This weekend was beautiful and ugly all at once. Here in New Hampshire, the sun shone and the temperature hovered in the mid-70s, well above the average temperature for early November. I spent most of my time outside “enjoying” the warmth while also fighting back a feeling of dread that the unseasonable weather was yet another harbinger of doom in a world which feels increasingly out of my control.
But there’s one thing I can control. My vote. And yes, casting a ballot might feel like a relatively small thing in the grand scheme of big and awful and scary things, and yes, I wish I could launch a comet of progressive reform at this country instead of just driving my little self to the local high school and penciling in my dissent, but until I get magical comet powers, I’m gonna vote.
Because guess who absolutely IS voting?
Men who want to ban birth control and condoms.
People who want to curtain the voting rights of Black people, Indigenous people, and disabled people.
Republicans who want to remove and attack the rights of LGBTQIA+ people.
People who don’t want children learning about the Holocaust (or that the Holocaust was bad).
Conservatives who openly make antisemitic public remarks.
People who want to deny trans kids’ healthcare needs.
Republicans who want to roll back environmental protections.
“Mama Bears” who want to gut public schools and indoctrinate our kids with extremist conservative propaganda.
A few weeks ago, when I was doing my final book edit and updating momfluencers’ follower counts, I noted that the follower counts of every alt-right/QAnon/pro-femininity, anti-feminism momfluencer I cover in the book have grown in the year since I had first started writing the book. Every single one.
I don’t share this information to depress you; I share it to galvanize you. Conservative extremists and the Christian right have long understood the power of the long game. They are not discouraged by a fight. And they’re fighting against a lot of things! So, if we want our kids to inherit a world a little less on fire than it currently is, we need to fight back.
Finally, one more plug for the In Pursuit of Clean Countertops’ Giving Circle! State governments can decide whether mothers or children live or die, and they can dramatically transform our country (for good or bad.)
This might be a tough election year, but keeping the margins in our target state chambers close will give our democracy a fighting chance. Keeping a legislature’s balance of power close minimizes the number of lawmakers we need to do the right thing if our democracy is threatened during the 2024 election.
So even if election results feel as dystopian as the weather, we can still fight to get as close as possible to the majority threshold in every chamber we are working to flip or defend this November. Let's keep it close, and stay steady in the fight. Join me here!
Because elections are anxiety provoking as hell and because I love you, here’s a photo of a tree frog who spent most of his summer on my deck (paid subscribers might recognize him as Alfie the tree frog). His ability to hang on inspires me.
I actually voted early (fortunately, Indiana has that option!) yesterday! Hoping and praying for the best possible outcome.
Early voter here too! Let's goo democracy!!