The text:
"We’re here to make our voices heard.
This is democracy at work.
If you’re like me, perhaps, in the past, you took American democracy a little bit for granted. . .
And then 2016 happened.
Yes Donald Trump is a lawbreaker.
He’s also a political reactionary who wants to take America back to a time. . . .
💠Before the Civil Rights movement
💠Before the women’s movement
💠Before the New Deal (which gave us social security, minimum wage, the GI bill & other protective legislation that moved people from poverty into the middle class.)
💠Back to a time when white men. . . .
💠Back to the age of Robber Barons, before regulatory agencies, when cheaters could launder money and manipulate markets.
Trump and his supporters pine for the good old days.
What’s stopping them from taking us back?
All the laws and regulations and protective agencies put in place since age of Robber Barons.
To take us back, they need to destroy those laws and agencies. . .
The deep state is the part of government that prevents them from doing whatever they want, and grabbing whatever they want.
Trump campaigned for president on a promise to destroy the political establishment.
Part of the problem is that we have a lawbreaking president.
The other part is that our lawbreaking president being shielded by a major political party.
Because Trump’s task is to destroy, he's free to ignore laws.
He's free to ignore norms. He doesn’t need a long range tactical plan.
He just needs to be a human wrecking ball.
Marching is great. But it isn’t enough.
Even impeachment isn’t enough.
To make a lasting change, we all need to own our democracy & take constructive steps to strengthen the institutions. . .
Between now and November 2020, there's a lot of work to do:
💠Register voters
💠Get involved with your local elections to make sure they are fair.
💠We need good community organizers. If you’re not a good organizer, find someone who is, and get that person busy.
Let me give you an example of what good community organizing can do. Have you noticed on that election days when polls are closed . . .
Outrage and anger isn’t going to help—but a good organization can send a fleet of drivers to take voters to the polls or take water and refreshments to people stuck in long lines.
Suppose at the last minute, a Republican-held state suddenly changes their voting laws and requires a certain I.D. for people to vote. This regulation will fall more heavily on lower income communities.
The Tea Party succeeded in part because they organized locally and put pressure on local representatives and officials. They took action.
Here’s what I mean by that. Volunteering and working in constructive ways can lift you out of the exhausting daily news cycle.
If you’re spinning with outrage, you can’t plan or march forward.
And we need to keep marching forward. That’s why we’re here today.
(me with @KunzMonica and @MarzapRussell )