Post-Election Civics Resolutions Check-in

Back in 2016, I wrote about how I was going to approach life, my work, and civic engagement. I'd like to revisit that list now, and think about where I've succeeded and failed, and how the country as a whole is holding up under this administration.

First up, let's take stock of my goals from 2016 and see how I'm doing on them.

1. I have donated to organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, but I haven't given as much as I wanted to. Now that I've graduated, I'm going to take stock of my finances and see about setting up regular contributions. 
2. I have voted in all my local elections (I think), including the primary. I failed to vote in the primary run-off, though, so I give myself a C on this.
3. When I voted, I did research the candidates beforehand so as to better understand their stances on the issues. The Internet helps a lot with this, and it can be done while waiting in line at the voting booth. 
4. I have not yet volunteered as a poll worker or with Rock The Vote. This is easily fixable, however, and I will get on it. 
5. I rarely refer to the President by name. Haven't succeeded in "never," but I'm still conscious of what his name means to his brand, and I frequently choose not to use his name at times when I wouldn't have given it a second thought in a different administration. 
6. I do try to speak up for those less fortunate than me. I live in a bit of a bubble though, so I haven't had to do so very much with people who don't agree with me. 
7. I have not made holidays hell on my family. Partly that's just not in my nature, and partly, I've been able to successfully avoid talking politics with family members that I would disagree with. I have decided that I will not try to understand their point of view though, and I'll talk about that in a later post. 
8. I do work on practicing embodiment, empathy and proper boundary-setting. It's a process, but it helps me be able to engage with the world (and its atrocities) to my fullest. 
9. I practice self-care. Some is indulgent (barre class, massage), some is practical (paying my bills, eating healthily). All reminds me that I'm not yet compromised by this administration's desire to divide and conquer.
10. I am doing my work. I finished my dissertation. I've got another article coming out. And I'm trying to use my blog and social media to connect my research to the present day, to simplify it and make it more broadly available and applicable. 
11. Not everybody likes to be told that they need to set goals. I still think that people should make civic goal lists if they want to, though. 

And second, how's the country holding up as a whole? 

• Well, we've always struck a fine line between fascism and freedom (looking at you slavery, our treatment of Indigenous Americans, and Charles Lindbergh), and we've definitely been careening towards fascism under this president (the camps at the border and the discourse surrounding them are just two examples of a litany of authoritarian rhetoric and state-sponsored violence coming out of the White House). 
• A lot of the "honor system" of being a functional person in US society is being thrown out the window by our own president, and many of the unregulated traditions that bolstered governance are continually flouted by this administration (tax returns, lying on federal disclosures, detaining families with children), simply because they can. 
• We're pretty divided, and the midterm election in November may or may not help or change anything (I'm being pessimistically realistic here). 
• At the same time, we've seen a lot of empathy and unification in other ways. Lots of siphoning of affect, coming together in smaller communities, helping out neighbors, the Women's March, the March for Science, Charlottesville, Harvey, the Keep Families Together March coming up on June 30. 

One thing that gives me hope is the Facebook fundraiser for RAICES Texas, a non-profit providing legal services for immigrants and asylum seekers. D and I donated on Tuesday evening, and the total was around $8 million. It's more than doubled that amount within 2 days. Much of that will go into a bond fund that will help to get immigrants out of detention quicker (and ensure that they show up to all their immigration appointments). 

There are certainly other organizations out there doing good work (KIND, Al otro lado, The Florence Project, and more. The website ireallydocare.com will let you donate to 14 non-profits who are doing critical work at the border to protect children who have been forcibly separated from their families by the US government.