Hope is Alive and Well

A photo of US Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally. She is wearing a light blue suit. She is smiling an looking to the side as she strides across the stage.

Note: I wrote this post about a week before election day 2024. It hasn’t aged very well. I’m posting it anyway because it’s helpful to remember the optimism of July.

The most pessimistic, doom-and-gloom political watcher I know called me this week to say she thinks Kamala is going to win. By a lot.

Her call brightened up my day considerably. It reminded me of how I felt on July 21.

When Joe Biden dropped out in favor of Kamala Harris, I didn’t expect to be so . . .

Relieved. Happy. Excited.

Around Wednesday of the week before Biden dropped out, I knew it was coming.

I braced myself for the reality of a second Trump presidency.

If Biden stayed in, Trump would win. If he bowed out, the Democrats would descend into fighting and lose any chance of holding on to the White House. (Not to mention the Senate or flipping the House.)

Then it happened.

Immediately, some of my anxiety lifted. I didn’t think I would be this full of hope.

Like most people, I’m realistic about Harris’s chances of winning. There’s a lot of sexism and racism out there.

But there’s also hope. And action. And inspiration.

Suddenly, the people who make things happen – volunteers, activists, grassroots leaders, canvassers, social media amplifiers, phone bankers, relational organizers, texters, small dollar donors – are fired up!

Over 360,000 volunteers signed up for the Harris campaign in one week.

[Someone] for Harris groups sprang up all over the place.

Jewish Women for Harris

Black Women for Harris

Black Men for Harris

White Dudes for Harris (Don’t tell me you haven’t seen them!)

AAPI for Harris

Dads for Harris

Hotties for Harris (Seriously. It was on a sign at a rally.)

Since then, I’ve seen more calls to join organized teams of canvassers in Nevada and Arizona than I did in 2020.

It’s not too late to get in on the action. If you live in a swing state, contact your local Democratic Party or club. If you don’t live in a swing state, pick one and search for “volunteer for Democrats in [your favorite swing state].” Organizations will gladly put you to work making phone calls, sending texts or even knocking on doors if you’re nearby. Or go straight to https://kamalaharris.com/.

Don’t let this moment pass you by.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.