And then I'm going to creep back into I-don't-have-time-to-be-a-regular-commenter-because-I-have-to-put-so-much-thought-into-every-response-due-to-social-anxiety-issues-and-time-to-write-a-diary-fugeddit-but-I-read-nearly-every-fucking-thing-on-here-mode again.
We're smarting and sweating here in Wisconsin.
And I just found out that my 19 and 23 year old daughters didn't vote.
If you're still interested, please drop below the squiggle of gobsmackitude.
Along with Holy Communion and Baptism, political participation is a sacrament in our family. My children were raised, and continue to be bombarded with, the importance of engagement and the necessity of activism. They understand the stakes.
So how did this happen?
My eldest is working two jobs in order to get custody of her son back; we're currently his guardians. My middle child is working two jobs to simply get by, and she's about to lose one due to the company going under. Neither went to college; the first because being a single mom with major mental health issues doesn't lend itself well to the undergraduate experience; the second because she refuses to saddle herself with student loans and her full tuition ride still left thousands to find somewhere.
They are surviving. Just. And have little or no hope for the immediate future.
They are well aware of the damage that occurs when the GOP gets into power and the role that money and privilege plays in controlling the conversation; the eldest is a card carrying Wobbly, for Christ's sake.
They are not stupid. They are not apathetic. They are not even entirely self centered.
They are tired. No, strike that. They are exhausted. They cannot volunteer with campaigns-my eldest was specifically, yet unofficially, told that outside activism could result in lousy schedules and delays in advancement. They do not typically meet engaged people in their day to day existence.
Both became extremely defensive when I got up in their grills about not voting.
They know it makes a difference. But their lived experience does not bear that out.
I don't know how many to multiply them by throughout the country. My math skills are rusty.
But I know that, due to the electoral choices the people of my state have made, I will be very busy reaching out to the newly desperate. My kids are have been, are now, and most likely will continue to be, among them.
They didn't vote, and it breaks my heart. But, I think I'm beginning to grasp yet again, that for all of our insistence that voting is a right, it is more of a privilege than ever. And it's a privilege my daughters may be on the verge of losing for a very long time - partly from their own actions, or lack thereof, but mostly because of circumstances beyond their control.
Learned powerlessness. It can happen to anyone. And it can only be addressed one person at a time.
I'm still processing everything, and I doubt very much that I will have any solutions to offer in the aggregate. My daughters didn't vote. I need to be more mindful of ensuring that they know they have worth and value by virtue of being human; that they have a voice, even if it doesn't seem to be heard; that they make a difference.
Hang in there guys. It isn't much, this country, but it's what we've got.