It is time. As Rebecca Solnit recently wrote, “Authoritarianism is here, but it’s weak and stupid and can still be beaten.”
So, it is time. Time for all of us to expand our comfort zones or risk having them collapse in on us as they have for families who’ve lost their healthcare, had a parent deported, or are skipping meals and losing their homes. It is time to do things we’d rather not do, get into good trouble in ways we’ve always avoided. It’s time to stop would-be authoritarians and…have a good time doing it.
Last week, it was time for me to go canvassing for Prop 50, register high schoolers to vote and emcee a political poetry reading.
- The discomfort of ringing strangers’ doorbells hopefully helps us all keep voting and…getting to know more neighbors, and my canvassing partner Paul, made me very happy.
- Navigating the glitchy tech and chaotic schedule of “We Got the Power” left me exhausted and…I walked out of Civic Center Plaza buzzing with the words of a dozen dynamite poets.
- Facing a classroom of suspicious Alameda High students helped register a slew of new voters and…trying to answer the question, “what is voting?” helped me understand what “the franchise” really means.
This week, find a few ways to expand your comfort zone. Here are some options:
- Canvass door-to-door for Prop 50 or for individual candidates. (I’m inspired by Elizabeth Chur, author of “The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers).
- Phone bank or write postcards for Prop 50 or for individual candidates.
- Give money to support candidates (Randy Villegas is one of my favorites).
- Register voters (League of Women Voters – www.lwv.org).
- Go to a rally on October 18. (I will be emceeing the one in Alameda!)
- Talk politics with friends and family…and listen carefully to everyone who thinks differently than you do.
- Go out and dance, sing, laugh, hike, eat, sew, paint with other people. Create the world you want to live in!
