Do Something

You might have suspected with the obscene amount of time between posts that this website is not my full-time job.

That is correct.

My full-time job actually involves managing people. 

With several years of experience doing this, I started to pick up some of the nuances of human behavior, and I wanted to share one lesson I learned in particular working with groups of people.

Earlier in my career, when I needed something done, I would e-mail my team with the request.

I would provide clear and concise instructions, some context for the need, and a due date, and, by reaching out to multiple people, I was sure to get attention, and increase the odds someone picked it up. 

But this rarely got me the help I was looking for - no one would respond.

Why?

It took me a while to figure out, but I think I got it now: When a group has to take action, each individual within that group thinks someone else will own it, but because everyone is thinking that, nothing gets done.

I kinda think this human behavior can be applied at the country-level, too.

I mean, take for example Donald Trump - who is a convicted felon, with three other indictments still pending, encompassing nearly a hundred charges, including trying to overthrow the 2020 election, culminating in the violent insurrection on the Capitol on January 6th, and who vowed to be dictator on day one, weaponize the DOJ to jail his opponents, including politicians, journalists, and comedians, and use the military to shoot protestors and control the streets, who half of his former Cabinet do not support him, including two Secretaries of Defense, and his Vice President, and whose four-star generals whisper about him being a fascist, and who will be enabled by MAGA and cowardly establishment Republicans in his party, his Project 2025 staff, and the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling - that guy, he’s now a coin-flip away from becoming thee most powerful person in the world… but don’t you feel someone is gonna come to the rescue, or that our institutions will protect us, or that some miracle will happen, and we’ll avoid a cataclysm? 

And there’s the rub. 

Precisely why we’re in this situation to begin with screams that too many others thought the same thing, that someone else will handle it.

Because arguably, what is the sum of all reasons America is in an existential crisis right now?

Not enough people voting; not enough people donating; not enough people volunteering; not enough people running for office; not enough people speaking out for what’s right or the truth; not enough people seeking to be informed on all the issues and all the candidates; not enough people reading the news, or at least getting the news from diverse sources; not even enough people engaging their own partners, family members, friends, neighbors, or co-workers anymore, let alone strangers.

*Obligatory pause for self-reflection

So the truth is no one is coming to the rescue.

It is actually incumbent on you to do something - you are the cavalry.

Reading the news, doom-scrolling on social media, and checking the polls, all while worrying, and sweating into the fabric of your couch just isn’t going to cut it.

Besides, what’s the point of being informed if you’re not going to do anything with it?

This energy could be put to better use; it could be far more productive, and you will legitimately make a difference in tightest election season ever.

Voting is the bare minimum you can do, but this is where to start. 

Make sure you’re registered, and have a plan.

If you’re thinking of mailing in your ballot for example, the Post Office has warned that it may not be delivered in time to be counted if you mail it in after Tuesday, 29 October.

If you’re considering dropping it off at a ballot box, you should be aware that a few of them across a few states have been set on fire now, compromising hundreds of votes.

Whatever your plan, make sure you vote early, that way, in case there’s any fuckery, you have a better chance to address it before Election Day, Tuesday, 5 November. 

Also the turn-out is already historic, and will be even greater on Election Day itself; don’t miss having your voice heard because you got stuck in a line.

So vote, and vote early!

Once you’ve taken care of yourself, start to work on folks in your circle to follow these same steps, too.

Next, you’ll want to organize by donating, or volunteering, which is mainly done by simply knocking on doors, and phone banking.

A little intimidated, or rather, just unsure how to step into all this?

Well you're in luck, because there’s now this tremendous resource that has all of this in one spot, called Vote Save America.

Here you can look up if you’re registered already, where to go to vote, what the deadlines are, what are the key races that are in need of resources, what are the issues, how does phone banking even work, event pages to join local door knocking, or even opportunities to take a sponsored trip to a nearby battleground to knock on doors there, info on how to volunteer as a poll worker because grandma who usually does it is facing death threats, training videos around messaging, text templates to copy and paste to send to people you know, and much, much more.

It really couldn't be easier to get involved.

To whatever extent you do, no matter how big or small, so long as you do something, we'll all be much better off for it.

Godspeed.