Thoughts on “Influence” and This Week's Events
For better and worse, what happens online matters. This week’s foul events in Washington D.C. are clear proof of this. There is immense influence online, and it manifests in endless ways.
In the context of the Cottage, influence is what sustains my small business and puts a roof over my family’s head.
In the non-profit world, influence has enabled a myriad of organizations to advance their efforts through means that weren’t available a decade ago.
In the sphere of community organizing, influence is arguably what mobilized the greatest voter turnout in an election in modern American history.
But, in this digitized political era in which we now find ourselves, online influence can fuel the myth of white supremacy, the rapid spread of baseless and even disproven conspiracy theories, dangerous disinformation, and the recent abhorrent rise in hate crimes.
“Racial history does not repeat harmlessly. Instead, its devastation multiplies when generation after generation repeat the same failed strategies and solutions and ideologies, rather than burying past failures in the caskets of past generations.” - Ibram X. Kendi
Pictured: Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection and Action Book by Ibram X. Kendi
If your elected officials did not represent your values at the Capitol this week, you can tell them so. And remember that they work for your community, and YOU have the power to vote them out. Organizing and mobilizing is a year-round effort, not just something reserved for election years. (Click here to find your representative.)
Read: “The Whole Story in a Single Photo: An image from the Capitol captures the distance between who we purport to be and who we have actually been” by Clint Smith
Read: “White Entitlement on Parade” by Jamil Smith
A note to readers who think I should just “stick to home decor”:
The goal of this blog and my work is to help people feel comfortable, confident and content in their small spaces. But here in America, many Black citizens can’t even feel safe in and around their own homes due the extreme and unrelenting dangers and threats that accompany racism. (One of the most widely known examples of this is, of course, the deeply disturbing murder of Breonna Taylor.)
A note to readers who think the climate crisis and systemic racism are unrelated, and just want me to “stay in my lane” by simply sharing tips regarding what I’ve learned regarding lower waste living, remember this:
”… our racial inequality crisis is intertwined with our climate crisis. If we don’t work on both, we will succeed at neither.” - Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
A note to readers who are white:
It is our daily responsibility to dismantle the myth of white supremacy and the systems of oppression that continue to burden and even destroy the lives of those in marginalized communities.
Growing Our Family
We’d begun to settle into the belief that another pregnancy wouldn’t happen for us... and now here we are. I’m in my second trimester— guarded, bewildered, and steeped in gratitude.
We’d begun to settle into the belief that it wouldn’t happen... and now here we are— guarded, bewildered, and steeped in gratitude.
Our four year old knows that sometime in spring he’ll become a big brother. To our relief and delight, he’s jubilant, though he has also confessed to being “a little nervous.” (So are we, sweet one. So are we.)
I have much more to write about this experience thus far, along with our plans and my thoughts on fear, loss and privilege... but I’ll save all that for after the election. Our vote is our voice— let’s be heard, loud and clear.
Related posts:
My Fertility Journey
My Voting Plan
Longer-Lasting, No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating for a Small Stoop
On his birthday last month, our little one desperately wanted to create a jack-o-lantern. Knowing full well that a hallowed-out pumpkin wouldn’t survive long under the fluctuating marine layer and beaming sun in our coastal town, we caved in and carved one.
The results were endearing, but — as expected — only lasted until October 1.
After collecting and devouring a dozen Halloween books in recent days, our 4 year old was adamant about replacing the pumpkin. So we took a Tiny Adventure to a local farm / pumpkin patch, and selected a handful of funny little beauties to introduce to our small stoop. The agreement upon securing the batch was that they would be no-carve pumpkins, with the goal of them lasting longer.
We used the metal pumpkin glasses I found on Etsy years ago, along with a few other decorative facial features (made into stakes) that we found on-site at the farm.
(Click here for the pup version, click here for various other characters.)
The results continue to make us giggle whenever we walk into our home.
We’re not quite done yet. We intend to make a VOTE pumpkin, of course. See you at the polls, or at the ballot drop box, folks. Let’s vote in epic numbers — for the planet and for racial justice — so our voices cannot be ignored.
Tiny Adventures: Searching SoCal for Fall During the Pandemic
In need of some fresh air and a change of scenery, we took a tiny adventure to Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark (just outside of LA) this week.
We figured it would be a good way for our little one to stretch his legs while we sourced locally grown pumpkins and produce.
We wore our masks, of course— not just to keep ourselves safer, but to help protect others.
We also adhered to social distancing protocols, and visited right when the farm opened to the public at 9am in order to avoid crowds and the heat.
In order to both reduce waste and possible increased exposure to COVID, we toted our own snacks and beverages as usual.
We brought home a handful of funny lil’ pumpkins.
We’ll be decorating them in a no-carve way in order to extend their lifespan. (More on this in the following blog post.)
When we arrived home, we were thrilled to discover our mail-in ballots in our post box. We’ll spend the week educating ourselves on the issues and candidates with which we’re unfamiliar. And in the days to come, we’ll also send out our Vote Forward letters to residents in swing states. After all, October is the new November.
Weekend Activity: Getting Out the Vote as a Family
Above: “VOTE!” posters & postcards available for download here.
“To meet the challenges of the climate crisis and preserve all that we hold dear; to retain democracy, social justice, human rights, and other hard-won freedoms in the future, we must part ways with that which threatens to destroy them. Now is the time to make profound shifts in how we live, work, and relate to each other.”
- The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis
Writing letters to voters is one of the most effective ways to help increase election turnout. So this weekend, our family will be writing letters to registered voters in Georgia to encourage them to cast their ballots in the upcoming election.
The template, instructions, names/addresses, and safe return address were provided to us via a coordinated process orchestrated by Vote Forward. This non-profit has increased their letter-writing goal from 10 million to 15 million, so there’s still an opportunity (and plenty of time) to get involved for those who are interested in helping get out the vote in swing states.
We’re always happy to support the USPS by purchasing stamps… and our little one is always more than happy to adhere the stamps to envelopes.
In the words of John Lewis:
“Your vote matters. If it didn't, why would some people keep trying to take it away?”
Making a Voting Plan
“To meet the challenges of the climate crisis and preserve all that we hold dear; to retain democracy, social justice, human rights, and other hard-won freedoms in the future, we must part ways with that which threatens to destroy them. Now is the time to make profound shifts in how we live, work, and relate to each other.”
- The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis
In the upcoming presidential election, I’ll be voting (early) for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
For those who think that politics has no place on a blog like mine, you’re mistaken. This blog is about home, and all the topics encompassed therein. It’s about running a small business while raising a family. It’s about community. It’s about the climate crisis and our ongoing role within it. It’s about physical and mental health. It’s about learning to be an antiracist. It’s about discovering how to live regeneratively. It’s about connecting with neighbors, as well as folks from all across the world. It’s about exploring what we can share and how we can share it. All of these topics are directly impacted by politics— now more than ever.
I believe that casting a ballot for the incumbent — or refraining from voting altogether — is a vote for an administration that prioritizes the profit, power and comfort of a select few over millions of lives, human rights, the health and future of our shared planet, and our democracy.
John Lewis wrote that: “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society.” From your local officials to the Senate to the presidency, it’s important to vote up and down the ballot in every election. But voter suppression is happening in America right now, playing out in old ways and new. With a plan, we can each fight to be sure our vote is counted. And we can advocate for the votes of disenfranchised groups to be counted, too.
Register to Vote
Today is National Voter Registration Day!
Text VOTER to 26797 to make sure you are registered to vote and to receive important election information.
