Hi Friends,
I’m sure you’re inundated by election-related emails and messages and news and I hope that you’re finding ways to manage anxiety, fear, and stress right now. I imagine that this week is going to be one for the history books, no matter what happens.
I’m reaching out now to share a message of hope, love, and encouragement. The paths we are walking are longer than our lifetimes and while the threats we face sometimes feel overwhelming and impossible to manage, times like this have happened before and they will happen again. Our work still remains, our need for rest and taking breaks continues, and the fundamental centrality of solidarity and community is unshaken.
I am still solidly guided by my confidence that how we take care of each other is what matters most.
Here are some people and organizations that have given me strength. Some are resources I have recommended to you in the past and some are new:
- Valarie Kaur has a new book out, called Sage Warrior, and I attended an event with her that was partially about her books, but mostly felt like active community building and grief holding and authentic connection. Her work has changed my life. “Our most urgent task is to alchemize our pain into energy and action. And the only way to do that is together. The labor is long. Let us fortify each other. Who will you breathe with today? Who will help you push?”
- Rabbi Alissa Wise has a new book out, called Solidarity is the Political Version of Love, and I heard her speak at a book event with her co-author, Rebecca Vilkomerson. Their words were all about organizing and staying the course for the long-haul and attending to our needs in the short-term.
- Lyz Lenz said in a recent newsletter, “The only real solution to managing our fears is collective action. The only real peace is the peace that comes from being part of the community. You are not helpless here and you have more than your vote.”
- Nicole Cardoza at Reimagined (formerly Anti-Racism Daily), said in a recent email, “If you’re feeling a sense of dread or overwhelm, remember: we are the leaders that will get each other through. Let this be an opportunity to shift your solidarity from institutions to each other. Voting is good, but committing to the collective wellbeing of your neighbors is better. So is showing up at your local school board and community council meetings, protesting against injustice, boycotting and divesting, and doing the deep work to evolve your own relationship to what institutions try to teach us. The good fight isn’t over until we give up on ourselves and each other. And I’m glad to be in this fight with you.”
- David Dean shared resources and encouragement, and outlined the “Block and Build” strategy that he uses for short- and long-term action. “Throughout history, moments of rising political repression have often resulted in splintering and infighting on the left that has ultimately led to the destruction of once-promising movement-building efforts. Regardless of our political strategy in this moment, it is incumbent upon all of us to see one another as comrades and engage in good faith discussion about our political strategies.”
- The Catalyst Project shared recently, “If we are thoughtful and intentional about how we treat each other, we can address conflict in generative ways. This can strengthen our movements in the coming months and years. Deeply committed, principled, and thoughtful leaders are advancing different strategies to win power and create change on the scale that our communities need. In this political moment, where so many of us feel so exhausted, it can feel difficult to look for common values and approach each other with humility. We can practice both humility and also principled struggle.”
- Eleanor Hancock at White Awake wrote recently, “Finding a way to immerse yourself in a supportive, loving community is also vital. I encourage everyone to find, build, act, spend time within a political home — even if this home is fragmented or spread out over a variety of different groups and relationships.”
- Heather Cox Richardson shared detailed information about facism, based on a pamphlet created by the US War Department for the US Army in 1945. Please be informed about the tactics used and how to respond to these threats to democracy.
- Nadia Bolz-Weber shared in 2021 about respecting our individual capacities for what is enough and resisting the constant clamoring around us that we must do more and more and more. “I only have so much water in my bucket to help with the fires. The more exposure I have to the fires I have NO WATER to fight, the more likely I am to get so burned, and inhale so much smoke that I cannot help anymore with the fires close enough to fight once my bucket is full again.
So I try and tell myself that It’s ok to focus on one fire.
It’s ok to do what is YOURS to do. Say what’s yours to say. Care about what’s yours to care about.
That’s enough.”
I also wanted to share this resource called Dismantling Antisemitism, which gives really in-depth detailed guidance about how to engage with this important work.
Breathe. Push. Rest.
Block and Build.
Connect with your people.
Repeat.
Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity.