Democracy Out Loud #425: Stay grounded in what we are fighting for, and fight

Things will get worse before they get better. Now is the time to build power.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the news and things to do, go outside. Allow yourself to be renewed by the magic of spring, and by the songs of birds. Remember that we are all feeling the same things and many others are doing the work that needs to be done. Take a deep slow breath. Read and do only what feels possible. When you need to, rest.

We have to do these things because we also have to lean into taking action.

There were huge town halls all over the country this week, including in Southern Pines (Richard Hudson, R-9) and in Raleigh (Senator Tillis). Venues were packed with angry voters. There were also countless well-attended protests.

The April 5 “Hands Off” protests are really important, and if you possibly can, go to Washington DC or host your own if there is not one accessible to you. There will be an increasing number of local protests, including in Raleigh. This is the moment when we need millions of people on the streets.

In the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) there is a bill targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). It is NC HB 171 called, grotesquely, “Equality in State Agencies.” This bill is being sponsored by five white men and co-sponsored by 42 white people, five of whom are women. So far, the attack on DEI has resulted in the following (not by any means an exhaustive list):

!!! After the passage of a similar bill in her state, a teacher in Idaho was told to remove a sign in her classroom that said, “Everyone is welcome here” because its coloring (rainbow colors, and varied skin tones) seemed to say that every child is actually welcome in public school.

!!! Air Force web pages devoted to pioneering women were removed, including Maj. Gen. Jeannie Levitt (later restored presumably because of public pressure). The Department of Defense page devoted to Jackie Robinson was removed, and then restored, likely for the same reason. The National Park Service website about the Pauli Murray home has been scrubbed of its reference to Pauli Murray’s gender identity and sexuality. Trans women, who played a key role in the Stonewall riot, have been erased from that history. Then there is the erasure of websites for Arlington Cemetery which celebrate Black veterans, including one devoted to the great civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

There is an astonishing list of banned words which are to be limited, avoided, or removed from government websites and even school curriculums. See this NYTimes gift article. The words include racism, women, BIPOC, Black, and over 200 others.

Look up your Representative and Senator at the General Assembly if you don’t already have them on speed dial. Use 5 calls.org to make your voice heard. Then add your name, if you haven’t already, to this spreadsheet so we can coordinate office visits to get to know the people who represent us in the NCGA. Mary is coordinating this effort.

Our Legislative Response Team, led by Mark, continues to meet once a week and is tracking bills and showing up to testify in committee hearings. One legislator said to Mark after one such meeting, “You say things we can’t say.”

Democracy Docket has outlined in detail Trump’s attacks on our elections and the stakes of the NC Court of Appeals’ upcoming decision about Judge Griffin’s challenge of Justice Alison Riggs’s election.

You can learn more about the event below as well as others, and register at this link.

I’m sure you have heard about Elon Musk’s attempt to buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. This will be the most expensive judicial race in history and will determine abortion laws and legislative and congressional district lines. We can join phonebooks to fight back at this link.

Lady Liberty (Karen) has a Climate Crisis Bulletin which is incredibly extensive. You can read the latest one at this link, and if you want to subscribe, email her at ladylibertyusa@protonmail.com.

Our next book group is on Wednesday March 26 at 3:30 pm. The book is “Preparing for War: The extremist history of white christian nationalism - and what comes next” by Bradley Onishi. Whether or not you have read the book, you can join the zoom by emailing Marci at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com with subject line “Book club.”

Concluding with the words of Anand Giridharadas (The Ink): “Having, and nurturing, in your life a sphere for joy and connection and community and love and food and music and human difference and living and letting live is everything they are not and is everything they are trying to take away.

“Be what scares them. Live lives in colors their eyes can’t even see. Cook food they want to deport. Test the fire code with your parties. Form a scene that meets every Wednesday. Call someone you haven’t in a while. Fight with a smile. Fail and come back. Be weird. Be welcoming. Kiss converts. Refuse despair. Be disobedient. Laugh loudly. Hide someone. Call out. Root down.

“They are waging a war on living. The more fully you live, the harder their job will be.”

love, Karen

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” -Anne Lamott

Bible verses condemning trans folks: 0

Bible verses about welcoming migrants: 33

Bible verses about advocating for peace: 429

Bible verses about loving God and others: 714

Bible verses about taking care of the poor: 2000+