Will It Matter In Two Months?
Let's make a list, shall we...
I heard someone ask the question, “will it matter in two months” during a political pundit interview this week and it stuck with me because we’ve had incredibly consequential events happen.
What will matter in two months?
The kick-ass elections!
Why is it we tend to obsess over and bemoan the shitty stuff, while our celebrations end all too soon? The elections the other week were HUGE. The message received loud and clear came from more than just winning the two governorships by huge margins and NYC mayor.
Don’t forget the small stuff.
There were a lot of local elections for school boards, election boards, state legislators, and mayors. I had to search around to find information on local elections but found information for the following:
There are two school boards in Bucks County, Pa. that had been held captive by a right-wing take over with board members banning books and targeting queer people. Guess what? Democrats gained control of those school boards in 2023 and last week, they tossed out every Republican but one.
In Colorado, Douglas County kicked out their conservative school board members as all four candidates from the “not crazy” party won.
In Idaho, “voters ousted a West Ada school board member in favor of a new candidate who centered her campaign on supporting inclusive classroom signs and opposing school vouchers.” (from yahoo news)
And in Texas, a school board controlled by Christian right folks switched from 6-1 to 4-3 WITH DEMOCRATS now in the majority. IN TEXAS!!!!
Keep doing what we’re doing.
The elections happened the way we did because of all the work that each of us has done. Every protest you go to, postcard you write, meeting you attend, conversation in which you explain what’s what…these actions all add up.
After I get over my rage at the fact that we have to do this, I also get renewed optimism as I learn about so many Chicagoland communities and block clubs that have organized against ICE and for our neighbors. Just knowing that we have this power is both a comfort and a call to action--and like Dorothy, we’ve had the power all along.
What won’t matter in two months?
The 8 democrats caving.
In all honesty, voldemort was never going to blink because he is certifiably crazy and doesn’t care about people’s pain. (Just look at the video from the man fainting during the press conference. Or maybe just take it from SNL.) His age and infirmity are also front and center. (Let’s not get started on why he gets a pass for that!)
So while I’m all in with Indivisible’s fury and focus on kicking out the old guard, I’m also looking ahead. Because when we make bad decisions or choose B when we should have held out for A, then my rule is you get one day to complain, and then you have to start making lemonade.
For instance, while the cost of healthcare isn’t the main headline right now, the Epstein files are and the magatite cracks are getting larger and larger (along with the disgust).
I’m continuing to focus on my actions and keep my focus close to home. In fact, if you’re in Chicago, join me on November 19 for a gathering of Indivisible Edgewater/Uptown. I’m going to check it out to see what other amazing things folks are up to.
What does Mrs. Miniver say?
Stick with me here…
As part of Ann Kennedy Smith’s Cambridge Ladies Dining Society bookclub (which I highly recommend), I started reading Mrs. Miniver, by Jan Struther (the pen name of Joyce Anstruther).
The book is a far cry from the manipulated, Americanized movie version that was released in the 1940s.
This collection of personal essays was written for a newspaper column about “an ordinary sort of woman who leads an ordinary sort of life,” per the editor.
Each of the essays is short; just a few pages. Ask any writer and they will concur: writing short is hard! And writing a short personal essay that really packs a punch, well, that is truly a challenge. (Just ask moi as I am constantly working to build this muscle before your very eyes.)
The magic of the writing in Mrs. Miniver are the metaphors she builds from clues buried in the essay that, while not all that difficult to see, do require the reader to do some work.
These are the best kind of stories. Make the reader do her work, was the mantra of one of my early writing teachers, Molly Daniels. And science supports this because our brains put us into every story we hear and turn us into detectives. When I’m reading this book, I am Mrs. Miniver doing my best to understand the events happening around me and solve the mystery of what it might mean. If everything is laid out neatly like a Hallmark movie, then I’m bored. But give me a potent metaphor to chew on and I have to sit for a while to consider, think, imagine, and apply to my own life.
Reframing
A scene in the book I recently read had Mrs. Miniver sitting in her friend’s book-lined office and because the friend is running late, she has time to notice—truly notice—the objects that surround her. A rug on the floor captures her attention with its repeated color pattern. But she notices that with each rendition, the colors subtly change. She keeps going back to the first instance of the pattern to more accurately name the slightly changing colors, something she acknowledges she could only do once she identified the pattern.
“And this, it occurred to her, is one of the things that make life so difficult. The linked experiences of which it is composed appear to you one at a time; it is therefore impossible to gauge their relative significance. In how much detail ought you to notice each one before it slips into the past?”
“…can you weigh it up once for all and assign it to a fixed position in your scale of memories, or will you sooner or later be forced to take it out again and reclassify it?
Let’s “reclassify” a bit
It’s not our job to accept the explanations and interpretations fed to us on social media or in the news we read. Our job is to read that material and then reframe it through our own eyes, to recognize that a social media pundit may call the color red because that’s easy, but you know it’s much more of a magenta.
We must continue to see and call out those shades of color to fully understand the meaning of events. As time passes and connections are revealed, we must remain willing to reclassify our original impressions as necessary. This is how we get smarter and more effective. It’s also how we stay connected to hope and optimism because we can see the impact of our actions.
Psst…Thanks to Ann Kennedy Smith for making the old new again. I’m thoroughly enjoying reading (or re-reading) the authors she has picked this year.
This proves my point
As I was finishing my shift on the Uptown School Watch with my hands deep in my pockets because the fall wind was whipping around, and I was wondering how I would do this in the dead of winter and wondering why I continue to live in this climate, one of the teachers walked by and said to me, “Great to have this day in the books. Means we’re one day closer to summer.”
I rest my case.
Keepin’ the faith,
Jill
Thanks so much Jill, both for your kind comments about my Substack and your excellent reading of Mrs Miniver! You have given me so much extra to think about.