I was originally going to present this diary as an appeal to all of those folks who swear by yard signs. It would have been a lighthearted, humorous post about how if we were left to our own devices with Republicans on the ground, we’d probably have a sign escalation war with them until the signs were so big that you could see them from space!
I’d talk about how in the yard sign arms race, we’d come up with new and interesting innovations for our yard signs, such as ones that emit nice smells like those Febreeze plug-ins, or ones that would dispense catnip and dog treats to get your pet on board.
Unfortunately, recent events here in Virginia have put a damper on just about anything lighthearted I could write.
Instead, we have to all think about the fact that in 2017 we have actual Nazis and Confederates walking the streets with torches. They’ve harassed, beaten, and even killed people.
Instead, we have to face the fact that racism is far from dead, even when we had a biracial president for eight years and a generation of young people in our country who are more ethnically diverse and inclusive than any before it.
Instead, I have to still wrestle with the idea that when I have children, I’ll have to tell them that there are people in the world who will fear and hate them just because of the amount of melanin in their skin, or a religion they may be called to practice.
But this is still a learning experience for us — we cannot for one second believe that we’ve “arrived” as a people. We have to keep fighting for the ideals of equality, opportunity, and justice for everyone.
We need to keep fighting for inclusion, and to have more elected officials at the levers of power who actually look like and represent us. Leaders unwilling to back down from bigotry and unwavering in the face of domestic terrorists. Leaders on all levels willing to spread hope and a brighter horizon rather than bank on hatred, otherness and fear.
That’s why it’s vitally important we get out the vote for the 2017 Elections we have in Virginia, starting with the August 29th Special Election in Fairfax for School Board. Everyone needs to know that these elections are happening, when they are, and why they are the first step to taking our democracy back. From there, we can finally begin rebuilding the kind of vision of America that we strive to be.
Contest every race, fight like hell everyday until election day, and show our commonwealth, country, and world that we will not allow hatred to become the new normal. Let’s show them that we can flex way more power at the ballotbox than they can at any hate rally they can organize.