Writing Postcards for Democracy with Sister District
What can you do about the news besides late night doom-scrolling or raging on Twitter? If you’re like me, you’ve been asking this a lot in 2020. This summer, Community Partner Lauren Long gave us one concrete answer: write postcards!
AsVolunteer Leader of Sister District Greater Chicago, Lauren is uniquely insightful about local races, and helped host a Postcard Party for our community to help us take action for races that matter. The interactive party was set up so that all attendees had postcard kits ready to be personalized and written before jumping on to a Zoom call together to learn more about candidates in key state legislative races, vent about the year, and put our rusty penmanship skills to good use.
In a year where every small task feels overcomplicated, the event was a surprising much-needed mental health activity for me. The simple act of writing cards to encourage voter preparedness and share candidate information was a satisfying, therapeutic, and creative action I didn’t know I missed.
I also know that I’m not alone in feeling more compelled than ever to do something -- specifically, to do things that help protect democracy, to protect and expand civil liberties, to give a shit about the climate crisis, to be well-informed on candidates. Following the death of Supreme Court Justice, trailblazer, and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the sense of urgency I had a few months ago has been amplified ten-fold to honor the progressive work she established for us.
In the course of this endless year and the latest news cycles, it’s easy to get carried away and only focus on the candidates at the top of the ticket. It’s the easiest thing in the world to read an article or the latest headline and scream into the void of social media and stay there. I’ve done my fair share of that. But this event was a reminder that screaming into the void, while reflexive, isn’t actually productive.
What I loved most about the postcard party with Lauren and Sister District Project is how easy it was to get involved with like-minded volunteers. I loved learning about their focused strategy in mobilizing volunteers and actions. The organization has a track record for mobilizing engaged volunteers from all parts of the country and having a pulse on what actions and efforts in specific state races could make the biggest difference, and when. Together, we learned more about the state legislative candidates we were supporting in key midwest races in Wisconsin and Michigan, like State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky of the 19th House District.
It was a great reminder that your time, donations and efforts for down-ballot races can often make the largest impact on candidates who really need the support, and in races that are likely to more directly affect your day-to-day life. There are countless opportunities to get involved in the democratic process and to support everyone’s right to vote with whatever time, talent or skills you may have to lend - you just have to try. In this case, I loved jumping in with like-minded Community Partners, and can’t wait for more.
