Be The Change

Welcome to Week 81 of Be the Change

Polls don't vote. People do. If you haven't voted yet, go to vote.org to get all the info you need to vote on Tuesday, November 5. And in the meantime, you can still sign up to phone bank or canvass in person. You can get out the vote for Democrats with the Environmental Voter Project, Vote Save America, Indivisible, the Democratic Party, and more. Let's stop fascism and keep hope alive!

- Andy
Polls: A Haiku

Polls: A Haiku

Near-half want me dead.
It was all a joke they said.
Love pulls just ahead.
Undecided

Undecided

“Fallout spreads from racist rhetoric at Trump’s MSG rally.” - Politico

I’ve been staring at the wall for hours,
wondering why the paint won’t peel off,
what’s holding the plaster together.

I twirl a pen, lean back in my chair,
regard its tired squeal, regard the sky-
like expanse of the ceiling, turn over

in my mind the choices before me. I
ask the wood for answers, imagine its
beams exposed to my eyes, naked as fear,

try to find meaning in the grain. I blink,
I search in vain for a window, for light. Now
It’s pitch-dark and the wall is laughing at me,

the wall is moving like a spider, like ink
dripping down my back, the wall is heavy,
the wall is teeming with black mold, is a

window unto nothing, a sensory deprivation
chamber, still my senses are alive, I can feel
every fiber of carpet moving like worms

beneath my feet, the doors have fallen away,
there is a void like a lump in the throat, the air
is charged as though a storm were coming

but there is no weather here, a loudspeaker
announced that nature died at the sawmill
and there will be no funeral, tomorrow the

sprinklers will run, the mail will come on time:
I have been staring at the wall for years,
undecided if I want it all to come crashing down.
Even if Trump and MAGA are defeated in this election cycle, the threat of American fascism will remain. We need to keep engaging day-in and day-out to ensure we continue to build an America that fosters peace and prosperity for all, is a beacon of hope...We can't only engage every four years, and only for presidential races. We can all support local grassroots organizing, democracy building, and even run for office ourselves--throughout the year, every year!

- Andy