Broken Turtle Blog

Broken Turtle Blog

Sunday, September 20, 2020

RBG: Don't Despair; Defy!

Ruth Bader Gins-
burg’s passing is a good time to choose action over despair.

Like others, I felt her death as a tightening of the right’s death-grip on the country, a shrinking of what’s left to save, an impulse to give in to Trumptopian Covid depression.

But no.

No! 

Hell, no!

Tomorrow I do something, with no time to worry it’s not enough or not good enough. If we must rage against the dying of the light, let us rage with action. Even if it feels feeble and feckless, at least it’s defiant. For example:

Register and Vote. For Biden, of course. Assistance can be found in Facebook, or Steven Colbert’s State-specific videos on registering, requesting absentee ballots, and voting early in Covid America. In short, have a plan.

Multiply your vote with Vote Tripling, a personal approach much superior to texts from strangers. Get three friends to get three friends to commit to voting, and then remind them as the election nears. Three times three times three ad victoria.

Adopt a battleground state and help turn out targeted new and/or infrequent voters, a proven and efficient method of boosting turnout of folks on our side where it matters most. Crooked Media can guide you.

Call your Senators now and demand they REFUSE to consider any Supreme Court Justice until the new president is inaugurated. Indivisible makes it easy.

Demonstrate for causes like Black Lives Matter with discipline to fit the times.

Oh, yeah, and if you got it, give money. I suspect those texts from strangers are telling you how.

Every conversation these days tends to fall off down that black hole of Trump-sickness. As soon as he comes up, say, “I am doing A, B, and C, about it. What will you promise to do?

Optimism is sometimes defined as a belief that things will turn out better than what’s probable and thereby improve one’s chances. Antonio Gramsci spoke about “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the spirit.” He wrote that from a fascist prison, and you are not there, yet. So, take heart, defy the odds, and fight back!

If you got a better idea, tell it, spread it, and, especially, DO it.

When I was pessimistic about you sharing pics of that sad kitten, none of you did. I am betting that many of you will share this one, now.