This past week I was reminded of the humanity behind the news.
It came at an interesting moment, to be honest. I was moderating a Forgotten Democrats town hall with Fred Wellman and a journalist, Martin Kuz, who has been covering the war in Ukraine. It was an intimate conversation, with a small group.
Perhaps because of that, it was quite meaningful. There was space for interaction among participants who hailed from every part of the country. (As a member of Gen X, I am still in awe of what we can do and experience virtually…)
A woman, perched on a chair in her darkened living room, raised her (virtual) hand to speak. She apologized in advance for being emotional as she described an interaction that she had with a Ukrainian woman and her young daughter. She had met the pair while she was traveling in Europe, and they obviously made an impression on her.
The Ukrainian woman was a lawyer of some sort, and she and her daughter were traveling back to their home in Odessa.
Not three days later, the woman explained with a stifled sob, Odessa was bombed.
She did not know what happened to that pair, of course, but it pained her deeply to know that they were in the city when the airstrikes hit.
Friend, it reminded me of something important – something that often gets lost. The conversation about Ukraine, and about many Big Stories, ends up being distilled down to statistics and talking points – data about the collective, rather than stories about the individuals within it. It’s not intentional disinformation, or malicious, or even lazy.
It’s simply hard to wrap our brains around 1,000,000 emotional stories, like that of the woman and her young daughter returning – with hope – to a city that would soon be bombed. Or, maybe more accurately, even if we can wrap our brains around it, our hearts would break under the strain.
But last week’s conversation reminded me of the humanity behind the statistics. And the passion and dedication that was shown by the folks who were part of that conversation reminded me of another important thing: that while there are millions of people in crisis, and millions of people hurting, there are millions of people like you who would pitch in to lend them a hand.
Ever the Doer, I ended the call by reminding everyone that we have the power to help Ukraine. If each of us just picked up our phones and encouraged our members of Congress to sign the discharge petition, we could help apply the pressure that needs to be brought to bear on this situation.
It was a small group of people, but after all these years with you, I know the impact that a small group of people can make.
Okay, friend. Let’s get to work.
Actions for the Week of March 26, 2024
Ukraine – Let’s Keep Up the Pressure
This is simple – everyone knows the issue, and understands the barriers to action. So just grab your phone and dial your congresscritter. Here’s a script:
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?
Tell NBC to Fire McDaniel
No doubt you’ve heard of this already, but Ronna McDaniel, the former chair of the RNC – where she was chief election denier and insurrection-excuser – was hired as a political contributor by NBC. Almost immediately the backlash began, as it should have. To date, nearly all of the prime time MSNBC hosts have come out publicly, on their own shows, to excoriate NBC for the decision. That’s positive.
NBC has since explained that Ronna will not be public-facing and will not be foisted as a guest upon any hosts. I suppose that’s good, but I’m not sure why they think that hiding an election denier behind the curtain (but still paying that person a reported $300k salary to provide “insight”) makes sense.
I think it’s our job to tell them that we are more than dissatisfied – and that we’re paying attention. If you’re so inclined, you can send an email to the executives at NBC who have responsibility here: President, NBC: Rebecca.Blumenstein@nbcuni.com, and SVP of Politics: carrie.budoff@nbcuni.com (Hat tip to Robert Hubbell for those contacts).
Hat tip to Rogan’s list for the following contacts/actions: 1) Call NBC at 212-664-4444 and leave a voicemail for NBC News, 2) boycott NBC, 3) write a letter, and 4) tag NBC in your social media posts voicing your opinion.
Join Blue Missouri’s Town Hall – Thursday!
Join Jess Piper (and me!) on Thursday for a great conversation with Montana Gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse, a former firearms executive who helped build one of the world’s most iconic gun companies and now advocates for gun sense. We’ll also be joined by Leslie Jones, Missouri Democratic nominee for House District 130. Leslie is a therapist, educator, business owner and advocate, and we’re excited to hear about her run for MO statehouse! Join us Thursday, March 28th at 6pm central. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUocuygrDwrHtKV3U5ooUSgvYwGgaHIN5mc
Join Indivisible’s Rural Caucus Call – Wednesday!
Indivisible’s Rural Caucus is having its monthly meeting on Wednesday night at 7pm central. This month, they’re focusing on the ability to run an exciting slate in a red state or rural area. They’ll be covering “how to access support and resources for candidates up and down the ballot through our Local Voices, Local Power program! This month’s Rural Caucus Call is all about laying the groundwork now in order to finish strong in November’s elections. Whether it’s red state wins in 2024 or building local power to chase bad actors down, this month’s call will help you make it happen.”
Register here for March 27th!8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT
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 