Month: November 2016

Keeping Up the Fight

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We apologize for the absence of posts over the past couple of weeks. We went into a little bit of a depression hibernation after the election. Once we were ready to come out of hibernation it was Thanksgiving. Now we are ready to start down a long road of political activism and we hope you are too. First, I’d like you to listen to this amazing Rachel Platten song to get you in the spirit of this blog post.

So, we’ve all accepted that Donald Trump is almost certainly going to be our next president, right? No? Well, we need to move forward anyway. Maybe in the process, moving forward will help you accept. We need to keep up the good fight. Always remember to Fight Like Hill.

I know there’s a lot of talk about moving to Canada, etc. But leaving is not the answer. If all the privileged progressive folks leave the country then the conservatives are left unchecked to oppress whoever they want. So, instead of making sure your passport is up to date, let’s look at some things you can do to correct the path of this great nation. This absurd conservative government we’ve gotten ourselves into might be the present, but we are the future.

1. First let’s start with the easiest thing to do: Donate Money
If the government is going to try to defund Planned Parenthood and take away Human Rights, align yourselves with the organizations trying to protect those things. Some causes that I think are worthy of your money are listed at the bottom of this post, but feel free to do your own research and find an organization that represents a cause you feel passionate about. If you discover a charity that sounds good, but you aren’t sure if it’s legitimate, filter it through Charity Watch and/or Charity Navigator.

If you can’t donate money, donate time, which brings me to the next few bullet points.

2. Call (or email/write letters to) your Elected Officials
This one requires slightly more effort, but you can still do it from the comfort of your  couch. Call (and email) your elected officials – they have to listen. Whether elected by you or not, these people were elected to represent you. Their job requires them to listen to you and fight on your behalf. So call them about anything and everything policy related. Call them now about preventing Steve Bannon from being appointed to the White House and about confirming Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Call them in the future about protecting Planned Parenthood, not repealing the Affordable Care Act, or anything else that might be important to you. To find out how to contact your elected officials go here.

3. Spread Kindness on a Micro Level (i.e. be kind to strangers and loved ones)
This one may require you to leave your home, though it still doesn’t require much effort. This just asks you to go a little bit out of your way for someone else. This one can be helping a loved one or a stranger. Does your friend need someone to pick up their kid from soccer practice? Volunteer. Do you see your neighbor struggling to bring groceries inside? Offer to help. While helping friends and loved ones is a wonderful thing to do, the best way to truly spread kindness is to help strangers. Show that we are united and that we can all get along if we just try. Maybe you are Muslim and you buy a coffee for an Islamophobe. You’ve just shown that person that Muslim people are kind and generous and not to be feared. Maybe you are a woman and you buy a meal for a misogynist. Suddenly, you’ve given that person a reason to respect women.

4. Spread Kindness on a Macro Level (i.e. community service and volunteering your time)
Most charities that accept donations also have information on their websites about how to volunteer with them. If you are unable to donate money at the moment, or if you already donated and are eager to do more, volunteering is a great way to go. You can also look into community service with any organization or charity you care about. Some cities/states also have a community service database/organization. For example, Boston has an organization called BostonCares where you can sign up for community service opportunities through their website. Do a little research for Community Service in your area and see what you find.

5. Focus on Midterm and Local Elections
I can not stress enough how important voting in midterm and local elections is.
If you have some long-term time and patience and a desire to do more than just vote, focus on 2018 and your local politics. State government being overrun by Republicans is how we ended up with redistricting that led to a conservative House of Representatives. Work to turn your State House blue. And remember that 2010 and 2014 gave us our current congress, so don’t forget about 2018. Vote, knock on doors, make phone calls. Democrats tend to have lower voter turnout during mid-term elections, but we have the power to change that. Let’s take back State Houses and let’s take back Congress! Then in 2020 we can take back the White House!

6. Go Into Politics Yourself
This one is the hardest thing to do. After all, it involves changing your career. But if you’re feeling really inspired and up for a challenge, go into politics. When I was younger, the first thing I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a politician. Then I got jaded; I thought politicians didn’t change the world for the better and if I wanted to do that, I should work for a non-profit. This election has taught me that not only can politicians change the world for the better, but they can most definitely change the world for the worse. So go into politics to prevent that from happening. Protect the world. Do I think politicians will be able to end world hunger and bring peace on earth? Probably not. But we need to prevent the election of politicians who will expand world hunger and war on earth. We need to elect the Hillary Clintons, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warrens and prevent another Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, or Mitch McConnel from ever being elected again. Remember, going into politics can mean so many things. The obvious is becoming the candidate, but you can also work on the campaign or administrative side of politics.

We are the future. So once you are ready, get up and fight. Keep moving forward. Always remember the public service of Hillary Clinton and strive to be like her. Honor her with your fight. I leave you with this inspirational song about being a strong woman.

~Lianna

Listed below are charities that support causes that will become increasingly important during the next 4 years. Since our readers are all over the country, I tried to focus on national/international organizations, but I urge you to look into local organizations in your area as well.

Women’s Health/Reproductive Rights: Planned Parenthood, Center for Reproductive Rights, NARAL Pro Choice America, National Network of Abortion Funds
General Health/Medical Research: Hadassah (in honor of The Great Beth DeBor)
Human Rights/Civil Liberties: The American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch, Southern Poverty Law Center, The Center for Victims of Torture
The Earth/Environment: Natural Resources Defense Council, The Conservation Fund
LGBTQ: The Trevor Project
Immigrants/Refugees: Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Japanese American National Museum (in honor of The Great George Takei), International Rescue Committee, American Refugee Committee
Seniors: Meals on Wheels America
Children: Children’s Defense Fund (in honor of The Great Hillary Clinton)
Veterans/Homelessness: Homes for Our Troops, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Coalition for the Homeless

Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Take time to relax and enjoy the holiday with your family, friends, or whoever else you celebrate with. Try not to think about the election or Donald Trump. If you are a split-political family, I feel sorry for you and hope that you and your loved ones can get past that. We are lucky enough to have a family that largely agrees with or at least understands our views and ideologies.

We hope that you’ll come back from Thanksgiving ready to join us in the fight to protect our rights and save our country from a particular orange monster trying to destroy it.

 

An Open Letter to President-elect Donald Trump

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In the days after the election there was a spike in hate crimes and other harassment of minority individuals. What no one seemed to be talking about was the lack of response from Donald Trump. He spent 18 months spreading fear and lies and endorsing hatred and violence, so it’s no surprise that his election validated the most hateful Americans out there. Yet, he said nothing to condemn them or get to them to stop. So, I wrote this letter to him. The goal was to get it published on Huffington Post or some other news outlet, so that maybe Trump or someone close to him would see it, but that didn’t go so well. So instead I’m posting it here. Maybe you guys can help me spread the word. Thanks for reading! ~Lianna

Dear Mr. Trump,

You said in your victory speech that it is time for Americans to unite together. You said that you want to be the President for all Americans. Has anyone ever told you that actions speak louder than words? Your comments since the election have been that it’s unfair that people are protesting… Yet, you’ve said nothing and done nothing about the increased hate crimes we’re seeing around the country.

Open a newspaper and see the chaos and hatred you have unleashed. All over the country, people are committing hate crimes in your name. People are painting swastikas on public spaces, abusing Muslims, threatening Hispanics, gays, and just about everyone else who isn’t a white straight Christian male. Honestly, the list goes on too long to explain all the horrific things that are occurring in your name. You normalized this kind of hatred. I do not hate the people committing these crimes. I think it’s terribly sad that they weren’t raised better than this. I think it’s sad that their parents and teachers and political leaders didn’t teach them how to respect their fellow humans. But, I do not hate them for this. I know they have been failed by the system. Rather, I directly blame you every time someone gets insulted, made fun of, hurt, abused, or terrorized. This is your fault. However, I have forgiveness in my heart. If you show me that you can make this right, I’ll forgive you. You probably don’t deserve forgiveness. After all, you have demonstrated dislike or disrespect to literally every group of American except the straight, white, Christian males;  but I’ll consider forgiveness if you show me that you can move forward from this in the right direction. If you show me that you can help heal the country, I’ll forgive you for saying that my only value is that of a sex object.

