Not a good night

Elaine and I went to a Good Trouble Lives On event at a local park last night. This event did not appear on the national map, and I’m not sure how well it was publicized. Perhaps eighty people showed up, and we were directed to form small groups (at tables in a pavilion) and talk about the issues that were important to us. And then each group appointed a spokesperson to share. The consensus was that we want to work on preserving democracy.

As David Allen would ask, What’s the next action? But no one asked that question.

I suggested two things everyone might do: call our congressional representative’s office every day, which might at least give the person answering the phone something to think about, and give some money to our local PBS affiliate. Another person suggested a variation on Moral Mondays. Where? The public library is closed at night. “No one” goes to the university library.

Someone got the news on their phone that The Late Show was being canceled.

Suggestions borrowed from a less local group included canvassing and phone banking. But where does one get the addresses and telephone numbers? And who answers calls from unknown callers in 2025?

The sky darkened as a storm neared. The rain began. The meeting ended early.