Relentless.
That’s how it feels, this constant firehose of insanity that feeds my social media timelines. If like me, you are remotely concerned with the world around you, you must feel it too. Irrespective of where in the political spectrum you fall, the chatter is incessant. We are fed what the algorithm gods deign to feed us. It skews our thinking, it keeps us in a constant state of outrage.
I try in vain to disconnect, to remove myself from the content shoved down my throat. I watch the night skies. I take my dog on walks, stopping to stare at the rare red maple leaf that has fallen on the lawn underneath it. The acorns are plentiful this year making me wonder if we are in for some epic cold. I fall back to my drama watching to ignore the things I need to be paying attention to.
This past weekend, I was at an event organized by Emgage USA and They See Blue, PA. I met with like minded folk, ate some good food and listened to a bunch of officials running for office locally. They ranged from county clerk to the State Supreme court justices running for retention. These people I met were vocal about why they were in public service. They spoke about the urgency and the absolute necessity for us here in Pennsylvania to vote YES on the judicial retention questions. I lingered after the presentations, stopping to take pictures and talking to the candidates. They were people like you and I. They spoke of their families and listened patiently while I struggled to articulate my questions.
A couple of days later, another friend sent me a spreadsheet with a list of people to text one on one to urge them to come out and vote on November 4th. I have it on my to-do list for the weekend. It hits me that most of the people living in my neighborhood and community probably go about their lives not living in a constant state of anxiety. They probably will be okay no matter what unhinged policy decisions are being implemented at the federal or state level. I look around in despair wondered what, if any will break the proverbial camel’s back.
Will it be the gutting of public school systems?
Will it be inflation finally clocking in at a level where they can no longer afford to ignore it?
Will it be someone in their immediate family being impacted by ICE?
Will it be the tariffs impacting their business?
All around me online, I see cracks in the facade but even I am not naive enough to extrapolate that to the real life around me. So, I bide my time, doing what I usually do and hope and pray that when it cracks, it is everywhere and all at once.
If you made it thus far, go out and vote on November 4th. If you are a Pennsylvania resident, vote YES on the judicial retention question. I leave you with the wise words of Dan Rather as we approach election season.
“Of course, casting a ballot is just one of our civic duties, but a vital one. It is an act of speech, a demand that your voice be heard, that you are included in the republic. Lessening this bond of citizenship, either forcibly or through indifference, makes us less free and less resilient as a nation. I hope we can continue and regain our footing on a path of greater enfranchisement. The coherence of our national destiny depends on it.”
Leave a Reply