How to do the work

It is an absolute shit show out there in America. And the balance between being informed and needing to dissasociate in order to survive is a slippery slope. If you’re like me, you want to do your part but often feel overwhelmed with where to start. I’ve got some ideas I wanted to share in case you’re ready to jump in and get us on the long road to change.

Educate yourself and those around you

The reason those in charge are getting rid of the department of education and removing history is because they want you uneducated. If you’re uneducated you’re easily confused and more likely to buy into false narratives. Invest in local news, reputable sources and educate yourself on the facts. Call out ignorance and fake news when you see it. Tell folks when they’re listening to sources that are not based in truth. Refuse to buy into the lies and know the difference between facts and opinions.

Start Local

Long term change starts local. So find an organization (or two!) that you’re passionate about and donate your time and money to that space. You don’t need to spend 40+ hours and all your money doing this. Take an hour a month and work your way up to whatever works for you. Give $5 one time and work your way up to a manageable number long term for your budget. Local organizations are how we build community, empower local politicians, and save lives. The small town mayor fighting for women’s rights becomes a DC senator because we supported them at the start. Starting local is the number one way to drive change.

Bring your values to work

Do you work at a company that supports doing the right thing? Learn into that. Find out if they match donations. If you work at a company that doesn’t support your values and you can’t afford to quit, find ways to hire vendors and support small businesses that align with your values. Hire the small town LGBTQ+ Baker. Buy alcohol from the Black owned winemaker down the street.

Make Calls

5calls.org is the easiest way to call your local politicians. They help you find the right folks to make your voice heard as well as provide scripts for the issues that matter most to you. Calls to political representatives are up some 600% in the last few weeks. These elected officials are listening and they’re using your voice to enact change. Do not let up.

Show up

Protests are happening everywhere. Grab a friend and show up. Make a sign and memorize a chant. Along with making calls, this is such an impactful way to make sure your voice is heard.

There are more of us than there are billionaires running this country. It is on us to make our voices heard and fight for change. They want us discouraged and beaten down. If you need to take a break, take a break. And then get back in the fight. It’s going to take years to create the change we want and need, don’t give up.

My rapist could be President.

I haven’t known how to fully express everything I feel about the unfortunate turn of events on November 5th. But the one thing I can’t stop turning over and over is that my rapist could be President.

I don’t know how to teach people to care about others, but I do know that a nation built on racism, misogyny and hate — that has never truly faced those issues — is exactly where you’d expect it to be. America is a hateful, ignorant, selfish country.

At least half of you are.

The other half, not only are we literate in basic economics and history — we genuinely understand community and value humanity. I am one of those people.

The half of you that ignorantly thought somehow, this bigoted criminal would make your lives better, you chose hate. You thought you’d save a few bucks on groceries (you were yet again dumb and wrong) and you said rape? misogyny? racism? criminal? Who cares!

I genuinely wish you nothing but the worst. I genuinely wish that one day you realize what you’ve done and you have to live with knowing you are the lowest this world has to offer. You aren’t a Christian. You aren’t some smarter than the rest of us member of society. You are utter garbage. You lack the basic education and life skills to know that you will not only not flourish, many of you will lose it all (as you should).

There’s no world in which I thought this would happen - again. And that’s what I have to sit with. That’s what I have to realize is my biggest mistake. I have to do more for the future, because I surely didn’t do enough. Many of us didn’t.

So here we are. A world in which rape is ok. A world in which people still think you can be less than because of your skin color or gender. A world in which white men are so insecure that they vote hate over humanity.

In the coming weeks, I hope I have more developed thoughts. For now, I hope if you voted for this, you continue to have the worst day of your life every single day for the remainder of your life.

America the Remix

Ok - so all sane people can agree the America is a hot mess right now. Like I’m here to celebrate the 4th because America is the greatest nation i the world, but she’s certainly not acting like it.

