Thank you Shannon for writing this piece. After reading it twice I feel a spark of hope, just a spark, but I’m grateful for that because I still feel numb and defeated after the election. You are so inspiring🙏🏻
Today I’m going to reach out to a neighbour I met recently and invite her over for a cup of tea next week. I know she’s involved in local politics and I’ll commit to helping wherever she thinks I can be most useful. Thank you for your great suggestions.
Shannon, I have to start by expressing my gratitude to you for your activism and writing. Honestly, it’s one of the few things giving me hope right now. 🙏
I’m going to consider ways to focus my energy and interests and try to rest and restore to be ready to fight when the 💩 really hits the fan.
Right now, I’m thinking my issue will likely be reproductive rights with climate a very close second. I do think it’s important to pick a lane to be the most impactful.
Of course, should YOU decide to run for anything I’d be among the first to volunteer for your campaign. 🔥
Shannon - First, just thank you a million times over for your insight and fierce commitment to the greater good. Every newsletter feels like a gift of quiet wisdom and love which so clearly comes from your firsthand experience with the ups and downs and challenges of organizing and advocacy. I also can’t thank you enough for helping us chart a new path forward bc we are going to need it and this newsletter is so helpful. And I think you’re absolutely right about starting underground and in a more personal way.
To that end, over the last 8 yrs, I’ve done a lot of organizing in my community for Dems and progressive grassroots orgs, but this year, I tried something different and launched a GOTV effort called Donuts+Democracy at college campuses across the country in Swing States/districts. We largely supported student organizers doing GOTV but in the last week, I got some of my mom friends to join me for 6 days of Donuts at UNLV in NV and we had SUCH incredible turnout and conversations, about voting and issues important to young people. We had estimated about 500 donuts/students per day and ended up burning through over 1K day (6 hrs per day) and 2500 on Election Day for a total of 7K+. Part of what I think made it so effective (aside from donuts which are magic), was that we told them - we’re just moms here bc we care about your future. That seemed to really resonate and though I’m as Dem as they come, connecting as a mom rather than as a rep for a party seemed to open more hearts and minds. Looking forward to taking these lessons forward. Again, thank you. 🙏
I love your in-person small communities message. I sent this to hundreds of journalists after the election:
For most Americans this election has delivered exhaustion, divisiveness and increased our cynicism. After the election Tom Nichols wrote in The Atlantic, “….Americans must stay engaged and make their voices heard at every turn….” Liz Cheney tweeted, “….Citizens across this country…must now be the guardrails of democracy.”
But most Americans still wonder how, and even if, they can make a difference between elections. What are the options? 1) Protesting? Important, but usually not the long game, 2) Signing email form letters, which only 3% of Congressional staff says is highly effective? Just gestures, 3) Taking a 2-year nap until the next election? Sadly, the preferred route for many. But few in your audience know about 4) transformational advocacy which helps you change an issue and changes you in the process.
The paperback edition of Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy includes stories of people who met with officials on the other side of their issue like 1) Ellie Sparks who went from experiencing what she called “climate trauma” to meeting her members of Congress and calling the experience “sacred and profound”, and 2) Lisa Jordan who, after meeting with Congressional offices in Washington, DC, said “….This work is the best medicine for when you’re feeling hopeless or have sleepless nights. It’s the best way to avoid despair….”
This is a message your audience is hungry for—the difference they can make between elections.
Thank you for these thoughts. I didn’t want to march again either. I would rather get back.
I am an local elected official and have found more power the longer I’m on the board. I’m also co-president of our communities environmental advocacy group. We are setting a goal this year to increase composting in our community and lobbying for curbside pickup. It won’t happen this year but it will happen!
Thank you for sharing that you are a local elected official and have found more power the longer you are on the board. I am an appointed member of my local city's sustainability committee and also am finding more power the longer I serve. It takes a while to learn the ropes and understand where the levers of power can be. I started during the pandemic and even though it can be a lot of unpaid work and time, it's rewarding and worth it for the greater good in the long term.
I’m currently reading Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown. It echoes similar ideas to what you write here. Our ability to build communities and affect change within them is/will be critical to whatever comes next. Definitely recommend Emergent Strategy as a resource and point of hope. It has been helpful for me as I process the election results.
Started my account, Women Who Vote, on Bluesky as a way to channel the outrage I feel regarding our next president. Hopefully it will lead to the grassroots kind of engagement you write about.
I wish I could take this post and have millions of Americans read it. Love the message here. What you and Indivisibile.org matches up nicely: Get organized locally. When we come together, we are powerful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Shannon, Your comments are spot on. We need to start local, find our people, and fight for our cause(s). I been involved with my local Moms Demand chapter for over a year now and it’s one of the best things I have ever done. I’m looking to take on more responsibilities within our chapter. I’m over 60 and just getting started💪💪💪!!!
A couple other moms and I started, “moms for Salem Oregon”, we’ve been able to get our school district to supply BeSmart information to families! We’ve also been working alongside our police chief and community partners to help reduced gun violence. Our city gave a shoutout to Moms Demand Action for being at all the events they’ve put on!
Hoping to continue showing others the many different ways to be involved. One step at a time, you got this 🩵🦋🩵
Thank you for this post. I am deeply on the same page. I'm writing a book called How to Find Your People about teaching people how to build IRL community. It will be published by Penguin Random House, but not out til 2027, so I'm launching a How to Find Your People Club early next year. This is THE work right now. Here's more about the book: https://thedoubleshift.substack.com/p/some-personal-news
I am going to help organize a "support" group in the small town of Cloquet , Mn. I have been a Brady and Protect Mn chapter leader and organizer so I have some tools in my basket. We want to become an Indivisible group.
I joined my town's Conservation Commission a couple of weeks ago to make new connections with people and nature. And to give back to the community. I also have a lot of other volunteer work.
Bravo! Conservation Commissions comprise dedicated, hardworking volunteers and a couple of staff. They are a gateway to meeting the best people in the municipality, from leadership on down. Property owners come with ideas and concerns. Together, you problem-solve.
I'm finding hope and fun and relief by doing music with other people these days. I'm a member of 2 jam groups when I'm in Minneapolis and have my autoharp available. When I'm in Mexico, I'm in a community orchestra that plays traditional Mexican folk music and where I've just joined the percussion section. To expand my horizons in that area, I've signed up to take a workshop on Caribbean percussion in December. So, music is where I'm finding community these days, tho my friends in Moms Demand continue to be key support people to me. And I do the suggested political actions mentioned in the Americans of Conscience Checklists that come to my inbox each week.
Thank you Shannon for writing this piece. After reading it twice I feel a spark of hope, just a spark, but I’m grateful for that because I still feel numb and defeated after the election. You are so inspiring🙏🏻
Today I’m going to reach out to a neighbour I met recently and invite her over for a cup of tea next week. I know she’s involved in local politics and I’ll commit to helping wherever she thinks I can be most useful. Thank you for your great suggestions.
Shannon, I have to start by expressing my gratitude to you for your activism and writing. Honestly, it’s one of the few things giving me hope right now. 🙏
I’m going to consider ways to focus my energy and interests and try to rest and restore to be ready to fight when the 💩 really hits the fan.
Right now, I’m thinking my issue will likely be reproductive rights with climate a very close second. I do think it’s important to pick a lane to be the most impactful.
Of course, should YOU decide to run for anything I’d be among the first to volunteer for your campaign. 🔥
Wishing you a restful and happy Thanksgiving. ✨
Shannon - First, just thank you a million times over for your insight and fierce commitment to the greater good. Every newsletter feels like a gift of quiet wisdom and love which so clearly comes from your firsthand experience with the ups and downs and challenges of organizing and advocacy. I also can’t thank you enough for helping us chart a new path forward bc we are going to need it and this newsletter is so helpful. And I think you’re absolutely right about starting underground and in a more personal way.
To that end, over the last 8 yrs, I’ve done a lot of organizing in my community for Dems and progressive grassroots orgs, but this year, I tried something different and launched a GOTV effort called Donuts+Democracy at college campuses across the country in Swing States/districts. We largely supported student organizers doing GOTV but in the last week, I got some of my mom friends to join me for 6 days of Donuts at UNLV in NV and we had SUCH incredible turnout and conversations, about voting and issues important to young people. We had estimated about 500 donuts/students per day and ended up burning through over 1K day (6 hrs per day) and 2500 on Election Day for a total of 7K+. Part of what I think made it so effective (aside from donuts which are magic), was that we told them - we’re just moms here bc we care about your future. That seemed to really resonate and though I’m as Dem as they come, connecting as a mom rather than as a rep for a party seemed to open more hearts and minds. Looking forward to taking these lessons forward. Again, thank you. 🙏
I love your in-person small communities message. I sent this to hundreds of journalists after the election:
For most Americans this election has delivered exhaustion, divisiveness and increased our cynicism. After the election Tom Nichols wrote in The Atlantic, “….Americans must stay engaged and make their voices heard at every turn….” Liz Cheney tweeted, “….Citizens across this country…must now be the guardrails of democracy.”
