Category: elections

The Resistance Begins

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, social justiceLeave a comment
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”                    MLK

In the approach to January 20 and the changing of the powers in our country’s capital, I’ve read that it’s important to be absent from those events on mainstream media.

Don’t even think about tuning in to watch on television. Keep your distance for a week. Or longer.

I will cling to sanity in the face of the chaos that is sure to come.

I plan to check in with trusted commentators through Substack and/or Bluesky such as Robert Hubbell (Today’s Edition Newsletter), Joyce Vance (Civil Discourse), and Heather Cox Richardson (Letters From an American). Jessica Craven (Chop Wood Carry Water) tries to share good news on her substack, as well as simple things we can do to make a difference. We can all use some of that.

Robert Hubbell dispensed this advice about the coming week: “First, don’t collapse the future into the present moment. The future comes at us one day at a time.”

“Second, maintain ’emotional distance’ from bad news. Recognize that you can’t control most of what Trump says or does. Given that fact, recognize that unchanneled anxiety and fear will not change the outcome. Focus on what you can do to change, impede, obstruct, or reverse policies we oppose.”

As I distance myself from the absurd news of January 20, I note that others have recommended that we all delete our Twitter (X) accounts that day, in resistance to the “Mump Regime” (Timothy Snyder’s term for Musk/Trump). That one is easy for me since I never had a Twitter account. Now I’m considering what to do about Facebook and Amazon.

I have already signed up for Bluesky as @prarywren55. Consider checking out that venue for social media. If you are on Bluesky, consider following me. I’m stumbling along. At my age, this whole social media thing is rather mysterious and incomprehensible. But in resistance against billionaire acquiescence to the returning chaos that Donald Trump brings, I plan to limit my Facebook appearances and try to figure out how to effectively use Bluesky. If you have tips for this old lady, I’d be glad to know them.

At one point in the last few months, when we eagerly anticipated the election of Kamala Harris, I endorsed a notion brought out by someone that on January 20, 2025, this year’s observance of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Day, our country’s first Black woman president would take her oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, administered by our country’s first Black woman Supreme Court Justice.

Well, that isn’t happening. In another universe, it would have been grand.

So, it’s time to mourn that lost dream. In no way will I tune into the installation of a facist president. Instead, what can I do?

I might look up and read one–or several–of MLK’s sermons or speeches. https://crossculturalsolidarity.com/mlk-speeches-sermons-essays/

I might read a section from the biography of John Lewis: Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement 

I might review Amanda Gorman’s amazing poem from Joe Biden’s inauguration: “The Hill We Climb.” Or another of her awesome wordsmithing such as anything from her book Call Us What We Carry.  Or the recent poem “New Day’s Lyric,” which ends with the sentiment:

“Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.”

–Amanda Gorman

For the few days following January 20, 2025, I will resist tuning into all the bad news. I will strive to support the recovery efforts of the horrific fires in California. I will honor my neighbors, of all hues and backgrounds. I will look for and celebrate the beauty of our natural world, and try to share some of it to help lift your spirits. Moment by moment. Day by day. We’ll get through this together.

Grieve and then Resist

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, Loss and Grief, social justiceLeave a comment

Here we are, one week post-election, one week post D-day (diagnosis day for our flailing democracy.) Most of you share the horror and grief I feel after the count, so I’m “preaching to the choir” so to speak. If you happen to be someone who felt smug and victorious after the tally, I don’t know what to say to you. When my nephew was left homeless after a hurricane ravaged his mountain town (Asheville) 400 miles inland, when cousins in southern California find their neighborhood threatened by raging wildfires, when my Cuban friend’s parents near Havana have been without electricity for weeks, I am dumbstruck to realize so many of my countrymen would vote for an aging insurrectionist, convicted felon, rapist, and conman when one of his first orders of business is to increase the drilling and use of fossil fuels.

Are you one who would object, “But wait, I didn’t vote for him!”  Yet at the same time, you couldn’t bring yourself to vote for the one candidate who had the best chance to defeat the ugliness and destruction that’s bound to happen. Since my first visit abroad in 1977, I have worked to disprove the myth of the “ugly American.” Yet with this election, you have helped engrave it deeper in the history of the world.

Most of my friends, though, feel as I do. We’re compatriots, we’re family in a broad adoptive sense of the word, and I take comfort from our conversations and correspondence. We need each other to talk to, to share our mutual pain, our disbelief, and our fears. It means a lot to me that we have connected, not only during the weeks before November 5, but in the days since. Bolstering friendships has been one positive thing to come from this heartbreak.

A couple of thoughts about the outcome. I find a smidge of agreement on one of the MAGA points, though the target is polar opposite of theirs. We should beware one certain immigrant from South Africa who just bought a president with his billions.

For those who were all about—“Oh, the New World Order! We can’t have that. Biden has those plans in WRITING!”

Welcome to the New World Order. After the election, Elon Musk crowed on his X account, “Novus ordo seclorum” (Latin for New World Order.) And the written plan? Project 2025, which some have claimed was all lies. They aren’t even trying to deny the project now, and it has been in WRITING the whole time.

For the rest of us who are hurting and grieving over what we’ve lost—a country founded on democratic principles—I will say a few words about grief. We’ve probably all faced loss at some earlier point in our lives. As someone intimately familiar with that deepest of human emotions, I will remind you that you are not alone. Please remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to grieve. Allow yourself the privilege to mourn as you are called to, and then join the resistance. I caution you not to blame yourself for the election’s outcome, especially if you did everything you could to prevent the disaster. Try to avoid assigning blame to others, also. There is likely a myriad cluster of circumstances that brought this on us and we will all suffer the consequences together. Some groups will feel it first and worst. We need to support those of our friends who are at greatest risk.