So while I’m here to say Happy Independence Day, I’m also here to say, let’s be better. That whole “this isn’t what America was founded on” kills me. America was founded to protect white male slave owners. So can we please stop romanticizing our foundation and instead say, if we want America to be this amazing place we dream of, we’ve got work to do.

Where do we start?

Get Honest

Start by being honest with yourself and the people around you. Step one is always admitting there’s a problem. Whether that be acknowledging your own privilege or helping others to see theirs, we have got to admit the issues in front of us. Racism, sexism, sexual assault, the opiod crisis - we’ve got a lot to cover. Also understand that admitting we have these problems is a positive. Nobody (and no nation) is perfect, stop getting defensive and start getting real.

Stay Strong

You’ve got to hold yourself and others accountable. It’s often uncomfortable but it’s really important to keep yourself and those around you in check. Call out your friends, family, and lawmakers when they’re not working towards making America better. We have to speak up and that is not easy. People are going to say you’re too political or you’re too involved or a million other things, but it’s important. Don’t be shamed into complacency.

Stay Informed

I am constantly doing research so that I am informed and aware of the happenings in the world socially and politically. I do the hard work to make sure my opinions are based on carefully gathered knowledge and not headlines or twitter clicks. Do your part and get informed so that the opinions you’re putting out there are based on true information, not fake news.

Get Involved

Loo,, we are all busy. But we also all complain about the state of things. And it’s not going to change until we all get involved. Forget your whole “I’m only one person” BS, that’s just not a good excuse for anything. One person can affect change, just look at the 2018 midterms. A whole lot of everyday Americans got involved and helped us to make changes for the better. It can be small but however you get involved, just do so.

I am a proud American, and that’s why I expect us to be better. That’s why I am so passionate about involvement and awareness and improving on where we started from. I don’t think we have to settle, and I'm refusing to allow us to do so.

It's Not that Bad.

We've become a nation that settles for not that bad. Whenever a new policy, candidate, SCOTUS appointment, BS thing our President has said comes out - it's an immediate cringe, and then "Well, its not the end of the world."

Sure, the world won't end with any of these things, but do we really want to be a country of "I guess it's not that bad?"

I love America. We've got a lot of growing to do. The current administration has caused us a lot of setbacks, but its also opened our eyes to things a lot of people weren't aware were still a problem.

I'm sick of being told I'm overreacting and being asked "is it really that bad?" when it comes to the state of our government right now. Because yes, if we have to set the bar at "the world won't end," then we've definitely gone too far.

It's a privilege to serve in any role in our government. And a role most are voted into by Americans. That should be taken seriously. When we elect these people into office, they should be held to a higher standard because they're in control of a world that effects millions of Americans.

When you think about the lengths people go through to become Americans citizens, the risks they take to bring their families into our country, how lucky we are to have a lot of the rights and privileges we do here, it should give you pause in how seriously you take the honor of being involved in the governing of it.

America is a powerhouse. We are the most powerful country in the world. The entire world. A good majority of what we do, causes a ripple effect for the rest of the world. That's quite the responsibility to take on. Knowing that, I also think that gives us extra motivation to do this right.

We need leadership that brings respect, authority, intelligence, empathy, and pride to the office. From the local Mayor to the President of the United States, if you're mediocre, you've got to go. If you bring disrespect to the office, if the world laughs at us because of who is leading us, we've got a worldwide crisis.

As you go into the world and raise the future, or even just existing on your own, be better. Educate yourself, be involved, and vote. Make sure that you're holding yourself and the people in office accountable. And don't for once second ever allow yourself, or anyone else in our government to get to a place of "well, it's not that bad."

It is that bad. The greatest nation in the world wasn't built to be mediocre. Be better.

Ears Closed

Lately - everyone wants to talk, but nobody wants to listen.  For some reason, politics have become more divisive than ever.  It's seemingly very important to have two distinct categories of people - liberal and conservative.  