But most Americans still wonder how, and even if, they can make a difference between elections. What are the options? 1) Protesting? Important, but usually not the long game, 2) Signing email form letters, which only 3% of Congressional staff says is highly effective? Just gestures, 3) Taking a 2-year nap until the next election? Sadly, the preferred route for many. But few in your audience know about 4) transformational advocacy which helps you change an issue and changes you in the process.
The paperback edition of Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy includes stories of people who met with officials on the other side of their issue like 1) Ellie Sparks who went from experiencing what she called “climate trauma” to meeting her members of Congress and calling the experience “sacred and profound”, and 2) Lisa Jordan who, after meeting with Congressional offices in Washington, DC, said “….This work is the best medicine for when you’re feeling hopeless or have sleepless nights. It’s the best way to avoid despair….”
This is a message your audience is hungry for—the difference they can make between elections.
Thank you for the book recommendation. I'm going to buy for my husband for Christmas and then I can read it too.
Thank you for these thoughts. I didn’t want to march again either. I would rather get back.
I am an local elected official and have found more power the longer I’m on the board. I’m also co-president of our communities environmental advocacy group. We are setting a goal this year to increase composting in our community and lobbying for curbside pickup. It won’t happen this year but it will happen!
Thank you for sharing that you are a local elected official and have found more power the longer you are on the board. I am an appointed member of my local city's sustainability committee and also am finding more power the longer I serve. It takes a while to learn the ropes and understand where the levers of power can be. I started during the pandemic and even though it can be a lot of unpaid work and time, it's rewarding and worth it for the greater good in the long term.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Cindy. You, as well!
I’m currently reading Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown. It echoes similar ideas to what you write here. Our ability to build communities and affect change within them is/will be critical to whatever comes next. Definitely recommend Emergent Strategy as a resource and point of hope. It has been helpful for me as I process the election results.
Wow. I agree with every single line of this post. Thank you
Started my account, Women Who Vote, on Bluesky as a way to channel the outrage I feel regarding our next president. Hopefully it will lead to the grassroots kind of engagement you write about.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I wish I could take this post and have millions of Americans read it. Love the message here. What you and Indivisibile.org matches up nicely: Get organized locally. When we come together, we are powerful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Shannon, Your comments are spot on. We need to start local, find our people, and fight for our cause(s). I been involved with my local Moms Demand chapter for over a year now and it’s one of the best things I have ever done. I’m looking to take on more responsibilities within our chapter. I’m over 60 and just getting started💪💪💪!!!
A couple other moms and I started, “moms for Salem Oregon”, we’ve been able to get our school district to supply BeSmart information to families! We’ve also been working alongside our police chief and community partners to help reduced gun violence. Our city gave a shoutout to Moms Demand Action for being at all the events they’ve put on!
Hoping to continue showing others the many different ways to be involved. One step at a time, you got this 🩵🦋🩵
Thank you for this post. I am deeply on the same page. I'm writing a book called How to Find Your People about teaching people how to build IRL community. It will be published by Penguin Random House, but not out til 2027, so I'm launching a How to Find Your People Club early next year. This is THE work right now. Here's more about the book: https://thedoubleshift.substack.com/p/some-personal-news
I am going to help organize a "support" group in the small town of Cloquet , Mn. I have been a Brady and Protect Mn chapter leader and organizer so I have some tools in my basket. We want to become an Indivisible group.
I joined my town's Conservation Commission a couple of weeks ago to make new connections with people and nature. And to give back to the community. I also have a lot of other volunteer work.
Bravo! Conservation Commissions comprise dedicated, hardworking volunteers and a couple of staff. They are a gateway to meeting the best people in the municipality, from leadership on down. Property owners come with ideas and concerns. Together, you problem-solve.
I'm finding hope and fun and relief by doing music with other people these days. I'm a member of 2 jam groups when I'm in Minneapolis and have my autoharp available. When I'm in Mexico, I'm in a community orchestra that plays traditional Mexican folk music and where I've just joined the percussion section. To expand my horizons in that area, I've signed up to take a workshop on Caribbean percussion in December. So, music is where I'm finding community these days, tho my friends in Moms Demand continue to be key support people to me. And I do the suggested political actions mentioned in the Americans of Conscience Checklists that come to my inbox each week.
Yes, we'll get through the next four years with love and music. These communities are nonjudgmental and all about harmony—more harmonies.
I’m a part of the Queer and Affirming Writers Collective (QAWC) and of course I’m an active volunteer with Everytown. Great post!