Connect! Unite! Act! Making history doesn't mean there isn't more history yet to be made
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The confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court makes history. It is a watershed moment that puts someone on the bench who can stay for, we hope, a long time, bringing a strong legal mind to the court. It certainly deserves to be celebrated. Just because history was made this week, though, does not mean that we should throw up our hands and say: “Welp, look at what happened! We can all go home now!” Midterm elections often come down to complacency. Did we accomplish everything we needed to accomplish? The answer to this question is always no. History is made every day in big and small ways. The question will be, “Do we allow history to be written by those who see a dark future that lives on nostalgia over reality, or do we want a forward-looking effort to build a history better than anything in the past?”
The problem with nostalgia
If you know me and this series, you know that I really do love and enjoy the thoughts of Brene Brown, and I have no shame at all in admitting that several moments in her new series Atlas of the Heart, streaming now on HBO Max, brought me to tears. One of the items she touched upon is something that I think we don’t address enough in the way it’s tearing apart America, and that is nostalgia.
During the series, her thought on the issue is so simple and so obvious at the same time: “Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed.”
Think about that and how it manifests itself in the MAGA movement and in so many areas of our culture. When people look back at the past and they toss out “Make America great again,” they are using nostalgia. When they look back at the past, it’s so scrubbed clean of any problems that all they see is what they want to see, and that is what’s both attractive and dangerous.
It’s easy to forget things in the past and focus on good memories. As an example, we can remember all of the best times in our lives, but we often forget the parts that went along with those moments that were terrible.
It is the highs and the lows that help us build the people we are today. I think back to moments in my childhood and I can have some moments of nostalgia. Then I have to remind myself: “Oh yeah, remember, there were a lot of things going around in my life I didn’t like and that I wish could have been different.”
This is the danger of nostalgia. We want something that never existed in reality.
We can use this moment to create reality
So, most who read me know I love science fiction books. If you ask me for recommendations in the comments, I have several good ones right now. Many of them focus on how we create a solution to a problem we face in the future. They do not act as a function of looking backward. The vast majority of science fiction books look at the future because the author knows it’s something that can be changed. It is malleable. It can be changed for good or bad, depending on the acts of the protagonist. Evil could win if bad decisions are made. Good characters can win if they do certain things.
When we look at the confirmation of Jackson to the Supreme Court, we see a moment in history occur. The nostalgic view of it says: “So fantastic! What a moment in history!” The reality is that there was an awful, hateful, racist, out of control hearing on her merits. Her being placed on the court does not undo the events that happened in that committee room.
So in two years or in a few months, will we look back with nostalgia and say: “Look at what was accomplished”? Or will we say: “Look at how far we have yet to go”? The second one is the answer we need.
We cannot find ourselves living in the past. We have to look forward to the future we want, the future we know that we deserve and that our country deserves. It is the only way we stay focused enough to elect the leaders with a clear vision of the future rather than only a desire to make things better.
Activism opportunities!.
TUE 19 APRIL 3:30 pm PDT — “DEEP CANVASSING” TRAINING: HELP US HOLD THE HOUSE!Deep canvassing is a voter communication strategy with proven results in red and purple districts. Active non-judgmental listening in deep canvassing conversations has been shown to change people’s minds and votes on controversial candidates and issues. Indivisible PA is offering an event that will train you on how to ask questions, share your story, and connect with voters more deeply than electoral voter contact normally allows. Then you will actually make “deep canvassing” calls for a progressive candidate in a key PA seat we MUST hold in November. Make a difference in an important swing state, and at the same time add a valuable skill to your political toolbox that will be transferable to any other phone banking or live canvass campaign. Click here for details
TUE 19 APRIL 3:00 pm PDT — FIGHT VOTER SUPPRESSION WITH CFCGThe Center for Common Ground (CFCG) is a voting rights organization led by people of color. CFCG is offering a series of training days on how to encourage higher turnout by talking to eligible PoC voters facing voter suppression and voter discouragement. After you have completed this virtual event you will call voters in North Carolina. Then, if you choose, you can continue phone banking on your own schedule to reach voters in North Carolina, Georgia, and other targeted CFCG states. Early voting for the May 17 NC primary begins in less than two weeks, on April 28. Early voting for the May 24 Georgia primary begins in less than three weeks on May 2! These primaries are critical and NOW is the time to connect with these voters. Each one reach one! Click here for details.
Remember: Whenever you are looking for opportunities to Connect, Unite and Act, the Indivisible website is an excellent resource. Indivisible has chapters in every congressional district, and their site includes a long list of virtual and real-life activism opportunities all over the country. If there is no event happening near you, you can organize one. If there’s no Indivisible chapter close to you, you can start one!