Happy Blue Year!

Whew! 2017 was a big year, right?! I started the year off protesting and writing and thinking, and then I got active. I took over as chair of my local precinct, and did my level best to help change my town council from red to blue in the November municipal election. Democratic voters in our municipality turned out in record numbers to win in a gigantic landslide, and I am really proud of the part I played in that. I am energized! I am ready to work hard in 2018 to take some congressional seats and help turn my state more blue!

Somewhat disconcertingly, I am becoming KNOWN. I am getting messages and friend requests from total strangers running for positions all over the state and for whom I would not be a constituent. I am becoming a person who meets state congressional candidates for drinks to see if am comfortable throwing my support behind them. Activists are trying to enlist my help with their agendas. This is not a role in which I ever expected to be, but I relish being so far outside my personal comfort zone! I am so happy to be DOING something and to have things on which to ACT.

Like the rest of the voters in the US who are paying attention, I read the news each day, mouth agape, wondering what fresh madness will come down to us from the top of our government. However, I believe with all my heart that the way to turn this mess around is to take it back from the bottom up. Every seat matters. Every vote matters. Every conversation matters.

Tonight, I will host my precinct's monthly happy hour, and then hopefully make it to the Apex Town Council meeting, where my people will be voting on paid parental and bereavement leave for town employees, something that should not be controversial, but is. I will attend more meetings and protests to stay galvanized and help motivate and direct my people in ways that hopefully make a difference. I will keep on keepin' on, learning, planning, and working my ass off. I can't wait! Onward!

Too Much to Say

In reading the news lately, it's been so overwhelming that I almost don't even know what to say. I have been writing less as more and more terrifying and infuriating events have taken place.

What do I talk about first? Here's a list of possibilities just off the top of my head:

• Russian interference in our election process and almost certainly in our current administration--this has become nearly indisputable with not only many instances of rumor and smoke, much from within the White House itself, but also with the resignation/firing of Michael Flynn, followed by his offer to testify if granted immunity, which, by his own words, is an admission of guilt. 
• The Senate changing the rules of majority in order to push Gorsuch into the Supreme Court--rules that were put in place specifically to disallow the election of a partisan judge to that very office.
• The gassing of Syrian citizens by their own ruler, the monstrous Assad, which was brutal in the extreme and absolutely horrifying to witness via video and photograph, much less in real life. And then 45's attempt to blame Obama for this incident, followed by an abrupt 180 degree turn from every word he's ever spoken about Syria and our involvement therein and subsequent bombing of a Syrian airbase (without consulting congress at all, or anyone else that knows much at all, from Mar-a-Lago surrounded by economic advisers) that remains operational after being missed by over half the tomahawk missiles fired upon it amid rumors that the Syrian government had been mysteriously warned, possibly by Putin, that the assault was imminent.
• How many days has 45 I'm-never-going-to-see-my-resorts-again-I'll-be-working-too-hard played golf since he took office? (18) How many visits to his own properties and resorts? (once every 2.8 days) How much money did that cost tax payers? ($21.6M at Mar-a-Lago so far) And how much of that cost is funnelled directly into his own pockets? Hmmm...
• Ivanka has an office where again? What the wha???
• The poor, disorganized Easter Egg Roll, wherein the current First Family once again throws tradition to the wind and disappoints the people. If they manage to pull this thing off, you know it's going to be a chaotic disaster. I sure hope Spicer still has his bunny suit.
• What was that tiny article that I read about the US moving warships up the Asian coast from Singapore and into position near North Korea, which claims it will have the strength to hit a US target with a nuclear missile before another month has passed. And 45 bragging to China that he was ready to take them on alone without support from other countries, including them? *shudder*
• Now we can shoot hibernating bears and wolves in their dens. Making America Great Again--riiiiiight...
• 3000 jobs to be cut from the EPA, which continues to be gagged on the bulk of its research. That's definitely bring jobs back, right? Not to mention protecting our planet? Oh that's right--I forgot that climate change is all a Chinese hoax.

There's a lot from which to choose. However, my point here is not to be emotional, but analytic. I am striving every day to understand the big picture of what's actually going on in this disorganized and chaotic government. And lately, folks, I have honestly been too emotional to write about it. I am just angry, disappointed, terrified, and apparently, overwhelmed into silence. This is a dangerous place to be: silence is often mistaken for acquiescence. Please don't mistake my lack of writing as a sign of submission. I promise you, it's anything but.

Juxtaposition

Observe, if you will, two official Presidential portraits:

Could two men come across more differently than these two? If I knew absolutely nothing at all about either of them, it would be incredibly easy to determine which one I would rather have over for dinner. Knowing what I know about them, that's even more the case.