From my own history of loss and recovery, I will offer this: it’s easier in small doses. One day at a time. One hour. Maybe even minute by minute. To that end, I plan to start a thread called, “Just for Today,” in which I’ll share ideas for facing the world and resisting the worst, finding resilience and ways to persevere. If you have ideas to share, let me know.

(See Post #1 Just for Today: I will find something beautiful provided by Nature.)

What a Difference a Smile Makes

On By AnnIn Activism, electionsLeave a comment

One of the starkest contrasts between the presidential candidates of 2024 involves their facial demeanors. While Donald Trump puts on a stern, angry façade, Kamala Harris is often seen smiling. Anger versus joy. Which is really a symbol of strength?

In my personal history, when I feel strong, capable, competent and on-top-of-the-world, I have often completed a difficult goal, like mastery of a Liszt piano composition. What a thrill! My heart is buoyed and I smile easily at anyone and everyone. When I have had a bad day and feel overwhelmed, when I lack confidence in my capabilities, when I doubt myself, I am gruff and sullen, giving off a vibe of anger.

Anger reveals doubt and lack of confidence. It often accompanies people who try to make themselves feel bigger, better, and more important by stripping others of their dignity. People who behave like that are called bullies.

In my world, joy spells confidence and strength.

Remember the childhood fable that describes a contest between the north wind and the sun? The two decide to test their strength and see who can remove a solitary traveler’s coat. The north wind goes first and blows ferociously, outdoing itself in its bid to strip a man of his coat. No matter how hard the wind blows, the man draws his coat closer around himself and clutches it tighter. Then the sun takes a turn. It shines warmly on the traveler until the man sheds his coat voluntarily, soaking up the sunshine.

Joy is like that.

Another area that might need closer scrutiny is the nature of true wealth. Some of the world’s richest men in their acquisition of dollars tend to support the angry, bitter candidate, the one who feels powerful because he can make others miserable.  Where it really counts though, the joyful candidate is far wealthier—in kindness, compassion, and generosity that morph into a wealth of public support, small dollar donations, election volunteers, and crowd sizes at rallies.

Which candidate is wealthier in things that really matter? It’s clear to me that joy yields far greater rewards than anger.

The prevalence of disinformation and misinformation assaulting us from every source—from mainstream media to social media—makes it difficult to determine what is factual and what isn’t. Both sides level accusations at each other that echo distrust, fear of ulterior motives, or conspiracies to gain unlimited power over the country and the world.

How do we know what to believe? How can we find the truth?

Henry David Thoreau, long recognized for his stand on civil disobedience, wrote, “What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” I cannot adopt the bitter, vengeful tactics that I find so repulsive. Do Trump supporters view their neighbors, relatives, and co-workers repulsive just because we seek joy in our lives?

It behooves us all to examine with care what we hear and read in our search for underlying truths. For me, the power of joy and the promise it delivers speak very well for truth.

“I’m Not Going to Vote”

On By AnnIn Activism, electionsLeave a comment

I’ve heard that from a few people lately. The reason they give is that they don’t like either candidate. Not one or the other, as if there is only one race on the ballot.

Obviously, they are referring to the presidential race, but there always others on the ballot. Every congressional representative must be elected or re-elected on a two-year schedule. Some US Senators are up for re-election also, though none from Kansas are this year.

The state Senate is a different story. My hometown is electing both state Senator and local representative. These are important races. In addition, there are county, city, precinct and township races, judges at the district level, and judges in the State Appeals court, not to mention a very important State Board of Education race.

You don’t have to vote for the presidential electors if you don’t want to, but consider the races closer to home that will impact your life as much as the presidential outcome—or even more.

Back to the presidential contest. This election cycle has been called one of the most important—if not THE MOST important—election of our lives. There is a lot at stake for us in America, but also for our allies around the world. My personal election history has not been overwhelming. I can’t think of one candidate I ever voted for who thought exactly as I did and listed priorities to match mine. You could say that I have never really “liked” any candidate for president.

Does that mean I didn’t vote? Of course not. Does it mean I shouldn’t have bothered? No way. In my family, thoughtful voting was billed as an adult responsibility. I’d never shirk my duty. In most cases, I cast my presidential vote for the person who most closely aligned with my values. Sometimes it was simply who I thought would do less damage—not so much voting “for” my favorite but voting “against” someone who raised grave concerns in my mind.

This could be such an election for those friends who “don’t like” either candidate. Consider voting against the least desirable ticket. But using the excuse that you don’t like either one is not a valid excuse to ignore voting altogether. We simply must do it. For most of us, our votes are our only voice in this grand self-governing experiment. Though we don’t have a perfect system, it’s better than those of many other countries. I wouldn’t give it up so casually.

Turning to the electoral college, it seems apparent to me that that particular arrangement needs to be revised and updated. Since my first presidential election opportunity (in 1976) I have only once cast my vote for the candidate who captured the state electors to the electoral college. And that was an election which ended up going to the other candidate nationally. In subsequent elections, my vote in sometimes matched the national winner, but the state electors stood for the other candidate. It could be said that my vote for the last 48 years has been pointless. I admit it does get discouraging to think that my vote never really counts for much. But when the candidate I voted for won—even though my electors went the other way—it was exhilarating, though my vote amounted to essentially nothing.

Should I just stop voting in presidential elections? I don’t think so. It’s still important to be an adult and shoulder my responsibilities. To simply not vote is the same as giving up and giving in. Somewhere I read that you aren’t really beaten until you quit trying. So I persevere. And I urge you to do the same. The futures envisioned by each of the 2024 presidential candidates are vastly different—scary as hell in one case.

Which do you want to support?