Election Eve

Hi.  Tomorrow is another Election Day in America.  A day of standing in lines and getting "I Voted!" stickers and waiting to hear who will be representing us.  And I don't mean to scare you, but - wait.  Yes I do.  If anybody is reading this, I actually need you to focus and realize the urgency of this moment and realize that you should be a little scared.  Maybe even a lot scared.

This is not to say that you should be hopeless.  Hopium is a helluva drug, and hope is what drives us to try to do better.  Hope that we'll be safer, more accepted, more autonomous.  Hope that those things won't apply just to some, but to all; that we will continue to pursue the ideal of not perfect, but "more perfect"; to elect officials who will help us make a country where we can all pursue life, liberty, and happiness, these things which we were promised almost 250 years ago.

Here's the problem, though: you need to vote.  If you already have, or if you have your plan to tomorrow, then this doesn't apply to you, but it will apply to somebody, and if anybody is reading this, maybe you could send this along to someone who needs to hear that tomorrow is their last chance to vote this election.

And you need to convince them to vote Democrat.

Look, I don't want just Democrats to vote in the way that Republicans seem to only want Republicans to vote.  I think suffrage belongs to us all, regardless of party or sex or race or incarceration record.  But there's a lot on the ballot this year: the right to abortion and bodily autonomy, access to contraceptive, same-sex and interracial marriage, voting rights, marijuana, healthcare, the environment, education...and our democracy.

This is not hyperbole.  The reason we need to vote for Democrats is because while not every single Democrat may have your exact political ideology, or your exact solution to every problem, they believe in the vote.  They believe that it is a sacred thing, that there are winners and losers.  If you do not get out and vote for Democrats tomorrow, if we do not show up and vote out Republicans who refuse to admit defeat, it's not just that we won't get legal abortion or weed or student debt relief or gun responsibility legislation - though all of that is true.  A vote for a Republican is a vote for abortion bans and tax cuts for the rich and a shitty economy that only a small percentage of people benefit from; it is an endorsement of political violence and conspiracy theories and bigotry.

If Republicans regain control of Congress, it is very possible we will lose our democracy.

It may happen slowly.  It may happen all at once.  But they are a party out for violence and revenge, and their policies will kill you.

That's not a joke.  You may think you're the exception, that their fascist, authoritarian policies won't apply to you - but they will.  Lack of access to safe and legal abortions is fatal; lack of gun control is fatal; ignoring the climate crisis is fatal.

Christian nationalists, white supremacists, and the Republican party don't care if you die.  They don't care if you suffer as they strip your rights away just so they can get their way and make a buck.  That is not a bug, it is a feature.

I don't want to see this happen.  Now, I've got my plan to vote tomorrow, but I need everybody to get off their asses and get out to vote, too.  This is my eleventh hour plea to you to get out and fucking vote like our lives depend on it because they do.  That is not an exaggeration.  Our democracy - and our lives - depend on us going out tomorrow and electing Democrats.  If you are for safe and legal abortion and contraception, addressing the climate crisis, addressing gun violence, protecting the choice to marry who we love regardless of orientation or race, and protecting our right to vote and choose who represents us, then you have to, have to, have to vote for Democrats.

Please.

I love this country and want its people to be safe and do well.  I want to address our issues and continue to improve our quality of life.  Please, vote with empathy for your fellow Americans.  There is so much work to do, and we can get it done if we elect people who care for our democracy and want to do good by us, not serve themselves.

If you need to check your registration and polling place, you can check here so you can make a plan to vote tomorrow.  And, if we all get out and vote blue, we can wake up on November 9th knowing we can make some progress.

See you at the polls.