Now that the shouting’s over

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.

Dear [Elector}

What would happen if we wrote to the electors?

37 people in the Electoral College can determine whether or not Donald Trump is elected President. If 37 electors vote for someone else besides him, the election will be thrown to the House of Representatives, where a majority vote will decide the President. While the Republicans outnumber Democrats by 60, there is a chance that there are 60 seriously-concerned Republicans willing to say “No” to Trump.

This is not about getting Hillary elected: those 37 hypothetical “faithless electors” wouldn’t vote for Hillary to save their lives. This is about stopping a dangerous man from wreaking havoc on our country and our way of life.

The following letter is something that might make a difference, if it reaches the right people in time. The right people are the Electors of the Electoral College, whose names are available online, whose addresses are probably searchable, and who will be voting on Monday, December 19th.

It is written from perspective of someone who the electors might listen to: a simple, conservative, patriotic American family. I’ve borrowed phrases from the popular right-wing culture: “Love my country, Fear my government,” etc. I live and work among these people, and I think some of these concerns might resonate with them. Feel free to add to, subtract from, and improve this message. Just remember: our country is so divided that these electors, who have pledged themselves to Trump, will not be swayed by the messages of the left. But they just might be swayed by messages from their own people.

It may be too late to do anything about this horrible tragedy that is unfolding before us, but I would rather be a Schindler than a Quisling. Spread the word.

Dear [elector],

We are worried about Donald Trump. When we voted for him, we believed that he would make things better. We thought he would get rid of corruption and make the government for the people again.

Instead, he’s making deals to help himself, not help our country. He’s selling our country to make him and his children rich. This is not patriotism. He’s appointing Wall Street people so they can steal even more from us. He’s threatening our Social Security and our medical insurance, and betraying all of us who voted for him.

We love our country, but we fear our government. We’re going from a President who threatened to take our freedom to one who is willing to sell our freedom. This is not the Country that I believe in. We got rid of a king so we wouldn’t be controlled by foreign governments, and now Donald Trump is promising to sell us all to foreigners. The President needs to be able to put our country’s interests ahead of his own, and Mr. Trump has shown he’s not going to do that.

Please don’t vote for someone who values Russia more than he loves America. We fought against the Russians for decades because they threaten our way of life. They may not call themselves communists anymore, but they are still our enemy and not our friend. Please don’t let Trump betray what our country stands for.

Sincerely,