It’s a bit like these two donkeys are walking along the bridge, and one of them doesn’t have anything on his back and the other one is covered with packages and bales and bundles. The first donkey says, “Jesus, that’s quite a load you got on.” And the second donkey says, “What load?” You get used to it. ~Stephen King
When I was in law school (mumble mumble years ago), I carried a green backpack.
I was sortof known for it, to be honest.
Every afternoon, I’d fill it up with every textbook I had, so I could study that night. Contracts, Property, Civil Procedure, Torts, Criminal Law… every single one of them went into that forest green backpack with the black straps.
Now, law school textbooks are big books (or, at least, they were at the time), so fitting them all in was like playing a game of Jenga. I had a certain way I’d pack them in, or the zipper wouldn’t close.
Then I’d hoist that backpack up onto my shoulders, power myself up the staircase, and set off on the two mile walk to my off-campus parking space.
Later, I learned that my classmates joked that my overstuffed backpack made me look like a turtle. (They did not appreciate my dedication to studying.)
Obviously, carrying that much weight wasn’t especially easy. (For reference, I’m 5’4″ and 100 lbs soaking wet.) In fact, I remember that the first few times I loaded up that backpack, my arms shook.
But by the end of the first semester, I didn’t even notice it.
Your legs get used to the weight. Your back settles in and gets comfortable with the pressure. Your arms strengthen. Throwing that backpack into the backseat starts to feel more like a good stretch than a struggle.
The whole process, the effort, the “workout” becomes not just easier – but in many ways, welcome.
But it is still an effort.
You know, I could have said to heck with it and left some of those books in my locker. The world would not have ended it I didn’t study Contracts and Property and Torts and Civ Pro every night.
But then I would have felt less prepared.
I accepted the extra weight on my shoulders because I wanted to be sure I was doing everything I could – in that moment – to succeed.
Last night, I remembered that backpack as I was thinking about the heavy weight that we’ve all been feeling over the last few years.
It’s a heavy backpack that we’ve all been carrying. You might have crammed more into yours than you thought possible. There have been plenty of times you could have cast it off your shoulders. I know your legs are tired.
You could have checked out, gone home, stopped listening, and stopped paying attention. Nobody would have blamed you.
That you didn’t – that you haven’t – is impressive stuff.
And although your legs have gotten used to the weight, and your back might have gotten used to the pressure, and your arms might have gotten stronger … it is still an effort.
I just wanted to acknowledge that. I wanted to acknowledge your strength, the power you’ve developed over the years … and the exhaustion you have earned.
I think it’s pretty disingenuous for anyone to expect you to charge on cheerfully and shrug off the reality that we’re going through one of the toughest times in American – and world – history. I think it can be deflating when folks expect constant, boundless energy and don’t appreciate how tired folks are. I also think it can be counterproductive to focus only on the exhaustion.
So today, I just wanted to tell you a story about a very heavy green backpack, and how many years ago a young woman carried it every day so she’d feel the comfort that comes from knowing she was doing everything she could during a really stressful time.
I think you have a lot in common with her.
And, by the way, I think you’re doing a great job.
On that note … Let’s get to work.
Actions for the Week of July 11, 2023
Oh, Hi, Ohio!
All eyes are on Ohio right now. Today is the first day that Ohioans can vote No on Issue 1 – the Republican effort to increase the threshold for citizen petitions to amend the constitution. Ohio Republicans called this special election to try to pass the higher threshold in what they anticipate will be a low-turnout election.
Why the rush? Why not wait until November?
Because the citizen petition to protect reproductive rights is on the ballot in November. They want to make it as hard as possible for that citizen-led (and very popular) amendment to pass. (You can read more about it here: https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/07/05/ohio-issue-1-august-election-2023)
Sneaky, huh?
Well, it all rests on this being a low-turnout, low-motivation election.
Remember, too, that this is just a test run for Republicans, who will repeat this in other states if they are successful in stopping citizen petitions in Ohio.
So we need to do everything we can to get our voters out and mobilized. Here are a few things you can do from wherever you live:
Join Ohio Progressive Action Leaders for phone banks, M/W/Sun from 6:00-8:30 eastern: https://www.mobilize.us/opalmissionvote/event/568468/
Activate America also has running phonebanks on M/W from 3-5pm Pacific. Learn more here: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/569758/
Request postcard addresses from Postcards to Voters. Simple ways to do it:
When you have postcards and stamps on hand, here are the convenient ways to request voters’ addresses.
1. Text HELLO to (484) 275-2229 or
2. Message HELLO to Abby the Address Bot on our Slack channel: https://bit.ly/SlackAbby or
Send an email with the subject: Please Send 5 Addresses, to Request@AbbyAddresses.org. In the body of the email, say “Send me 5 addresses for the OH Constitutional Amendment campaign.” Simple!
Live in the Cincinatti, Columbus, Cleveland, or Akron area? Consider getting trained with RideShare2Vote, which provides rides for voters in need of transportation to the polls. Training is required, and there’s a session this weekend. Learn more here: https://www.mobilize.us/rideshare2vote/ (And learn more about RideShare2Vote – which is really cool! – here: https://rideshare2vote.com/)
Phone Bank For KY, VA, MS, and OH!
Boy, who ever said this was an “off year”? The DNC is calling into four key, critical states in the coming weeks. These zoom events are Tuesdays (6-8 EST), Thursday (6-8 EST), and Sunday (2-4 EST). Here’s the weekly:
Week One July 8th – July 16th – Kentucky (Gov Beshear is up for reelection)
Week Two July 17th – July 23rd – Virginia
Week Three July 24 – July 30 – Mississippi
Week Four July 31 – August 8 Election Day for OH
Sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/569897/
Don’t want to call during those times? That’s cool – you can sign up here for their “call anytime” phonebanks here: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/560970/
Join Indivisible’s Powering Progress Campaign Call Thursday:
From Indivisible: Indivisible Project is launching a new campaign to celebrate the tangible benefits of President Biden’s landmark legislation: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This historic legislation provides so many benefits through job creation and investments in renewable energy — AND it puts in place new ways to finally hold big corporations accountable by requiring them to pay their fair share of taxes. For just a taste of those benefits, it includes:
- Millions of good jobs in clean energy, including solar and wind projects, battery factories (aka gigafactories), and electric vehicle manufacturing plants
- Savings for everyday people due to lower prescription drug costs under Medicare
- $400 billion to improve energy efficiency in buildings, homes, and schools
- Caps on the cost of insulin at $35 per month for people on Medicare and holds drug companies accountable for price gouging
- Lowering insurance premiums by an average of $800 for people who buy insurance on their own, thanks to an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies
- Increased funding for the IRS to go after wealthy check tax cheats and enforce the tax code
Indivisible Project will be celebrating these accomplishments in order to increase public awareness of the benefits (if people don’t know that the benefits exist, they won’t know to take advantage of them) AND prevent extremist Republicans from enacting their plans to roll back the IRA’s benefits to the detriment of the American people.
August 16 marks the one-year anniversary of the IRA being signed into law, and we will be using that opportunity to organize public celebrations across the country as part of the national Powering Progress Week of Action.
WHEW! GO TEAM!
P.S.: Why don’t you make someone’s day and send this pep talk to a friend or two? I bet they need it.
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here. Welcome, friend!
P.P.S.: If you want to help support this work you can do so via Patreon at
https://www.patreon.com/smalldeedsdone or via paypal at https://www.paypal.me/smalldeeds
My deepest gratitude in advance.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. I read and respond to every email! We’re in this together. Don’t you forget it.
Small Deeds Done 