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If darkness falls, local networks of allies can be candles against the night [1]

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Date: 2022-07-15

Just observing the back and for the internal squabbling by commentators on this site increases my sense of pessimism. There’s disagreement about what behavior is more demoralizing for voters – apparent inaction or tone-deaf action by elected Democrats and institutions, or complaining about said inaction/poor action.

Even the most optimistic people say that the way forward is for, essentially, a miracle – the Democratic party retaining control of the House, picking up at least two seats in the Senate, and then finding enough political will to end the filibuster AND expand the court AND pass voting reforms before 2024. That’s a great starting point, I hope that enough people vote to make it happen.

But it is just a starting point. In case the miracle does not appear, we need to think about what else can be done. Just saying “VOTE!” (and if that fails “VOTE HARDER!”) is not a plan. If the miracle does not appear, the time for looking towards the Democratic party and waiting for them to somehow solve the problems will be at an end.

It is time to start building local networks of support, ideally with diverse skill sets who can rely on each other, for such things as moving a pregnant woman who needs an abortion to someone who can provide one. Things such as providing safe houses for gay and trans youths (or others) who have been forced onto the run, or providing assistance for those people who wish to flee areas of the United States where they might face persecution.

Start by making connections with people in your local area, get a sense of those who are of a like mind politically, and see who can be worked with. Even in the most ruby-red districts, there are still some who vote blue.

There are a variety of ways to go about getting a sense of people. You could join a political campaign and go door-to-door doing political outreach, GOTV, or volunteer for a charitable organization to collect donations or items. The response you get when you disclose the type of charity you’re volunteering for could be revealing all on its own. Keep notes and records, particularly on those who seem interested and amenable. Perhaps that is a person who could help in the same manner, spreading the workload out and finding other amenable people faster. And those people could find people of their own, branching out into a web of connections.

If that isn’t up your alley, or feels too confrontational for your comfort, well, anyone can claim to be a writer, “doing research”. A notebook and pen is all you need to start. It doesn’t take much to come up with a few ideas which can be jotted down. The changing political climate is all you need to explain your interest in expressing yourself through writing. You can talk to people to get local flavor and find out about their views that way with some questions. Knowing the local geography and road or street layout is research which can help inform the veracity of a setting.

Once you have a good-sized web of contacts, you can put some of that into action. You could organize protests and marches for one thing. Your Congressional representative should have a publicly known local office. You could visit it as a group to talk about your views and what you wish to see them support. Some may hide behind closed office doors and pretend you don’t exist, but you can always hold an impromptu peaceful demonstration on public property outside.

Those skilled with arts and crafts could do things as well. For example, create collages of the publicly posted faces of children killed in gun violence, or craft figures of sticks and glue to representing the dead. Mail them to local congresspeople’s offices. Return addresses could be to say a different Republican congressperson’s office. (Or perhaps, make the destination a different republican office and the return address is the local Republican’s office, so the stamp from the office is accurate.) I’m sure many commentators will definitely have better suggestions than these, but it’s a start.

A lot of these actions seem like they might be small and ineffectual, but they’re things that people can do. They’re actions which can be done without waiting for institutions and party leadership to take command. Someone has to step up, even if it’s only a small step. If enough people start thinking, “what is it feasible for me to do locally,” if enough people take small steps, perhaps that can change things for the better.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/15/2110559/-If-darkness-falls-local-networks-of-allies-can-be-candles-against-the-night

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