December 18th 2019
I have not turned on the telecast of the proceedings to vote on the impeachment of Trump, It is up in the corner of my screen and it is weighing heavily on my mind. I have listened to a few commentators on NPR and I am sure that I will tune in a little more later today. For right now I am just overwhelmed by it all.
This morning while I was doing errands I was asked to sign nomination papers for the Selectman's board by someone I know. I signed and another person said they didn't do that and then said they had never voted in their life. I took a deep breath and did not say a thing. I don't think that I have ever missed a vote (maybe an obscure special election or runaway primary but even then, I went out an voted). I can't imagine what it means to not have found a moment when you felt like you were a part of democracy that every vote does matter. Granted right now it all feels very fragile, somewhat shattered and very susceptible to corruption.
I remember the biggest most impactful time where I absolutely believed that this was my country and I was a part of it, not just someone who did not matter. It was the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11th - it was the second march the first being in 1979 ( I was not at that march). I had volunteered in doing state organizing in Minnesota for the March. I had marched in DC in the late 60's during the anti-war era but had not been to Washington DC since then. I was a part of a delegation that met with our congressional members, I went to Arlington Cemetery, I wept at AIDS Quilt, I marched, I listened and at some point that weekend I found myself shouting out loud that this was my country that I mattered. It all sounds a little corny it wasn't like I was not engaged, I was a political creature. I cared about justice, I wanted equality for all people regardless of race or gender or economic status or sexual orientation. Something deeply moving happened to me that weekend it has never gone away - I got my own personal inoculation regarding our constitution - and the passionate belief of democracy.
Democracy sure seems less certain than when I felt my bolt of lightening. It is messy and fractured and I can only hope that more and more people will find their own way to feeling that being a part of the democratic process is what holds politicians and presidents accountable --- it is about we the people. So the vote seems certain in the house, there may be a few surprises and then we go onto the Senate --- and oh what a time they will have there.
I am having friends for supper. They are both young just a bit older than my oldest grandchild. I look forward to hearing about how they see this historic day. They are deeply committed to justice, they commit their time to educating about racial inequality, they represent and have a lifetime heading into the future. Seems like a good way to spend this impeachment day. Eating good food, sharing hopes and fears and having a little fun!
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