Dealing with 2019

Dear Reader,

I assume that you may also be experiencing the sensation of being appalled at a disorienting speed.  But I'm checking in to remind you that we are almost halfway through 2019 and while we need all the time and energy we can muster to turn out progressive Democratic candidates in 2020 and get them elected in record numbers I suspect that many among us want to fast forward to a better future and be done with this mess called 2019.  So take the time to celebrate the wins and be energized by them.  Here is my current list of groups that you should know about to stay informed and galvanized: 

Sister District:  https://sisterdistrict.com/ Wow, do I appreciate this group.  Their mission is specific and strategic and successful:  identify candidates running for state legislatures that will flip a state from red to blue.  Go check out their candidates!  This group also activates communities through postcarding, phone banking, and other creative projects that bring people together. 

Raices:  https://www.raicestexas.org/about/ an important refugee aid project in Texas that assists refugees seeking asylum.  Please support them financially if you can as well as signal boosting their efforts as widely as possible. 

Mueller She Wrote:  https://www.muellershewrote.com/  Thank goodness for this website and podcast--it is the sanity saving breakdown of news that will make you laugh and help you temper your outrage into action.  Love.This. Podcast.  These fine women have been tracking the Mueller Report for over two years so you have a lot to catch up on but you'll love every minute.  Right now they are providing the community service of reading every unredacted line of the Mueller Report so that is a good way to digest this long and significant document. 

Those are 3 groups that help keep me sane and grounded.  What do you recommend? 

Part of what makes this time so turbulent and perplexing is that there are some solid wins contrasting with the abysmal news that can feel overwhelming.  What is this world that can celebrate the (underpaid!)  USWNT winning the world championship while the Current Occupant of the White House is embroiled in truly repulsive lawsuits regarding sexual abuse of _young women_ which is so profoundly upsetting I can't even type about it here but if you need the details find a reputable news outlet and search the names Epstein and Acosta but warning:  you will be enraged.

If you are already outraged or freshly outraged, let's level up together.  Don't get stuck, don't get burned out because there are some important things to celebrate.

Let's focus on the one and only Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT and her galvanizing speech, watch the whole thing here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS86ERg07bA

Highlights of her speech:

“This is my charge to everyone. We have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We’ve got to listen more and talk less. We’ve got to know that this is everybody’s responsibility, every single person here, every single person who is not here, every single person who doesn’t want to be here, every single person who agrees and doesn’t agree, it’s our responsibility to make this world a better place.”

Get yourself your favorite snack of choice, container of ice cream or huge bowl of popcorn and have a youtube party of the USWNT parade, rewatch those winning shots, and revel in the image of Megan Rapinoe with her arms spread wide in celebration or holding a trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

And grin widely at the women and men at the parades and speeches chanting "Equal Pay!"