August 16, 2020: Really Pretty Stamps, and a Group Project!
Bottom line: there were over 340 people on the call, and the
organizers said that in two hours, we wrote more than 6,700 letters urging
folks to vote. (Not Oregonians. Folks in swing states.) That seemed impossible,
but then I realized I wrote 20 letters, so 6,700 isn’t beyond the realm of
possibility. The goal is that we send one million letters, because one group
did some research saying the response rate is an increase of between 2.5% and
3.2% in voting. (I would like to see this research, I admit.)
I’m not going to wait until I DO see the research, though.
I’m going to write the letters. Also, postcards through another group,
Postcards to Voters.
Question: Will this
help? Good question! Suppose my letter or postcard spurs some reluctant citizen
to vote. Will there be enough polling places open in all districts? Will foreign
governments hack electronic voting machines? Will the current assault on the
Post Office mean that voting by mail is hampered or doomed or pointless? Will
the bad guys flood social media with doctored videos that discourage voting?
(Yes, they’re on that already, a nice fake Russian production of a bonfire of
Bibles right here in Portland!)
But here’s the thing: We have to keep trying, right?
It’s all whack-a-mole with the bad guys. Anything may be
derailed. If we overthink, or fall into the perfectionist trap of looking for
the One Perfect Solution – THIS will work!
No, wait. What if they counter by doing THAT?– we don’t do anything. So I’m
sending letters and postcards. (If nothing else, I have bought a whole lot of
stamps, and some are pretty. Also - if the post office is able to deliver
letters, the recipients will get something handwritten, and they’ll see those pretty
stamps! (Yes, I’m annotating the back of the envelope with “Isn’t this a cool
stamp?” and an arrow to the other side. What the heck.) And I made some truly
exquisite postcards, using some gorgeous card stock. We’re looking for
positives here.)
I’m also taking a moment to write a few thank you cards to
public servants fighting the good fight. I do that once in a while. It cheers
me no end. I figure even if some staffer sees it and recycles it, maybe that
cheers up the staffer.
Different question: Why would I want to do another Zoom call? Can’t I just write letters in the privacy of my own room?
Yep, and I did that. And you can do it, if you are antsy and
worried, and you’re not already maxed out. It’s super easy. I shall provide
some links below. But I want to answer the Why question, and I don’t want to
overwhelm those of you who have zero bandwidth.
I’m not wild about Zoom calls in general, especially when
each person in a little box takes a turn, and nobody has a timer limiting the
loquacious. But this Zoom call was a boost in another way. I’ve realized, over the social-distancing
months, that I miss a bunch of fundamental things, things that were buried
underneath my habits and pastimes. For instance, I used to Meet New People now
and then. Very little of that these days.
Also, I miss my choir (and the joy of knowing and singing
with those people, and creating beauty with them, week after week), but
underneath that, I miss Having Things on My Schedule, and more importantly, Participating
in a Group Endeavor with a Shared Purpose. My biggest weekly group event for
the past few months has been an hour of playing Trivia with my online team
(formed post-pandemic). Playing Trivia is TRIVIAL, right? I know!
But that one hour of working together is a trip: we have a
little sidebar Messenger chat going, and we’re texting, “Starts with an M!!
Help! He was married to the woman with the eyelashes!!” “The one in the ad for something?” “ She had a Greek name!” “Oh! I almost have
it!” It is bliss, and it is hilarious, pooling our fuzzy memories. And then we
get to say How did we do? It’s the “we” part that I savor.
So on the Zoom call, they say “we” a lot. We (as noted
above) ostensibly wrote 6,700 letters. We talked about effective messages. We
listened to inspiring speakers. On the last call, a grizzled old activist said,
“We need to win big.” I hadn’t met him
before, and he said WE. So for me, it was a great call.
(The rest of this post is just for people who want to do
something. If you want to write to (potential) voters but have no stamps, I’ll
share. Pick an organization, pick a voting bloc. You can choose Your People, or
decide what you think is the most effective strategy:
Do you want to be totally nonpartisan, and encourage non-voters
to register? Do you want to encourage registered voters to request their
vote-by-mail ballots? Do you want to beg people-who-would-probably-vote-Democratic
not to stay home? Start here, or here, or here....
Do you want to get on a Zoom call? Go to SwingLeft and click on Events. You can always log out.
Are you part of a specific constituency? There are a lot of
groups urging others like themselves to vote:
Black people ( Reclaim our Vote), Latinx people, (Voto Latino), Young people (The Alliance for Youth Action)
Don’t want to write letters at all? The Human RightsCampaign is working to clear the obstacles preventing transgender and nonbinary
voters from voting. They’ll take a
donation.
If you want more options, Adopt a State.
"Playing Trivia is TRIVIAL, right? I know!"
ReplyDeleteOuch.
I could have said that better....
Delete