Yesterday I gave my eleven-year-old son a writing prompt.
It’s the latest in a long series of projects that I hope will give him the practice that he needs to develop as a writer and a thinker. Sometimes the prompts I give him are inspiring. Sometimes they’re silly. Sometimes they’re serious. Sometimes they’re thought-provoking.
Yesterday’s prompt was in that last category – thought-provoking. And while I intended it to be thought-provoking for him, it ended up being even more so for me … which is why I thought you might be interested in it.
I asked him:
If you could write a letter to yourself 10 years from now what would it say? What would you want to know? What would you want to learn about? What would you want to encourage? What would you want to discourage?
His face lit up, then scrunched. Pencil in hand, curled up on the couch, he spent the better part of an hour thinking and dreaming about his future 21-year-old self. “What’s it like being a grown-up?” he asked. “Have you seen Deadpool yet? Do you still play PokemonGo?”
Interestingly enough, watching him reflect on the future made me reflect on the past. It made me mentally flip through what has happened over the last 10 years – and consider how I would describe the incredible joys and terrible pitfalls of the last decade to my younger self.
And then of course I wondered about the decade that is opening up before us.
What wonderful, horrible things will we have brought about because of our action – or inaction – over the next few months? It’s weighty, but it’s true: the things that we do right now now directly influence that future.
That’s always the case, but it feels more pressing now, with a presidential election looming. There are paths that will be available, or closed off, depending upon who wins in November.
And who wins in November is dependent, in part, upon what we do right now. And again, there will be paths that will be available, or closed off, depending upon what we do today, and tomorrow, and the next day.
Doesn’t it make every day feel more like an opportunity?
Forgive me for perhaps thinking in circles, and marveling at the interconnectedness of it all. I’m sleep-deprived (we’re launching Blue Tennessee tomorrow!) and that’s got me equal parts thoughtful and tongue-tied.
But I think you see where I’m coming from.
There’s a lot of space and time between now and November. But this is such a consequential moment in our country – and we need to feel the weight of that every day between now and Election Day.
It really is that important.
Okay, friend – short words tonight, because I’ve got to get some sleep.
And hey – I hope to see you tomorrow.
Let’s get to work.
Actions for the Week of March 12, 2024
Join THE BLUE TENNESSEE LAUNCH!
Boy this has been a long time coming, and I’m really excited it’s finally here. So I hope you’ll join me, Jessica Piper, Trae Crowder, David Pepper, Aftyn Behn, Kate Craig and Allie Phillips to launch Blue Tennessee. It’s Every State Blue’s newest state project, aiming to fund and support downballot democrats running in some of the reddest, roughest, toughest districts in TN.
No doubt you’ve seen how diabolical the TN GOP has been in silencing critics and quashing dissent. That’s one reason I’m so proud that we’ll be empowering another grassroots community to crowdsource for democratic nominees.
Join us Wednesday (tomorrow! eep!) at 7:30pm eastern for the kickoff! Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscemtqDIjH9UWN33pPPN0Sfz6NcSDZOth
Resources to Share!
Biden’s State of the Union Address was fantastic – and long. Hat tip to Sue Rogan for pointing out that C-SPAN has broken it into chunks by topic, which are easily shared as video clips. (You can use the little red scissors!) Check it out HERE.
Biden’s got a great campaign ad out called “For You,” and it’s worth sharing! Go watch and share HERE.
And of course the President’s budget was released. Again, worth taking a look at – especially the summary pages at the beginning, which highlight accomplishments and goals. (Basically pages 5-14.) Go check it out. It’s a great primer, and one to save for use later! Check it out HERE.
Not Giving Up On Ukraine!
Ukraine is fighting for democracy and Republicans are holding up the support Ukraine needs. I know this starts to feel repetitive, I just do not think we can let this go, it’s too important. It’s still urgent and worth your time.
I do think that continuing to call our own reps to encourage them to keep working to get funding to Ukraine. But today, Jess Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water pointed out that, at least according to Punchbowl, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA.) has a “bipartisan Ukraine discharge petition to restart U.S. aid to Ukraine.” Because he’s not “turned on” the resolution yet, reps can’t sign it.
We can call Fitzpatrick and tell him to “turn on” the discharge petition. So let’s all join Jess and call Rep. Fitzpatrick at (202) 225-4276 or (215) 579-8102 and say something like:
My name is ______ and I’m calling to ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to “turn on” the discharge petition to restart U.S. aid to Ukraine right away. The stakes are sky high — failing to pass this aid will endanger our NATO allies, the democratic world order, and eventually our own troops. History is watching. Please ask Rep. Fitzpatrick to activate the discharge petition now. Thanks.
Then give a call to your OWN rep and let them know you’re not done fighting for Ukraine, and you want to know what they’re doing to help.
Script: Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent at [zip]. I’m calling today to ask the Congress(wo)man to support getting funding for Ukraine before the full House for a vote. That the speaker has not brought that legislation to the floor is a gift to Putin. Not funding Ukraine is a gift to Putin. Let’s show the world that America stands with its allies, not a murderous dictator. What is the Congress(wo)man doing right now to get funding to the floor?
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 