By Joanie Juster–
The election is over at last. Or, maybe not.
There are still ballots to be counted, and maybe recounted. There will be challenges. There may still be uncertainty. We are all so ready for it to be over. We are all so ready to find out what lies ahead. We are all so ready to get on with our lives. But that may not happen overnight.
Whatever the results, this election season has taken a toll on all of us.
Human beings were not made for this kind of sustained stress. This year there was the added burden of being told, over and over, that this is the most consequential election of our lifetime. No pressure, folks; just the fate of the entire world on our shoulders.
And just to ratchet up the stakes, one candidate seemed to unravel before our very eyes, while his base dug in their heels and remained unphased by the sight of their leader losing his grasp on reality, fomenting hatred and fear at every turn.
We also know that the powerful forces behind that candidate, the forces behind Project 2025, would not simply evaporate into thin air if their candidate lost. With or without their candidate as the face of their campaign, these folks are out to promote a very dangerous agenda, and they aren’t going away anytime soon. The hatred and fear they promote has been unleashed upon our country, and it won’t disappear just because the election is over.
We have been warned, and for darned good reason, that our very democracy is at stake. And that it was up to us to save it. Every one of us. Again, no pressure.
And yet, there is more to election season than just stress and discord. While it’s easy to look at news and see nothing but hatred, disinformation, and violence, there is another side to the story.
When the pre-election ugliness started ratcheting up to a fever pitch, I received an email saying that volunteers were needed at the campaign headquarters for the San Francisco Democratic Party. I needed to step away from endless doomscrolling, so I headed downtown to see what I could do to help. What I found there was exactly what I needed: hope.
I walked into this year’s headquarters at 5th and Market, in the old Nordstrom Rack building. It was light, spacious, and filled with colorful homemade signs filled with uplifting messages. In one corner, artists were silk screening colorful window signs and t-shirts. At a handful of tables, volunteers were handwriting letters to potential voters, encouraging them to exercise their right to vote. And in the back of the room was the heart of the operation, the phone bank, filled with a gentle hum of voices rising and falling as volunteers made call after call to potential voters. The calls were punctuated with the celebratory ringing of a bell and congratulatory applause whenever one of them secured the promise of a vote.
I could hear fragments of some of those calls. The volunteers were invariably polite and friendly, but also gently persistent, engaging people in meaningful conversations to accomplish their goal of getting every potential voter to the polls. I heard them discussing the issues, and providing helpful information about how and where to cast their ballots. I was impressed by the kindness and professionalism I heard in call after call, even when the person on the other end was clearly not happy to receive a campaign call. Many of these callers are battle-tested veterans of numerous phone banks; during breaks in the action, volunteers often swap war stories from past campaigns.
At the front door, friendly volunteers welcomed folks as they came in the building. Many were coming to volunteer, but others simply wanted to check out the colorful headquarters, or to purchase campaign merchandise. Many were visitors from other countries, curious about the American political system, and often expressing their fears about the rise of fascism and authoritarianism, both here and around the world. We welcomed their solidarity.
On weekends, busloads of volunteers took off for Reno and the Central Valley to knock on thousands of doors. Every campaign says the same thing: that those face-to-face encounters can make or break a campaign. I was in awe of their energy, their passion, their willingness to step out of their comfort zones for the greater good.
And I knew, from the countless emails I get from every GOTV organization in the country, that the scenes playing out at our headquarters in San Francisco were also taking place in similar spaces all over the country. Americans were stepping up to volunteer, and do everything in their power to help their country.
It is these volunteers who give me hope. Whatever the results of this, or any other, election, these are the people who will step up to help their neighbors, help their communities, and serve their country. This is the best of America.
Whatever the results of the election, we will figure out a way to survive. We will step up, and figure out ways to protect our families, our neighbors, our communities, and our country. We will, and we must.
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
In Case You Missed It – Election 2024
Published on November 7, 2024
Recent Comments