So, do you want to show me that you can be my president too? Do you want to show me that you truly believe in unifying America?

If you do, condemn this violence and hatred. You need to come out and make a very public and very loud statement that people can not terrorize their fellow humans, abuse their fellow humans, or commit hate crimes. You need to apologize for all the hateful crap you spewed during your campaign.

I’m sad to say that you opened a can of worms that you may not be able to close. You may not be able to quiet these people. You normalized their hateful actions and no matter what you do, they may not be silenced. But you can at least act remotely presidential by condemning them.

You think Syrian refugees and Muslims are the terrorists of the world? Well, I hate to break it to you but the definition of terrorism is “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal.” Your white, Christian, American supporters are the terrorists today.

I’m a white woman, so half of my identity will protect me. I will not be attacked because I am white. But I am still terrified of the other half of my identity. If a man gropes me without my permission, how do I even begin to tell him that what he’s doing is wrong, when the President-elect of The United States of America says it’s okay? How?

So, Mr. Trump, if you want to show that you can be the POTUS, you need to walk out of Trump Tower today and go make a statement. Go apologize for all the horrific things you said and did during the campaign season. Go tell the monsters perpetrating hate crimes to stop. Make a REAL attempt to unify this country, because your flimsy victory speech doesn’t count for jack if you don’t back it up by condemning these people and their actions and imploring them to stop. Maybe then I’ll take you seriously. Maybe if you attempt to stop this violence and hatred I’ll respect you as my future President. Right now, all I see is a bigoted white man who is too cowardly to protect the people he is supposed to serve come January 20th.

Sincerely,

An American who is terrified of your America

Ps. I’m scared that just in writing this letter I’ll be making myself a target. I’m trusting you to take the target off my back. I’m trusting you to actually act like the POTUS and to protect me.

Moving Forward

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Whenever I’m sad or scared or angry or excited or confused, I write. I don’t always recognize that that’s what I’m doing; sometimes my writing is in the form of a letter that I never send to someone I’ve hurt or who’s hurt me, sometimes it’s a quick note jotted down at the end of a long day, but often it’s just a composition in my head as I fall asleep. Now I have you beautiful people, who are kind enough to read the things I write and give me an outlet. So while many people far more eloquent than I have already given and will continue to give you their thoughts on this election, I find myself putting pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to keys). I hope that something I say will help you, but if it doesn’t, please know that just by reading this, you’re helping me. And for that I thank you.

America made a mistake on Tuesday night. It isn’t the first mistake we’ve made and it certainly won’t be the last, but knowing that doesn’t make it hurt less. On Tuesday night, I was too shocked to feel anything. I’d spent all day Tuesday feeling alternately slightly nervous and elated that we would soon be electing our first female president. I didn’t in any way prepare for the possibility that that might not happen. I know I’m not the only one.

Yesterday, the numbness wore off. I held back tears as I drove to work. I excused myself to the bathroom and stood in a stall and cried silent tears after reading highlights from Hillary Clinton’s concession speech. I talked to coworkers and family and friends. I felt better, I felt worse, I felt depressed, and I felt hopeful. I turned on the radio on my drive home, heard a couple songs with especially resonant lyrics, and sobbed in my car. As I write this, my eyes are burning with spent as well as unfallen tears.

I suspect that many of the people reading this – maybe even everyone – are Hillary Clinton voters, or at the very least Never Trumpers, so I’m speaking to you. I’ve heard a lot about how this is the end of America as we know it, how the results Tuesday night spell the end of democracy and civil discourse, how we’d all be better off leaving the country. These things are only true if we let them be. Tuesday night was not a loss, but a setback. It’s a sign that a new fight is beginning, and just as we’ve won fights in the past to end slavery, grant women the right to vote, and end segregation, so too shall we win this fight. This is not the end. It is the beginning of a new fight.

It’s easy to see Tuesday’s results as a victory for hate – racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, etc. have been everywhere in this election. I can’t tell you that people didn’t vote based on hatred, because many people did. But for many more, their votes for Trump on Tuesday night were about fear. Fear that their children will be worse off than they are. Fear that they’re being left behind. Fear of terrorism in general and ISIS in particular. Many Trump voters aren’t hateful, they’re just terrified.

Now the tables have turned and it’s us who are fearful. I won’t tell you that you shouldn’t be; hate crimes may raise as they did in the UK following Brexit, no one knows what the next four years will hold, and these are uncertain and scary times. Be vigilant and stay safe. But what I will tell you is this: Don’t let your fear make you small. Don’t let it control you. Don’t let it make you afraid to speak out against injustice. Don’t let it make you hold back because you think you can’t make a difference. Don’t let it cause you to pull the blinds and pretend the world outside isn’t there.

This election was awful. Take all the time you need to grieve. Scream, vent, punch a pillow, wallow, binge-watch your favorite tv show, and cry. Cry for all the dreams you thought you’d see come true that now have to wait a little longer. Cry for your minority friends and family who are as scared as they’ve ever been. Cry for all the people who made a rash decision based on fear. And then pick yourself up off the mat and live to fight another day.

I know there’s a lot of talk about 2020, but remember that midterm elections are a big part of how we got into this mess. 2018 will be an important year. Show up, knock doors, make calls, donate, talk to your family and friends and make sure they vote, work the polls, and if you’re in a position to do so, run for office yourself. We don’t have to put up with this for four years if we can take back the Senate, or even the House, in 2018. And in the meantime, do all that you can to make the world a better, kinder, more generous place. Tell your family and friends you love them. Explain to the Trump-supporters in your life why you’re upset and then try to forgive them. Donate to or volunteer with the organizations that will be fighting for the causes you care about.

This is not the end, people. This is a new beginning. And we have work to do.

– Carley

Voting!

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Remember to vote today!
If you haven’t already voted (we love no-excuse early voting!) then today is the day to make your voice heard! This is going to be an “anything can happen” election, so Blue States might not necessarily go blue and Red States might not necessarily go red, so go out and cast your vote!

A couple of reminders for Election Day: 
1.) As long as you are in line before the polling place closes, you are legally allowed to vote. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise and tries to get you to leave, call them out on it and do not leave the line.
2.) Many states now require a photo ID to vote. Please check and see if your state is included. You don’t want to forget your ID and end up not being able to vote.
3.) If you need a ride, ask your family and friends, and if you can’t find one, don’t just throw in the towel. Google. Lots of local campaign or party offices will help find you a ride to the polls if you need.
4.) There is no campaigning allowed within 100 ft. of a polling place (in some states the boundary may be less than 100 ft). If someone is trying to influence or intimidate you on your way into the polls, ignore them, head on inside, and report them to a poll worker.

Also, a couple things to keep in mind so you don’t get into trouble when you head out to vote: 
1.) Do not wear any political paraphernalia to your polling place as you can be turned away for this. This includes t-shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, etc. As mentioned above, you are not allowed to campaign within a certain distance of a polling place and wearing political clothing counts as campaigning.
2.) I know you’re proud of your vote (as you should be), but please remember not to take a picture of your ballot. Depending on your state, this could be illegal and/or negate your vote.

Finally, if you have any issues or witness any voting violations and your poll workers aren’t willing to step in, you can report violations to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. You can do that here or you can call 800-253-3931. The DOJ can send poll watchers to make sure the system is working properly. As they say, if you see something, say something.

Trump voters: Don’t forget, according to your candidate you guys vote on November 28th. So you can go ahead and wait.

Incase you didn’t plan ahead yesterday, here’s some information for you to figure out where to vote and what will be on your ballot…

For finding your polling location/hours:
– This site doesn’t always have all of the information you need right on the site, but for every state it gives you the link to your state’s government election page for more information. Granted, some states have much more comprehensive election pages than others, but you should at least be able to find your polling place.
– This site is a little more comprehensive in its own right, but doesn’t have all the information for every state. However, this site does link you to more information about the candidates, which is kind of cool.

For finding out what will be on your ballot:
If the two sites above do not show you what will be on your ballot, you can locate that information here. It’s good to know this ahead of time, so you can go into your polling place prepared.

Happy Voting!

-Lianna & Carley-

Making a Plan for Voting

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Remember to vote tomorrow!
If you haven’t already voted (We love early voting!) then today is the day to make your plan and get ready to vote tomorrow. Every vote counts. Whether you believe that or not, it’s true. Even if you don’t live in a swing state, it’s important that you go out to vote because a lot of Senate, House, and local seats are on the line, as well as referendums on issues like minimum wage, gun laws, and marijuana legalization. Not to mention this is going to be an “anything can happen” election, so Blue States might not necessarily go blue and Red States might not necessarily go red.

A couple reminders for Election Day:
1.) As long as you are in line before the polling place closes, you are legally allowed to vote. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise and tries to get you to leave, call them out on it and do not leave the line.
2.) Many states now require a photo ID to vote. Please check and see if your state is included. You don’t want to forget your ID and end up not being able to vote.
3.) If you need a ride, ask your family and friends, and if you can’t find one, don’t just throw in the towel. Google. Lots of local campaign or party offices will help find you a ride to the polls if you need.
4.) There is no campaigning allowed within 100 ft. of a polling place (in some states the boundary may be less than 100 ft). If someone is trying to influence or intimidate you on your way into the polls, ignore them, head on inside, and report them to a poll worker.

Also, a couple things to keep in mind so you don’t get into trouble when you head out to vote:
1.) Do not wear any political paraphernalia to your polling place as you can be turned away for this. This includes t-shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, etc. As mentioned above, you are not allowed to campaign within a certain distance of a polling place and wearing political clothing counts as campaigning.
2.) I know you’re proud of your vote (as you should be), but please remember not to take a picture of your ballot. Depending on your state, this could be illegal and/or negate your vote.

Finally, if you have any issues or witness any voting violations and your poll workers aren’t willing to step in, you can report violations to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. You can do that here or you can call 800-253-3931. The DOJ can send poll watchers to make sure the system is working properly. As they say, if you see something, say something.

Trump voters: Don’t forget, according to your candidate you guys vote on November 28th. So you can go ahead and wait.

For finding your polling location/hours:
– This site doesn’t always have all of the information you need right on the site, but for every state it gives you the link to your state’s government election page for more information. Granted, some states have much more comprehensive election pages than others, but you should at least be able to find your polling place.
– This site is a little more comprehensive in its own right, but doesn’t have all the information for every state. However, this site does link you to more information about the candidates, which is kind of cool.

For finding out what will be on your ballot:
If the two sites above do not show you what will be on your ballot, you can locate that information here. It’s good to know this ahead of time, so you can go into your polling place prepared.

Happy Voting!

-Carley & Lianna-

Authoritarianism

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Merriam-Webster Definitions:
Authoritarian
1:  of, relating to, or favoring blind submission to authority <had authoritarian parents>
2:  of, relating to, or favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people <an authoritarian regime>

Dictator
1a :  a person granted absolute emergency power; especially :  one appointed by the senate of ancient Rome
b :  one holding complete autocratic control
c :  one ruling absolutely and often oppressively

The thing that scares me most about Donald Trump (other than his bigotry, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, misogyny, and general disdain for and lack of respect towards anyone who isn’t him) is his similarity to authoritarian “leaders.” It seems as though Donald Trump is not in fact running to be President of the United States of America, but rather he is running to become Dictator of the Divided States of America. Please do everything you can (most importantly voting) to prevent him from even getting close to his goal. However, in the event that he is elected, we have to trust that our Democracy and our Constitution can protect us from the vast dangers of Donald Trump.

In doing research for this post, I learned that authoritarianism is on the rise in America and the Western World. There are two things fueling an American acceptance of authoritarianism. The first is the increasing fear of people who don’t look like oneself. The second is that America is becoming younger and more liberal, so the older, more conservative people feel more desperate than ever to protect their traditional values. So, upon learning that, I realized I needed to talk about authoritarianism and why it is scary and bad and why we should not be increasingly accepting it. Encyclopedia Britannica starts its description of Authoritarianism by describing it as “blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action.” Authoritarian governments concentrate all the power in the hands of one or a very small number of people. Those in power are not responsible to their people and they usually exercise their power arbitrarily. Anyone who tries to defy the authoritarian government and/or create an opposing party or form of government is usually “taken care of.” They may be arrested and given an unfair trial, arrested without trial, or they may even be killed. Now that we know the definition of authoritarianism and how it is applied, let’s look at Donald.

It has been widely accepted that torture is ineffective for numerous reasons. This seems obvious to me, but apparently it isn’t obvious to everyone. So, let’s examine why torture is ineffective. In doing this, let’s overlook the obvious and excruciating inhumanity of it for a second. Google torture (or read the linked article) for graphic descriptions and I’m sure you’ll get through about one paragraph before you can’t read anymore without puking.  Many detainees who are tortured have no information at all, so we torture these people for prolonged periods of time and get no information. Not because they can withstand torture – despite what the movies tell you, very few people can withstand torture (hence the creation of cyanide pills) – no, we get no information because they have none to give. Now, the other problem with torture is false confessions and false information. Let’s imagine a scenario. You’re being waterboarded or otherwise abused (many times to near death) and finally a CIA agent says to you, “Tell me where the next attack is going to be and we’ll stop.” You don’t know of any planned attack, after all you are a very lowly guy on the al Qaeda totem pole (or you are completely innocent), and yet you blurt out, “Boston! We’re going to attack Boston!” The CIA agent, who just told you he’d stop torturing you, then tortures you again and says, “When? Tell me more.” So you say, “Five guys with suicide bombs will be attacking various locations in Boston. That’s all I know! I swear!” Now, because of your made up confession, the CIA is wasting their time looking for five suicide bombers in Boston. It may be their own fault, but it’s a waste of resources nonetheless.

Now let’s get back to the topic at hand: Donald. Donald says of torture, “Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would. In a heartbeat. I would approve more than that. It works. And if it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway for what they do to us.” Let’s break down this statement. Despite overwhelming evidence that waterboarding does not work, Donald says it does? Why? Because when you are an authoritarian leader you get to make up the facts. Science and research go out the window. Next he acknowledges that, okay, maybe waterboarding doesn’t work, but he thinks “they” deserve it anyway. I remind you that the article above says that numerous innocent people were wrongly detained and tortured, so when Donald says “they deserve it anyway,” he means, “Muslims and other people who don’t look like me, who may or may not be guilty, deserve to be gruesomely tortured without a fair trial because they don’t look like me and I don’t like them.” The Sixth amendment of the United States Constitution gives people the right to a fair and speedy trial by jury. This is a principle that this country was founded on. Yet torture is essentially convicting people before they have gone to trial. But Donald sees no problem with convicting someone without giving them a trial.

In fact, he feels so strongly about it that he wants to jail his political opponent, despite the fact that the FBI and numerous congressional committees have found that she committed no crime. He also at one point told the gun-toting Americans to “take care of her.” In an attempt to save himself, he tried to claim that he wasn’t telling them to kill her, but what does that sound like to you? You know who else wants to jail and kill their political opponents? Dictators.

Authoritarian leaders have absolute power. In America, we have three branches of government to create checks and balances on each other. No one branch of government can get out of hand because the other two are there to check them. Donald doesn’t want checks and balances; he wants absolute power to do whatever he pleases. For example, he wants to kill the families of ISIS members. Countless ISIS members and other extremists have mothers who denounce their involvement with these terrorist organizations. But Donald wants to kill them anyway. So now, not only is he convicting people without trial, he also wants to convict and execute people’s families without trial. People, this is out of control.

Lastly, Donald ignores the Constitution of the United States of America. You know, that pesky document that constitutes (See what i did there?) the foundation of our government and our country. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is freedom of religion, speech, and press. Let’s take a look at Donald’s views on each of these.

Freedom of Religion: Donald wants to institute surveillance on mosques, make all Muslim-Americans register their religion with the government, and ban all Muslims from entering the country. That doesn’t sound like freedom of religion to me. Oh, what’s that you say? He thinks freedom of religion means freedom to be Christian? Oooh. Well, he is wrong.

Freedom of Speech: John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton. These are the names of some presidential and vice presidential candidates who went on SNL to laugh at themselves after having been made fun of by SNL. Tina Fey did an uncanny impersonation of Sarah Palin, so Sarah decided she wanted to get in on the fun. Amy Poehler played a caricature of Hillary Clinton, so Hillary Clinton went on the show for a good laugh. This year Alec Baldwin played a caricature of Donald Trump on SNL and Donald then called for SNL to be shut down… very mature. In 2015 when Donald went on SNL he tweeted “Amazing Evening at Saturday Night Live!” But as soon as SNL made fun of him in 2016 he tweeted “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me.Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” Would now be a good time to mention that thin skin of his again?

Freedom of Press: For much of 2015 and 2016 Donald had a ban on several legitimate news organizations. The banned organizations included the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, Politico, BuzzFeed, and The Washington Post, among others and they were not allowed press credentials for his news conferences or campaign events. Donald only lifted the ban in September of 2016 because banning The Washington Post, one of the country’s most prestigious and fair newspapers, caused significant backlash with voters. Christian Johann Heinrich Heine summed up authoritarian states perfectly when he said, “Where they burn books, they will also burn people.” Calling to shut down SNL and taking away news organizations’ credentials are modern versions of book burning.

Another Constitutional Amendment that Donald just doesn’t care for is the Fourth. You know, the amendment that prohibits unreasonable search and seizure and requires search warrants based on probable cause. Donald supports the practice of Stop and Frisk, a practice by which law enforcement stops whoever they want (minorities) with no just cause and no warrant and searches them. It’s a practice that was ruled unconstitutional (Thanks, Fourth Amedment!) but Donald doesn’t care. He wants to reinstate it. How does this relate to his authoritarianism? First, he wants to negate personal freedoms and commit a police act that has been deemed unconstitutional. Second, he doesn’t understand that once something has been deemed unconstitutional by the court, the President can’t just go reinstate that policy. In fact, he doesn’t understand the Democratic principles this country was founded on at all.

Donald thought the system was rigged against him… until he started doing better in the polls. Well, isn’t that convenient? And Donald has not said that he will accept the results of the election if he loses. In this country, we vote for our leaders. We peacefully transition power to the candidate the people elect and the candidate who does not win respectfully concedes. Donald does not want that to be the case. He wants to take the power even if he loses and he wants to abuse the power. Fellow Americans, please do not elect a man who doesn’t understand and wants to topple the very principles this country was founded on.

Now, I have to sign off from writing this post to go canvass for Hillary Clinton and Maggie Hassan!

~Lianna

 

Women in Government

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Let’s start with a clip from my favorite show, Parks and Recreation.

In this episode, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is getting attacked for not participating in a pie-making contest with the wife of her husband’s Congressional opponent. She’s a busy lady with a demanding job of her own and even though she bakes a mean pie, she’s got better things to do, but no one seems to understand that. First she gets attacked by the family values people for not supporting her husband, or for acting like she’s better than stay-at-home moms. Then she gets attacked by the women’s rights people for not taking a strong enough stand against the outdated tradition. No matter what she does, she can’t win. I think that’s representative of what so many women in government go through and it’s why I’m so glad that Hillary Clinton’s nomination could make it easier for more women to get into politics.

First, some numbers. Since the first session of the United States Congress in 1789, 46 women have served in the Senate and 278 women have served in the House of Representatives. Some of these women served in both houses, which leaves us with 313 individual women. To put that in perspective, 12,178 people total have served in the Senate and House. In a country that is generally about 50% female, only 2.6% of our elected representatives have been women. Even today, there are only 104 women in Congress, or 19.4%. WTF, America?

A recent episode of the NPR podcast Hidden Brain sought to determine why there’s been such a profound lack of women in government and they attributed it to what they call the “double bind.” This is the issue that Leslie Knope dealt with during Pie-gate. Basically, women are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Hidden Brain interviewed Carol Moseley Braun, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 as the first female African-American Senator. She thought that racism would be a bigger hindrance to her election – after all, in 1992 America was 51% Female but only 13% Black – but she found that wasn’t the case. She told Hidden Brain, “I think in some regards the gender biases are more profound and more central to our culture than even the racial ones, and that to me was the surprise.” She recalled a cartoon in a newspaper that showed her campaign manager with his hand up her dress, implying that she was a puppet of her male campaign manager (though in light of the Donald Trump Access Hollywood video, there are certainly other implications). She won her race and proved that she was not just a puppet, but then there was another problem. In order to be an effective leader – which we hope our elected representatives are – you have to be strong and assertive, but these are not qualities that are very highly valued in women. When Moseley Braun spoke passionately on the floor of the Senate shortly after her election, “all her colleagues could hear was a shrill black woman.”

You might dismiss this as just one person’s experience, but a study by psychologists Madeline Heilman and Alice Eagly looked at gender and leadership and found that women who were noted to be successful were viewed as unlikable while women whose level of success was not specified were viewed as less competent than their male counterparts. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why there aren’t more women in politics. If a woman is running for the first time against a male opponent, she’s likely to be viewed as less well-qualified. If she does prove herself competent and manage to win, she’s liable to be seen as unlikable when it comes time to run for reelection. I don’t think many women would be surprised to find this out. We’re not dummies. We already know that our every move is going to be watched and dissected as soon as we step out in public. So why on earth would we want to open ourselves up to any more criticism than we have to? A Pew Research poll conducted in 2014 found that only 25% of people who reported having run for office were women, and honestly I’m surprised it’s even that high. Women running for office receive less support from political parties, fewer donations, and more discrimination. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t apply for a job if I knew up front that I would get little to no support through the application process and face prejudice and personal attacks even if I got the job.

To the women who have applied for the job anyway, I salute you. These women have pushed aside considerable obstacles and let the courage of their convictions carry them through tough times, humiliating times, and painful times. They have recognized that if our country is going to continue to be an example for the rest of the world, we can’t ignore the viewpoints of half of its citizens. Women can introduce new solutions to old problems; we can come up with ideas that would never occur to a male legislator who hasn’t walked in our shoes; and we can approach complicated diplomatic issues in sober, restrained ways. After all, we’ve been restraining ourselves all our lives. (This shouldn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway because apparently some people need to hear it: No woman has ever started a war because she was on her period, and that is never going to happen. Cramps suck, but even at their worst, we recognize they’re not as bad as war.)

Obviously we need more women in government, but so many women and girls have never had a role model to encourage them to get involved. Even Massachusetts, liberal stronghold and champion of underdogs, didn’t elect its first female Senator until 2012. So regardless of whether she wins on November 8 (Please, please, please vote!), Hillary Clinton’s nomination has already begun to change the game. I guess we won’t really know right away what effect she’s had, but for a new generation of girls, it won’t be a question whether a woman can run for President because a woman already has. They won’t wonder whether their dreams of being President are out of reach. They won’t have to worry that a female candidate could never be taken seriously. Things are different for these girls, and they’ll make it different for the girls following them. There’s still so much work to be done, so much progress left to be made, but in ways both big and small, the tides are beginning to turn. I was listening to a podcast this morning where a male host said something along the lines of, “In 4 years, the next man who runs…” before catching himself and adding, “Or woman.” It’s not a given anymore that candidates for President will be men. And that’s a great thing.

– Carley