President Obama looks kind, confident, friendly, professional, and open. He's at ease and standing up straight and proud. He's inside the oval office with the red fabric he chose for drapery treatments behind him and with living plants in the background outside the windows. His clothing is well-fitted and neatly pressed with flattering colors that don't overpower him so that your eyes are drawn to his face and his smile. In sharp contrast, our 45th President looks hostile, angry, and like he may take a step forward and smack the viewer. His expression is reminiscent of my emotional son when he's not getting his way. He's slump-shouldered and looks bowed down. His shirt is wrinkled and looks dingy instead of clean white, and the red tie not only accentuates his ruddy complexion that doesn't look altogether healthy, but it also draws your eyes downward away from his face--that bright red is the first thing you see in the portrait. Also, where is he standing? The White House is behind him, but there's also a flag that looks indoors. Even the sky behind him is even uneasy and stormy, as if nothing here bodes well. Is this photo-shopped together?

Part of what confuses me about this newly unveiled portrait is that 45 has all the money in the world for stylists, photographers, and staff to guide him through a photo session that should have produced something far better than this. Why in the world does he not use the resources he has to give a better impression? Does he believe that this photograph makes him look powerful? I truly don't understand.

Wake County Democratic Convention

This weekend, I attended the Wake County Democratic Convention at Apex Friendship High School, and it was an amazing experience. I was unfortunately not able to vote this year, as I didn't get my party affiliate changed in time. I am still really glad I went--I learned a ton about the process and the folks in Wake County who make things happen. I am determined to stay involved and learn as much as I can so that next year, I can take a more active role.

I read that last year, this convention was attended by 290 delegates, and that this year, it was more nearly 900 strong. If there is one positive thing to say about the current Presidential administration and the state of politics here in North Carolina, it's that people are feeling galvanized and ready to act. This meeting was not glamorous--this was an in-the-trenches type of working meeting, and it was literally standing room only. It was inspirational! This is Congressman David Price speaking to the group, and people were still in line outside to check in when I took this. You also can't see that there are people standing down both sides of the room as well. Just amazing.

Our precinct was originally up front, but enough people showed up that we ran out of space and moved to the back so that we could sit together. This is a great problem to have!

At the meeting, there were a small handful of speakers, most notably the aforementioned Congressman Price and the Chair of the Wake County Democratic Party, Brian Fitzsimmons. He was stepping down as Chair, but I will me amazed if we don't see him pop up somewhere else in politics in North Carolina. He is a fantastic speaker, and seems to really know how to get things done. New officers were elected on the spot, and the transition to them took place immediately. Most seats were uncontested with the exception of Chair. The new Chair this year is Rebecca Llewellyn, who won handily over her challenger, David Bland. I was glad to see that the new executive board was quite diverse. I also learned later that this is the very first time the board has been majority female. Just check this out!

Other things I took from the Convention:

1. The State Executive Committee has to be half female and half male. This is something I had no idea existed anywhere in our government, and honestly, I do not understand how this rule came to be. It's something I plan to research. It was bizarre to see the list of candidates separated by gender in this way.
2. What is the State Executive Committee? This was a big question from many of us who were attending our first meeting of this type. It's an elected body that meets quarterly and is apparently a large part of how the state platform is developed. In some ways, this reminded me of the Electoral College. Most people do not know the people representing them in the EC, and similarly, most people do not know the members of their SEC. And yet--it's in that SEC where the real work of developing the stance of the Democratic Party (and I assume the Republican one as well) in your state happens. This is definitely something that bears further clarification and exploration.
3. The Wake County Democratic Party has one paid employee, the Executive Director, Austen High. Every other position is strictly voluntary, and from comments made, I gather that Austen can use all the help she can get. I followed up after the meeting and sent her a message offering to assist her if I possibly can. 

I feel in some ways like getting involved is requiring me to be somewhat pushy. That's OK with me--I am willing to keep trying to find ways to help move this group and this platform forward. Right now in North Carolina, in spite of our newly installed Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, the GOP has a Super-majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, even if we do not re-draw our heavily gerrymandered district lines, it would take only a few seats to flip that majority in the other direction. If I can find any small way to help that happen, I am glad to do it!

The most interesting part of the entire meeting was the last 30 minutes, during which resolutions were discussed. These are proposals for changes or additions to the party platform that are written by individuals and submitted at the precinct level where they are discussed and voted upon. If they pass there, they are handed up to the county level. There, some are thrown out for redundancy, but the list is then discussed and voted upon once again. If a resolution passes the county, it goes to state level, and so on. These can and do cover about anything from educational policy to taxation to the death penalty. 14 such resolutions passed at this particular meeting. The head of the resolutions committee, Montica Talmadge, was new to the process and was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the adopted rules of the meeting, the rules that had to be followed, and the number of people trying to talk at once. Luckily, the Second Vice Chair of the NC Democratic Party happened to be in attendance, and he was able to step in, regain control, and get through all 14 resolutions in under 30 minutes. His name is Matt Hughes, and it was very easy to tell that, though he is quite young, he knew exactly how to handle the process. He is another person who bears watching over the next few years. If he doesn't end up running for a Congressional seat or perhaps even more, I will be amazed.

I think that one of the most important things I am doing right now is learning my way around. I am learning who are the people who are doing the real, on-the-ground work of making progress, and those are the people I need to meet and get to know in order to be effective myself. This process is SO complicated, and these are the people from whom I need to learn. I have an enormous set of skills that I can and want to put to use for the party--I just need to figure out how and where to do it. 

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: