2017-05-30 – I can’t do this alone. I can only contribute to our joint effort. My contributions could be positive and they could be negative. I’ve done some thinking about the difference. And I’ve made myself a list. Tweeting whatever comes into my mind without thinking about it is . . . well, Trumpian.

So here it is:

Things that are mostly positive:

• Being clear in my own mind about the direction I’d like the country to go in. I’ve written about this before. More than that: I need to understand which are priority items and which are not. I can’t write in ALL CAPS all the time. ALL CAPS only works if you use them very sparingly.
• Writing my representatives on a regular basis. I’ve gotten this down to a science. I have an app on my phone. The letter is entirely personalized, but the mechanical parts are taken care of.
• Taking part in group functions. I’m not much of a group person, so I haven’t done much in this area. I went to the Women’s March. I contribute to online groups. You could do more and that would be great. I should do more. Creating a positive community for change is important.
• Insist on the rights of all people—black, brown, and white. We sometimes forget this. We may support black and brown but neglect white. Downtrodden people are not always attractive—especially if they are not in our political camp. Saying we’re for inclusivity while we slam the door in the faces of some is hypocritical.
• Speaking truth—but not just to shove it in someone’s face. Don’t share posts that seem cool without fact checking. I’ve been caught by this myself.

Things that are iffy:

• Talk about Russians and governing processes are tricky. On the one hand, governing processes need to be fair. And Russians should not be meddling in our politics. But this is inside-the-beltway stuff. We have to steer clear of gossip on this one and focus on fairness in government and who is really hurt when government is not fair. We also need to keep in mind the end game—that is the policies we want. It’s more important to talk about single-payer health insurance than it is to talk about filibusters. It’s more important to talk about jobs than the Russians.
• Impeachment may seem satisfying, but it is a losing proposition. If successful, it will only mean Mike Pence becomes president. He will be dull. And people will mistake dullness with “problem solved.” Things will only be worse with Mike Pence as president.

Things that are mostly negative:

• We can’t be calling Trump supporters names. No, we won’t win them over in a day. But if we continue the elitist trash talk, things will only get worse. Only get worse. Only get worse.
• And let’s forget about all the grammatical errors, faux pas, infighting, tastelessness, cluelessness, etc. Yes, it’s all awful. But we need to keep our eye on the real issues.