Step 1 of Making a Difference
If your health was at risk, what would you do?
Would you be proactive and find the right doctor immediately or would you say:
1) “I don’t know what to do.”
2) “Nothing I do is going to make a difference.”
3) “Every doctor is corrupt so it’s a waste of my time.”
You wouldn’t give up without trying.
You’d become resourceful. You’d get the information you needed. You’d find the right people to help you and you’d do whatever it took to save your life.
When your body needed you most, you’d step up and fight for it.
Right now, our democracy, our human rights and our state has Stage 4 cancer.
Can we all agree that the direction of this country is dark and dangerous and our state is on the front lines trying to take away our rights?
Can we also stop, take a breath, take a hard, honest look at ourselves and admit that we’re not fighting the way we would if it was our own lives and health at stake?
If this new extreme American far right has organized and fought for and are now indisputably winning and creating the laws and changes they believe in, shouldn’t we be doing the same thing?
Are they better than we are? Smarter? More capable. NO!
But, are they more committed, more organized and more proactive than we are? Unfortunately, yes.
The fact is, we're all busy. We ALL have SO much going on in our lives. The last thing we have room for is one more thing on our plate...
But, the honest truth is, Civic Responsibility has always been on our plates and we were lucky enough to ignore it because someone else was making sure that we had a functional democracy.
Sadly, those days are over and times have changed and we can't leave democracy up to someone else anymore.
After Donald Trump was elected, that's when I woke up and realized: #1) I was pretty much politically illiterate and #2) I wasn't doing any kind of civic responsibility beyond voting (if that...)
And that's when I saw the tragic truth... Donald Trump got elected because of me.
It's true. Everything happening in our government right now is my fault. I own it.
Our Democracy is precious, irreplaceable gold. The Extreme Right has been gradually stealing our gold for years and I allowed that to happen. I was sleeping on the job instead of guarding our fragile democracy that I was so fortunately born into. It was MY responsibility to pay attention to rare elections since I was 18. It was my job to make informed votes about more than president or governor. I didn't do my job.
So, I couldn't rant and be appalled and just blame the Trumpsters anymore... I had to look at the role I played.
And - 99% of everyone I know is EXACTLY like me - so no judgment.... it's just a hard truth...
So, yes, for most of my life, I was SO busy. But, was I too busy to make sure that America didn't become a modern version of Nazi Germany? NO!
No one believed me when I told them that Roe was going to be overturned. No one believes me when I tell them that gay marriage is next. No one believes that this country WILL become an autocracy if we ALL don’t step up and do something ASAP.
If Democrats don't win races in November and Abbott and Patrick and Paxton are reelected, this state will become unrecognizable. You think things are bad now... if we don't get the voters we need in November, things will get so much worse.
So, your vote is CRUCIAL in November, but sadly, voting is not enough anymore. It's time to fight back. It's time to fight for what you believe in. It's time to pay penance for all the years we've been asleep at the job.
It’s ok if you don’t know what to do.
It’s ok if you feel politically illiterate.
It’s ok if you feel technologically challenged.
It’s ok to feel helpless and overwhelmed.
But, it’s NOT ok to give up.
It’s NOT ok to make excuses.
It’s NOT ok NOT to be honest with ourselves and openly admit that we ALL could and should be doing more to help this country - even if we have no idea what to do.
It’s NOT ok to do nothing.
https://haysdems.org
So - Step 1 of making a difference is to start by being accountable.
Let's own it. Let's own that most of us have not been civically responsible. Let's own that the mess we're in is not something we can blame 100% on the Extreme Right - and then - let's change it - together! It's NEVER too late to grow and change.
Let’s leave it there and save Step 2 for another day.
Anyone is welcome to reply to me.
I'm Gina Fant-Simon and I am a volunteer for Hays Dems and I am sincerely trying to motivate, educate and inspire more people to step up for democracy before we lose it.
I welcome kind questions and feedback and I definitely welcome volunteers. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! Come join the fight. Come learn with us!
Thank you all!
Gina
Gina Fant-Simon
Resident Geek and Political Newbie
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