It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
I am celebrating the arrival of a fat gift from the Democracy Fairy, my Vote By Mail packet for Minnesota’s upcoming Primary on August 11, 2020. Mail in votes must be postmarked on or before election day, August 11.
Our Primary was postponed 5 months ago, in March, at a time when we had no idea what COVID-19 really meant nor how stubborn and suicidal some Americans could be. We do now. In that short time our world changed forever.
If I were to pick a bit of music symbolizing where we are today, I’d pick the march that the British played when they surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, The World Turned Upside Down.* Our world has certainly turned upside down.
Republicans Denied The Right To Vote Their Consciences
Well, the first election to be killed by Trump and his fascist followers is their own Republican Convention. How fitting and ironic, that Trump’s first actions to stifle democracy are to silence the voices of his own constituency. By killing the convention he crushed the delegate voting process and muted any opposition that might have surfaced.
This is a clear warning of what is coming for the rest of us.
What Are You Waiting For, A Miracle?
Waiting to express yourself by voting on election day, November 3, isn’t foolish. It’s stupid. Each and everyone of us must let our elected officials, Trump and his rebel enablers, know that messing with the election through voter suppression, poor security, inviting Russia or China to meddle, or misinformation and lies will result in their trials as rebels and traitors with harsh penalties.
We can’t guard our freedoms by sitting on our butts. We all need to become actively engaged now and continue through to the election and then beyond.
ACT (Civilly and Respectfully)
Join an organization and support it by volunteering and/or donating. These can be political groups, special issue groups such as women’s health, justice, environment, gun violence, and religious organizations. Our entire society is rising up.
Talk with your family and neighbors. Show them the jeopardy that they’re in and encourage them to join the effort to defend themselves. Your concern is a powerful motivator.
Write to all of your elected officials, to your city council, to local and national newspapers, and Trump and his appointed or temporary administrators. Feeling bold? Write to to your local Republican officials and celebrities and let them know what they are doing is unconstitutional and a betrayal of the United States.
Emails and petitions are another way to get counted.
Now is the time to get involved. It’s never too soon but it can be too late.
VOTE
This year, regardless of the hardships and dangers, every American who values their freedoms and the democracy that provides them, must vote. Don’t believe the polls no matter how positive the numbers are. The only numbers that count are the numbers of voters who show up.
There will be no do over. This is for the United States and promise of a better world that our Founders started to build 244 years ago. Do not let the American Dream die.
Vote, Goddamn It!!!
* I went looking for the tune, The World Turned Upside Down, wondering if it had lyrics and what it might have said. Often popular tunes were converted to marches and it wouldn’t have been the first time that some bawdy dogrel had wound it’s way into historical propriety. What I discovered was that, no such tune/march appears to have existed in 1781. It wasn’t until 100 years later that the tune was mentioned. It’s source was dubious, the equivalent of “my buddy said that his cousin, knew a guy who had heard.” Somehow, it got picked up and eventually legitimized by historians. Attempts have been made a few times through the years but turned up bupkis. My thanks to the Colonial Music Institute for killing a great myth.
So why did I leave it in my piece? Poetic license.