Tip:
If you’re being nominated for a nonpartisan position as a neutral arbiter on the Supreme Court, attacking “the left,” “Democrats,” “the Clintons” and “the media” in your opening statement while noting there will be reprisal for years to come is, well, disqualifying.— Danica Roem
So, the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh has clearly been a real punch in the gut for anyone that leans liberal, or just feels that allegations of sexual assault should be taken seriously. Kavanaugh seemed like a problem well before the sexual assault allegations came out… personally, I was at the Supreme Court building the evening of October 3rd protesting.
I’m seeing a fair amount of hand-wringing about the Kavanaugh confirmation from all kinds of people… a lot of folks that don’t seem terribly active in various causes, political or otherwise. If you’re someone who has been watching the train wreck happen for the last couple of years and otherwise going about your own business, this post is for you. It’s not about shaming anyone, or polishing anyone’s halo. The simple fact is that we need a greater portion of the population involved in preserving democracy, the environment, social safety nets, and consumer protections.
It’s easy to get into a completely useless pattern of feeling like everything’s shitty, and everybody sucks. While I do get that everyone needs to vent once in a while, I’m hoping I can channel some of the rage that’s come out of the Kavanaugh confirmation into useful volunteer work. Volunteer work isn’t entirely selfless… you tend to meet the nicest people, and at the end of the day you don’t feel like you’re just shouting at your TV and all it’s changing is the channel if you’ve got one of those fancy smart ones.
We can debate all day whether or not getting more Democrats elected is the right course of action…I tend to think that it is and I’m happy to have that debate, but that’s not what this post is about. If working with the Democratic Party isn’t your thing for whatever reason, there are a lot of groups besides the Democrats pushing for the values you care about… groups that are doing thoroughly amazing work lately. I can’t think of a single one that has as many volunteers as they need, and that’s where you come in.
You have a busy life, I get it. You have kids… I get it. You have an expensive MTG habit… I… I dunno. Here’s the thing… if every couple with kids and busy lives found one weekday evening a week, or even one Saturday a month for one parent to to put into volunteer work (presumably while the other watches the kids), we could change the world. Many hands really does make light work. Some of the most politically involved folks I know are raising kids and still find ways to make it work.
If you’re in Loudoun County, I’m Chair of the Issues Committee at the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, and could always use more volunteers there. Amanda and I work with the Loudoun NAACP, and they always need volunteers too. Want to work on LGBT causes? I’ll get you to someone at NoVA Pride. Want to work on environmental issues? We work with 350 Loudoun, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Virginia League of Conservation Voters. We’re trying to stop the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines…both environmental disasters in the making that would double the greenhouse gas emissions of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but the ACP also has the distinction of being #20 on the administrations priority infrastructure list. Outraged at immigrant children being locked up in prisons? Lets hook you up w/ CASA in Action. Think gerrymandering is a perversion of democracy that never should have been allowed? You’re right, and One Virginia 2021 is all over the gerrymandering problem…. they need volunteers too. The Poor Peoples Campaign could use your time….great organization.
Hate all the politicians? Great…lets replace ‘em with better ones. There are some really progressive people that are running for elected office in Virginia lately… people that will listen to you, take your best ideas and work their asses off to turn them into actual policy. There’s a lot of campaign work that can be done from home too. Put a movie on for the kids, pour yourself a glass of wine, and call a sheet of people and tell ’em about some candidates.
My point is that there are so many places to put your volunteer time into meaningful causes that you care about and ways to do so that it’s mind boggling. There’s always something for everyone to do. All of these little things at the local level bubble up….they do matter.
Amanda and I know where and who to send you to with a lot of these groups because we work with them. If you could use a hand getting started, or maybe just a pointer here or there, I’m more than happy to help. If you’re pissed off about the Supreme Court confirmation, lets work together. The people I know are about solutions to problems. Let’s solve some problems.
RIGHT ON! Not only well said, but exactly the call to action that is needed to save our democracy, our rights, & Mother Earth which have never been in greater peril during our life times. You both are democracy & Mother Earth HEROES–thank you for your dedication & activism.