Democracy Out Loud #399:Part One

A very personal rant about the election

I have had some conversations lately with young people who seem to be indifferent to voting. These conversations are one of the few things that genuinely scare me. The activists and friends I deeply respect who are focused on the things they (and I) don’t like about the current Administration worry me too.

We are all clear that our political system is completely broken, just like our education, “health care,” and economic systems, just like every single organized religion. I’m really no huge fan of the Democratic Party, (except compared to the Republican Party, especially now).

My passion about the election and what I am about to say comes from the following: I have been an activist for over fifty years and have seen politically-motivated attacks on my (queer) people which resulted in violence. I have experienced bomb threats and the murder of colleagues. I have had a serious spiritual practice all my life, pastored a church under attack, and cared for countless dying or acutely ill people. For the past nearly 8 years, I have studied politics and worked more or less full time as a volunteer organizer and activist.

Because of all of that, I believe the consequences of this election (at every level of the ballot) will change the course of history. If we want to end suffering, we must pay attention now to voting and to getting out the vote like our lives and the next generations’ lives depend on it. The entire future does depend, ridiculous as it is, on this particular enraging, inspiring, sinister, hopeful, expensive, and completely unprecedented election.

No matter who wins the election, we will all keep doing the same things we are doing now. We will organize and advocate and do our best to take care of each other. We will form close relationships with people and organizations who are most impacted by systems of violence. We will fight fascism, poverty, genocide, environmental destruction, billionaires, bad legislation, corporations, and militarism. We will work to de-colonize ourselves and our communities, shedding misogyny, racism, and any fear of difference. I am under no illusions that Democrats winning will fix very much.

If Democrats win in a landslide on every level, though, there is hope of a democracy and hope that we can curb fossil fuels. Less of us will be killed, terrorized, or under arrest as we continue the slow patient work of building beloved community, with hope of a better world, a world with less suffering, less genocide.

If Republicans win, the result will be accelerated climate collapse, ethnic cleansing, the Handmaid’s Tale, religious persecution, general loss of civil and voting rights, and an increase in mob violence abetted by a militarized police force. You can count on it.

.Thank you for listening to this. Part Two will be a more normal newsletter. Comments are more than welcome, either below or at ZIEGL001@gmail.com.

love, Karen

“It is essential to resist the depiction of history as the work of heroic individuals in order for people today to recognize their potential agency as a part of an ever-expanding community of struggle.”
― Angela Y. Davis, from Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement