Trigger warning: This letter is contains earnestness

For a long time I didn’t consider myself patriotic. Coming of age in a swing state mainly amidst conservative church people, meant patriotism was, for me, tied up in the Boring (Pledge of Allegiance, mystifying choice of national anthem, general Puritanical fun-sucking), the Bigoted (Christian Nationalism, Islamophobia, Blue Lives Matter, sundry flag-encrusted hatreds) and the Belligerent (wars, wars, wars). Over time, my perspective changed due to general rhetorical maturity and books—hello, James Baldwin—and I understood America as a home worth fighting for, but that patriotic feeling? The happy tears, the hope for the the future, the am I getting serotonin from the news right now? That’s been few and far between. Something I haven’t felt in years.

On Tuesday, we voted in the morning, then wound up with some pristine weather for our field trip to Valley Forge National Park. While I wouldn’t consider myself a Revolutionary War enthusiast, the National Park system itself is always a marvel, truly one of our nation’s greatest achievements. And the breadth of the park, the warmth of the day, the textbook foliage, the dread, had me in my feelings. I thought about the people who’d been there—soldiers, yes, but also enslaved people, and women and children working to maintain the camp—their ideals and goals and hypocrisies and complications. I thought about how hard that winter in the valley would have been, how so many died in those fields though no battles were waged there. I went home. I made dinner and the next days’ lunches and put the kids to bed.

And then—maybe for the first time ever?— I hopescrolled. As the good news poured in, I felt that swell of optimism and affection for this country for the country, still completely imperfect and with a lot to answer for, but ours to rebuild, if we can keep it.

As the night wore on, I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, and at first I didn't even know why, really, but the more I thought about it I realized: This is America’s George Bailey era—the time for one last second chance. Some things are annoying or hard or downright bad, and ultimately we are running down the street excited that our mouth still has the capacity to bleed, there can also be great joy in the opportunity to make things better for our communities.

So, the vibes are good. The memes are elite. Now what?

Get ready, pick 3. Voting was the first step, not the end game. Now it’s time to relentlessly bully those in power into remembering that they work for us. Choose three causes you’re going to contact your representatives about, either or on Day 1 of their new post, or better yet, right this minute. If you’re planning for January, write that email now. Schedule send it if you can. You should pick your passions, but here are a couple of mine.

1. New Leadership. This is a now item. The Democrats will be meeting this month to pick a Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader, and we saw way too many strongly worded letters and not enough action from the old guard. We deserve a fresh start, leaders who listen to voters. If you currently have Democratic representation, call them up and let them know we want a change (especially hard no on Schumer!) If you don’t have Dem representation, you can still call your favorite progressive and leave word with their office that you’re a Democratic voter asking for new party leadership.

2. Accountability. Nothing can move forward unless and until we roll back all the absolutely illegal stuff done this past year, and that can’t be done until we hold the perpetrators accountable, publicly and legally, for their literal crimes. The way we know this is because we tried not finishing Reconstruction, and landed in this whole mess.

   This election was an absolute spanking for the GOP, but the Democrats have been doing their share of capitulating, and the people know it, and exit polls show it. These victories were a reprieve, an opportunity to shore up our democratic principles so that human rights and anti-corruption protections are codified, not just three social norms in a trench coat. We cannot squander this chance. We do not need fake unity or compromise, we need consequences, in the hope that we can undo the damage on things we do want back (The FDA! Science! The Department of Ed!) and build new things, too (Healthcare for everybody!).

3. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact I’ve wanted this puppy for a long time and it’s finally within reach. The idea is basically a work around that renders the Electoral College obsolete; states enter an agreement saying they’ll give their electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote. Et voila—no more Presidents elected by a cult! 18 states and and DC have already signed, adding up to 222 electoral votes. And we currently have enough blue states for many plausible pathways to get the remaining 48. (Texas alone has 40 electoral votes! LFG!) Learn more, see if your state has signed on or taken any steps in the process, and write your state representatives and governor today. Materials available on the above website help send a letter in a minute or two.

This list may not be your list. Honestly, I hope it’s not. That diversity of our attentions is how we’ll ultimately (bully our representatives to) get things done. For now, I hope you all are basking in the receipts that diversity and community care have always been our strengths, and they are pretty damn hard to stamp out.

Biz

Reminder: If you’re NYC-based, the Finalists’ reading for the National Book Awards takes place on 17 November and is open to the public (though you need tickets!). It, and the awards ceremony, will also be available to stream online. I’ll be signing my excerpt!

This newsletter is free for everybody, but if you enjoy the content, please consider supporting with a one-time or monthly payment of your choice at Buy Me A Coffee.