Here Come the Midterms!
Midterm elections are around the corner. Please vote! And also, please do more - much, much more.
My oldest child started her freshman year of college this Fall and one of the first things I thought about after I dropped her off was, "how is she going to vote?" As soon as her ballot arrived, I mailed it to her along with her sample ballot.
Not trusting that Trump Administration won't interfere in the US Postal Service's delivery of mail-in ballots, I asked her to seal her ballot, sign the back, and mail it back to me so I can personally drop it off in a ballot drop box along with mine. Then, I reminded her that voting is the bare minimum that is expected of us as citizens.
Choosing between candidates who don't do nearly enough to earn our votes, is not enough of an exercise in democracy. We need to do more. So much more. ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾
And yet, as individuals we can't expect that our individual actions will solve all the world's problems. Think of it like exercise. You do it because you know you should, and that doing so will help keep your body strong. But it can't stave off all disease and aging. It can just give you the best shot at a healthy life.
Civic duty – i.e., political organizing, donating money to organizers, volunteering with organizers, etc – is the same. Do it because it keeps our democracy as healthy as possible, while being realistic that we'll always be pushing against the forces of authoritarianism.
The more we fight, the more we keep the fascists at bay.
In other words, fascists are viruses, and civic duty is a vaccine.
🦠 No vaccine offers 100% protection, but the more people that get vaccinated, the greater our herd immunity.
💉 Similarly, the more of us who are regularly engaged, organizing, pushing and fighting back, the greater our herd immunity against authoritarian elites and predatory capitalists.
🗳️ 🗳️ 🗳️ So, go and VOTE. But don't stop there.
You won't find breathless horserace-style news coverage of the election results on Rising Up With Sonali. You'll find thoughtful analysis of how the overall structures of power are functioning and ideas on how they can be defeated in the short- and long- term. And you'll get regular doses of solutions journalism - stories that showcase how people are fighting, organizing, and winning. And ALL OF THIS JOURNALISM IS HUMAN-CREATED! 🤗 🤗 🤗
IF THIS IS MEANINGFUL TO YOU, PLEASE CONSIDER SETTING ASIDE $4 A MONTH TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PROGRAM.
Every paid subscription enables me to keep this show alive. It takes an enormous amount of work for me to keep doing this. And currently I'm operating on below-poverty wages to do so, juggling freelance writing assignments to supplement my income.
➡️ ➡️ ➡️ If you're aren't a paid subscriber yet, here's your chance to change that:
And if you are a paid subscriber, well THANK YOU! And also, consider gifting a subscription to someone who needs to be reminded that there are solutions to the crises we face. 🎁 🎁 🎁
Alright, I'm OFF for travels on the final leg of my book tour. If you live in or near Denver, Boulder or Minneapolis, scroll to the bottom to get details on when and where I'll be speaking.
LATEST STORIES ON RISING UP:
Activists Demand Museum of Tolerance Acknowledge Israeli Genocide of Gaza
RICK CHERTOFF: "[W]e appealed to the museum by certified letters, and they have not responded. We have appealed to them to include the Palestinians in their exhibits about people suffering genocide, and we've got no response, so here we are."
India Rocked By Protests Once More – Over Voting Rights
VIVEK MONTEIRO: "The demand is not just a student demand. Now it is a much more basic demand, having to do with the basic democratic rights of an Indian citizen and the disenfranchisement or the attempted disenfranchisement of nearly 130 million Indian citizens by this very illegal and unconstitutional exercise presided over by chief election commissioner."
Corporate media's goal is to leave you feeling overwhelmed and accept the status quo.
A Critical Look at California’s New Balcony Solar Bill
BERNADETTE DEL CHIARO: "... to do something as simple as generate an electron, which is what we can do now with our roofs and our parking lots and our warehouses and adding batteries to the equation to make the sun shine at night... we don't need all of that infrastructure, really... But the utilities have these shareholders they have to earn a profit for, and they always want to earn more and more money every quarter, right? "
BONUS EPISODE:
Young People Rising Up for Reproductive & Gender Equity
KIMBERLY INEZ-MCGUIRE: "[T]he reason that URGE has focused on and continues to focus on young people throughout our 30-year history really connects to the fact that every major movement for social justice in this country has been led by young people."
SONALI'S BOOK TOUR:
↪ Next stops: Denver, Boulder, and then Minneapolis! If you live in or near those cities, PLEASE DO COME!
Denver, CO
Friday October 23, 2-4 pm - The SHOP at Matter, 2114 Market St
Denver, CO 80205, RiNo arts district, Denver. Featuring Sonali Kolhatkar and guests. Sponsored by Free Speech TV. RSVP below:
Boulder, CO
Saturday October 24, 6-8 pm - KGNU Community Media Center, 1720 14th St, Boulder, CO. Talk, Book Signing, and Q&A by Sonali Kolhatkar. Sponsored by KGNU Community Radio. RSVP below:
Minneapolis, MN
Monday October 26 at 6 pm - Moon Palace Books, 3032 Minnehaha Ave.
Minneapolis, MN. Featuring Sonali Kolhatkar in conversation with Dr. Yohuru Williams, Peter Rachleff, and Shannon Gibney. Sponsored by East Side Freedom Library. RSVP below:
Watch the trailer for Breaking ICE