By Jane Gordon Julien
November 6, 2023
Life feels emotionally exhausting right now. Let’s break it down:
Israel suffered a horrific Hamas attack almost one month ago that killed the highest number of Jewish people since the Holocaust. Now Israel is attacking Gaza, a 140-mile lick of land that borders the Mediterranean sea in southwest Israel, to weed out Hamas terrorists. In the process, Israel is killing civilians. Collateral damage, it’s called in military parlance.
Donald Trump is on trial in Manhattan for lying about the value of his assets – his real estate holdings, mostly – to get favorable loans and insurance deals. His sons and his companies are also on trial. Yet in a recent poll, he is winning next November’s presidential election in key swing states. (Many Trump voters say that if he is convicted, they won’t vote for him.)
Scientists recently said in a United Nations report that we (as in everyone who lives on earth) have three years left to act – drastically – to limit the root causes of climate change. Otherwise, we’ll see “unprecedented heat waves, terrifying storms and widespread water shortages.”
What we need to do now: change energy production, industry, transportation, how much we consume, and how we treat nature.
The frustrating part: how do we as individuals enact change?
And here is the simplest answer:
WE VOTE.
Elections – both local and national – are what feed our democracy. Democracy in the United States is a great experiment, derided by other countries over the centuries as an impossible endeavor. It’s fragile, and at its most desperate time in our history, it needs you.
Tomorrow is Election Day. You are a citizen of this country, and your vote is an absolute privilege. Please don’t take it for granted. Learn who is running, what they stand for, and how they fit in with your beliefs. Then find out where you are supposed to vote.
Google the Board of Elections for your state and follow the instructions.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 7, walk, drive, jog, bicycle, take a cab or an Uber, and use your privilege.
Your vote matters now, more than ever.
For a prompt this week, write about how you are feeling about the various crises occurring throughout the world. Not your political opinions, not your philosophies, but your feelings. Focus on them. Share your thoughts. If you want, share them with me.