’re in a Super Tuesday state, I sure hope you voted today (or early, based on your state rules). I hope you participated in the privilege that is each of your votes. The system is broken, but it’s not yet beyond repair. If you’re worried, scared, enraged, disgusted… ACT! That reaction is a call to action. There is ample to reason to feel all those things, so don’t bury your heads. DO something. It feels good.

And read this article.

If you’re in the DC area and care about reproductive rights, head to the Supreme Court tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 8am to stand up for choice. See my events page for more info. This is mission critical, y’all!