Instead of engaging in meaningful conversation - discussion even - we are at odds in a way that lends  itself to fierce battle.  If someone disagrees with you, there's a heated back and forth until someone finally gives up, shoots a hateful retort and leaves the conversation.  Ultimately this leads to one person accusing the other of being unable to accept anyone who isn't like them.  and the other person accusing that first person of being hateful and ignorant.  And so the cycle continues.

Some things we all need to understand to create an environment conducive to change:

1. There is ONE side here, it's humanity.  We all live here, we all have to find a way to make it work or shit's about to get really unsafe for us all.  
2. We all have to give up some pride and be willing to truly listen and be open to a middle ground
3. Not one person EVER needs to accept hate, ignorance, or bigotry into their world.  If you are engaging with someone who simply does not understand they are speaking from a place of privilege, racism, sexism - remove yourself from that situation.  That's not refusing to accept a different opinion, that's refusing to accept we have to continue the cycle we are currently in.
4. Time is up.  We don't have anymore time to keep fighting each other.  Compromises have to be made and action has to be taken. NOW

I'm going to keep it 100 - I threw up in my purse hungover less than six months ago, so relying on me for all of the answers, that's probably not how we should save the world.  But I think we can look to me for some guidance on how to start engaging in a better way.  And even if we can't, I'm going to try.

1. Communicate: Talk with others, not to them.  It's respectable to stand by your opinion, but sometimes it's important to understand when your opinion isn't relevant, respectful, or productive.  Stop already crafting a response to someone's opinion before you've even heard what they have to say.  Everyone wants to peak but nobody wants to listen.  For example.  Gun policy.  I don't really care if you think we need them or should ban them all - we have to all understand what we have right now is not working.  So let's all be open to finding out what will work, getting research and facts around that and then committing to something that works.  
2. Educate: Everyone is an expert.  Everyone has facts.  Realistically, we are all probably mostly wrong or relying on the wrong sources.  Educate yourself.  Find legitimate sources for your news and facts.  To be very clear, there is no doubt Fox News is incredibly bias so lets all stop kidding ourselves there.  Understand where studies are funded when you quote their facts.
3. Equality: At the end of the day, everyone is deserving of equality so if that's not something you're willing to accept or engage with, you've got to understand we are leaving you behind in this discussion.  If you accept racism, sexism, hate, bigotry as existing in your world - if you refuse to acknowledge we have a problem with privilege and racism - we have to drop you off here because the future deserve better.

I see a lot of people in the world engaging with other people in the ugliest way.  I've been accused of being hateful and not open to other opinions myself - and while that's extremely misguided (and often from the people who don't understand racism or privilege) - I think it would be ignorant of me not to pause and review what I say when that does occur.  Not one of us is perfect, and we all have moments that we get too heated.  So if you have the opportunity to reflect and improve - do so - if only to help produce a more efficient future.  And ultimately, if you find yourself engaging with someone who truly isn't open to change - its important for your sanity - and for the sake of productivity - to simply wish them well and remove them from your world.  There's enough well meaning people out there - on both "sides" that we can create a better future for ourselves and generations to come.

Political Expert: Me.

Now I would not consider me a political expert.  I would consider myself politically educated, aware, and informed.  But I also have moments whereI have to google things because I have no idea what you're talking about.

But politically speaking - I think the party system is the dumbest invention we've got in politics.  Politics are not a sport.  When one side wins, a lot of people can lose.  I find it a bit Hunger Games in general when a political party wins and millions of people lose healthcare, or families are divided, or really poor people suffer more. 

Politically I don't identify with either party as a whole.  Blind party loyalty is how we ended up in the mess we are in today and voting purely to align with Democrat or Republican is uneducated.  We would be a lot better off as a nation if everyone acted independently and researched policies, laws, and candidates and then made a choice based on what works best for human beings.  Read that back - because all the suits on Capitol Hill - they're not living in the same world we are.  These things we are voting on - they affect people like you and I more than suit #32 who is not affected by new healthcare laws or tax policies.

