Sign of the times...

This is a sign in our front yard:

I bought this sign last week at the Apex Democrats precinct organizational meeting, and I love it. I love that it promotes inclusion, which I think is important for all religions, nationalities, races, colors, creeds, genders, sexual orientations, etc. I couldn't wait to put it up, and I am glad it's there. But it's interesting to me that we have had some commentary on it that really misses the point. For example, one of our neighbors came up to  Jason in the yard and pointed out the sign, saying, "I assume that's anti-Trump." Jason responded, "No, it's pro-inclusion. It doesn't have anything to do with who the President is." They had a whole discussion about it and about politics in general, and while I do think that anything that promotes discussion and open discourse is a great thing, it struck a chord with me that this simple sign, about welcoming neighbors in multiple languages, is now a huge political statement. Maybe it always was, and I was just naive.

Post and Response

Someone I know posted the following, which I know is just a cut and paste thing that is making it's way around the internet, on Facebook:

I don't care who you voted for but Trump is President! But this... this is what bothers me so badly .....I keep seeing people post on how they are terrified, or scared? Well.. what are you scared of exactly? War? Because that's been happening. School shootings? Because that's been happening. Pipeline? That's been happening. Terrorism? Definitely alive and well. Going broke due to health insurance? Mm yes. Corruption throughout the system? Already there. Police officers being murdered? Yep, that's been happening. Bullying? Check. Loss of jobs? We've got that on lock. A tanking economy. Yep. Being discriminated against for your religion, political views, sexual orientation, race? That's been going on too. Rape, murder, violence, riots.. all going on and has been. 

So tell me, what are you scared of that is not already happening basically everywhere? This isn't a Trump problem, this is a people problem. We all need to reevaluate our own selves. Maybe America (and the world) is a little too scared and a little too easily offended. 

Quit being scared, crying around, offended by everything.... step up and do your part as an American, no, as a human being. Treat others with respect, help and encourage one another, raise your kids right, tell the truth, be a contributing member of society. Make sure your hands are clean, that's your job. Burning the American flag?Get out of here with that, how about you do your job to make it a better place. 

But right now, all I see is hate. It's disturbing, 🙁 and the ones with the most hate are being exactly what they claim to be against. Copy and paste if you agree....this is common sense.

Sometimes I can keep my mouth shut, and sometimes I just cannot. This time, I responded. I made myself think about it long and hard before I said anything. I don't believe that responding in anger helps anything, and I don't believe that it's productive just to yell at people or to resort to any type of finger pointing or name calling, which seems to happen pretty often on the internet. And I know that I am unlikely to change this woman's position at all. But at the same time, sometimes silence feels too much like a normalizing acceptance just to avoid a conflict or a difficult discussion. I am done with that. Bring on the difficult discussion. After sleeping on it, here is what I replied to her post:

I am afraid of coal ash and mining waste dumping putting heavy metals into my drinking water now that the clean water regulations have been removed. I am afraid of government interference in decisions I make about my own body. I am afraid of, not just war, but nuclear war, which looms closer every time we jeopardize our relationships with both our allies and our enemies with careless commentary. I am afraid that my nieces and nephews with undocumented parents will lose those parents because of an ICE raid. I am afraid of the air quality in my city returning to what it was in the seventies because clean air regulations are being systematically removed. I am afraid for my transgender friends getting hurt because they are forced to go into a bathroom where they are instantly targeted because they look different. I am afraid of a mentally ill person walking into my child’s school and shooting him because that mentally ill person can go buy a gun without a background check and carry it in his pocket without a concealed carry permit. I am afraid for my Hispanic and Iranian friends who travel outside the country for their jobs and now must fear that they will not be able to come home to their families. I am afraid that my niece will lose her asthma and general health care, which is through the ACA. I am afraid for my friends at the EPA who stand in danger of losing their jobs and being forced to abandon their research that is helping to protect our environment because of the looming cut of 3000 persons from that organization. I am afraid for my Muslim friends and the increased prejudices and often violent threats that they are facing every day. 

I am afraid of many things. To say that these fears are unfounded because there has always been government corruption and violence is naïve at best. Any progress that has been made in the last 50 years to protect or improve any of these situations is being systematically dismantled. 

I am not crying about these things, nor am I offended by everything, nor am I filled with or spouting hate. I am teaching my children to be kind, honest people in the face of them watching/listening to a President who is neither of those things. I am not burning flags. I believe that our society is capable if becoming better. And I will continue to protest the decisions being made that I feel threaten not just me and my own family, but the overall well-being of our society, as is my Constitutional right. I am grateful to live in a country where I can voice dissent without fear of imprisonment. 

But no, I do not embrace this current administration or the policies they have so far introduced. And yes, I am involved—I am well-read and well-informed, and I am participating in what I believe to be right at a local, state, and federal level. I am open-minded and willing to discuss opposing opinions. I believe that what is missing, and perhaps has been missing for a long time, is an open discourse between differing opinions, which is why I am writing this response to your post. I appreciate you posting your opinion; this is mine.

I am sad to say that she never responded nor acknowledged my reply at all. We are not close friends, but we share many mutual relatives, and I was hoping that she would talk to me. I would love to understand more about why she feels the way she does. But I guess all you can do is try.

Getting into the Local Game

Today I went to my first local political meeting, which is an extremely big deal for me. I have thought about ways to get involved, but my focus has always been at the national or state level. But really, this is it: the local level is where you can actually DO something and make a difference in your community. Judging from the turnout today, I am not alone in looking for ways to actively participate in the government. They asked for a show of hands for how many people were attending their first precinct level meeting, and at least half the room raised their hands.

I attended the 2017 Apex Democrats Precinct Meeting, or cluster meeting. All 9 of the precincts in Apex, NC met to organize, figure out who the precinct chairs, vice-chairs, and secretary/treasurers will be for the next two years, choose delegates for the Wake County Democratic Convention, and to go over open resolutions, which are proposals that are written and approved at a local level and will be passed up the chain from the precinct, to the county, to the state. This was not a glamorous meeting, but it absolutely felt like real work was done. Last year, my precinct had 6 attendees at this meeting--this year, there were over 20, most of whom had never attended such a meeting before.

I was happy to meet in person my precinct chair, David Tiler, who is also the admin of Apex Democrats facebook page, Jen Ferrell, who narrowly lost the race the District 36 seat in the NC House (I hope she runs again, even though she's not in my district!), and many neighbors. I came away with a pile of new knowledge, a plan to learn more, and some personal goals.

I have decided, first and foremost, to change my voter registration. I registered as an Independent--my reasoning being that I wanted to be able to vote in either the Democratic or the Republican primaries. Further, I was trying hard to keep an open mind, as I still am. However, in recent years, it has become quite apparent to me that I am, by today's definition, a Democrat, through and through. I am about to change my registration to reflect this, which will enable me to take a much more active role in local politics. As it is, I can't vote for my precinct leaders, nor can I hold any position of service, including delegation to the larger conventions. I'd like to change that so I can do more. I am ready to help make some things happen. For now, my goals are to get that done and to educate myself more about the persons in office at my town and county level. The next meeting I plan to attend is the Wake County Democratic Convention, which is April 1st at Apex Friendship High School.

This, folks, is really what democracy looks like: