linked
I still don’t have anything for you to eat. Or rather, I do, but I feel a little bit ridiculous just sliding back into offering you things to eat, all la di dah. I have a nice post about things to eat all polished up and ready to launch, in fact, but just at this moment, it feels to me as if the dining room is on fire. I know there is a good deal to be said for not letting normal be taken from you, but just at this moment, it has. There is also a lot to be said for acknowledging that.
A number of people, on the radio and the internet and in print, as well as thoughtful and reasonable friends who’ve drafted cogent emails, are talking about why and how our system, with its checks and balances, or the political dynamic, with the majority party mostly hostile to its leader-elect, will rein in t’s ability to make drastic changes. This may be true. It may not be. We'll soon see.
Some point to mid-term elections and the inevitable pendulum swing that will possibly be palpable by then, and certainly will be palpable in four years.
All of this is interesting, but not substantively helpful. What with the flames and all.
Elsewhere, people are saying things like, boo-hoo, you lost an election. Buck up.
It would be an understatement to say that I feel like all of these people are missing a big point, which is that we face—all of us, whomever we voted for, or didn’t vote for, or protest-voted for—a period of time in which the darkest, basest emotions are given freedom to be acted upon.
We are 24 hours in, my friends. Scan through this. I'll wait here while you do.
There are a lot of links in this post. But please do not skip that one above.
This is a challenging, dangerous time. Tolerance and kindness and compassion are not political any more than they are optional. They are cellular, fundamental and inalienable aspects of being human. Every one begins as a baby, under a heart. Everyone is held and fed. All hell may break loose in a life at some point thereafter, but we are primarily engineered to connect, because survival depends on it.
One day in and it is already demonstrably more dangerous to be black or brown or anything other than white, to be female or to appear as anything outside of the tiny little box arbitarily labeled "permissible."
I see one glimmer of light in the darkness. For the first time in a long time, complacency has been universally shattered and millions of people are paying close attention to what the government is doing--if not for them, then in their name. Now that we know what it takes to make that happen, please, let’s not lose this national opportunity to stay focused and to hold elected representatives accountable.
Learn to stay in touch with your elected officials. Pay close attention to how they are voting and what they are saying.
http://www.commoncause.org/take-action/find-elected-officials/
http://www.hrc.org/your-elected-officials
Listen to young people. Listen to old people. Listen to people you don’t agree with. Ignoring people who don't share our goggles hasn't panned out very well. Let's stop doing it. Aim to really understand who and what you perceive to be 'on the other side' from you.
And please, let’s throw our support heartily behind people already postitioned to watch closely, to provide safety, to act quickly.Will you stand with me to #makeyourpresentsfelt? Spoiler alert: if you usually get a holiday gift from me, it will come this year in the form of support for people working to shore up what I hold dear.
On that note, do you know of organizations making a difference on the ground for tolerance, accountability, rights, and safety? For the environment? Please leave a note in the comments. Go local, go national, go international--the impact is going to be felt everywhere.
http://plannedparenthood.org/
https://doctorswithoutborders.org/
Do you have a reliable source for news? Tell me about it.
http://www.democracynow.org/
http://www.nationofchange.org/
Do you have a source you look to for centering, calm and comfort?We all need them. Please share yours.
We can make our own noise, and we can let it be known what we stand for, and whom we stand behind, and what we stand against. Let's not let hate be the loudest noise coming from this country.
Then we can get a little something to eat, for strength and comfort.
We’re going to need it.