What I'm seeing lately is a country divided based on us vs them.  Democrat vs Republican.  There's a lot of who lost and who won.  And that disgusts me.  Politics affect lives.  They affect the livelihood of our people.  And THAT is what we need to focus on.  Winning is when we have low unemployment, a healthcare system that works by taking care of our families, and taxes that make it possible for everyone to have a shot at making it financially.  How is celebrating poverty, sickness, and hatred a part of our political system?  How is that winning for anyone?

I'm not really in a place to suggest what the solution is.  And we probably should not rely on me to fix the entire political system in America (Mandatory happy hour?) but I dare say I'm not alone in my feeling that what we;re currently working with is broken.  And feeling that way should not be confused for lack of pride in my country.  The people out there fighting against the bad are so in love with our great nation that we are fiercely committed to its survival.  I love America.  I am so proud to be American.  If I wasn't passionate about this country - I wouldn't be so active in defending what it was created to be. 

Politically Correct

2016 is the year of the political expert.  Every other post on Facebook is a political opinion from someone who decided its cool to be involved and thus has to voice their opinion to the masses to keep up.  And we should be politically involved.  But its more important to be politically informed.  There's a lot of what I'm calling the parrot effect going on.  Someone sees or hears something and repeats it with no educational research behind it.  And that's where we get the most dangerous voter out there - the uninformed, do what's popular voter.  The person who has no idea the implications of their vote or the responsibility associated.  I dare to guess a good 50% of these parrots are probably not even registered to vote.

Between the social injustices, political abuse, gun violence, and abuse of power in America right now - 2016 is a critical voting year.  We are also in a Presidential year with two candidates who in my opinion really showcase the dangerous time we are in as a country.  The ramifications from voting in 2016 are huge.  Who we choose to lead us, how we vote on issues big and small is going to shape us for the next decade. 

Now this isn't about how to vote, I'm not going to begin to share my views politically or even open up a discussion on political opinions.  The most important political view I have is to be informed.  Do your research.  I don't care if you're voting on a water tax for your small hometown or on the President of the United States - be equally as aware of what that vote means.  Do not cast one vote without having made an informed decision as to what that vote means to the world around you. 

In a month, in a year, whenever politics become just another part of life and not at the forefront of our minds - I don't want to be living in a world that was decided because it was cool to talk about. 

Now I also want to address another dangerous voter out there - the close minded loud mouth.  This is the person who yells the loudest and has the strongest opinion.  The person who during a political discussion isn't listening - they're waiting for their opportunity to disagree with you - loudly.  How are we ever going to get along, to effect change if we live in a world full of people who aren't open to other opinions?  In a world of billions - you've got an equal number of different life experiences thus billions of different views.  Life experiences shape us and determine our political and social opinions.  It's reasonable to expect that even the most open minded person is still going to have some part of them that sticks to their opinions based on life experience.  However - if we continue to shout arguments at each other and not truly listen to what another person has to say - there will be no change.  And while we will continue to inherently disagree on a lot of issues - we can agree to disagree and determine a course of action that's respectful to both sides.  We've done it before, its not easy, its ugly, it takes time, but it is possible. 

Here's the takeaway for today:

1. Get informed: You're not an expert. Do your research, talk to experts, talk to those that will be most affected - become educated.
2. Open your mind: Stand fiercely behind your values and opinions but keep a piece of your mind open to truly listen to other opinions.  Engage in discussion with people who come from different backgrounds and experiences, do not be afraid to ask questions.  
3. VOTE

I love America for all that it stands for because even our ugliest qualities are things we can change because we have the right to talk about them freely.  Are we the best we could possibly be?  Not even close.  But you have the opportunity to be part of the change, don't ever take that for granted.  Don't ever think your voice and your vote don't count.