Conversing with an Elector
I had a very insightful conversation with one of the electors I corresponded with prior to the electoral college vote yesterday. While we did not come to a meeting of the minds (in that he still cast his vote for Trump), we did agree on this: if he can receive 100,000 e-mails and upwards of 5,000 letters regarding his electoral college vote, then there exists an wealth of concerned citizens who are energized by this election.
Can this level of energy be sustained?
If you are really convinced that the Electoral College is antiquated and undemocratic, and needs to be reformed or replaced, are you willing to take action to let your elected officials know?
Can you folks who are worried about reproductive rights muster the energy in January to write to to your congressmen and senators, voicing your concerns?
If you are worried about health-care reform, will you dedicate yourselves to convincing people in Washington to repair, rather than repeal, the Affordable Care Act?
Where is your ox being gored, (to borrow a phrase)? Are you opposed to war? To oil pipelines? To raiding social security to pay for corporate welfare?
What do you aspire to? Fair pay for teachers? Fully-funding our education system? Adequate care for the homeless, the veterans, the mentally-ill? Equal treatment for all regardless of race, gender, orientation, or language?
Well what are you going to do about it?
On many of these issues, half of the country agrees with you, and half of the country doesn’t. But on many issues there is broad agreement. Can you drop the “winner/loser” mentality and focus on working together? Can you find the common ground with the people you’ve demonized, and convince them that you are not demons yourselves?
I will . .
-stand up against tyranny,
-write letters to urge the elected leaders to act with all our interests in mind,
-remind the elected winners that they represent all of us,
-work at the local level to improve the lives of my neighbors,
-hold the powerful responsible when they sell out the people’s interests to the highest bidder,
-reach out to everyone who feels powerless, scared, and disenfranchised, to forge bonds based upon our common interests,
-refuse to give in to despair, apathy, or hatred.
One man, whatever his position and disposition, can only do as much evil as he is allowed to commit.
There are millions of people in this country who did the minimum by showing up to the election. For our country’s sake, I hope you are willing to show up to the aftermath.
Election 2016 and its Aftermath 