Barbara Smith

PCDP Community Engagement Committee Chair

We are tired-- sometimes disappointed, frustrated, and discouraged. Since the dark days of 2017, we have been calling, texting, writing letters and postcards, posting on social media, canvassing, protesting, and reaching out to voters to get them to the polls. We helped build the Blue Wave in the 2018 midterms. We did it all again in 2020 under unexpectedly challenging circumstances only to see the election results questioned and used as a rallying cry for domestic terrorism. We thought we’d get a respite in 2021, but that wasn’t meant to be. Now here we are in 2022 with another demanding election season ahead of us, where losing the majority in Congress could imperil democracy as we know it.

But there have been moments of intense joy and satisfaction. Watching Nancy Pelosi again assume the speakership of the House, surrounded by the many young, diverse newly elected members of Congress was gratifying in a way I can’t explain. Listening to Amanda Gorman’s poem during the Inauguration filled my heart with joy and gave me much needed hope. Beating back a partisan recall with numbers that mirrored Newsom’s 2018 victory gives me confidence that we can keep our state blue. Closer to home, the astonishing 79% success rate of our 2020 first time voter texting project provides a solid base upon which to build. And if we needed a reminder that activism works, the collaborative effort resulting in the approval of the citizen-drawn maps for redistricting in Placer County has given us a much needed boost. None of these accomplishments happened in a vacuum. They happened because of YOU.

I recently attended a workshop titled “Overcoming Activist Fatigue.” Just as the title implies, those of us in attendance shared our concerns about asking our volunteers to commit their time and effort once again in yet another campaign season. Let me share some words of wisdom:

Accept things as they are, not as you wish they would be. We can talk all day about Manchin and Sinema, but we have to work with what we have, not what we wish we had.
Take a longer perspective. Those activists who have been at this all their lives know that progress ebbs and flows. Enjoy successes, reorganize in times of defeat.
Remember why you are doing this. I’m an activist because I want to leave a better world for my grandchildren. What’s your motivation?
Send perfectionism packing. We’ve all heard that the perfect is the enemy of the good, but we forget to apply that to ourselves. Grab joy where we can, celebrate success, lift those around us.
Manage your news intake. 24/7 news outlets and doomscrolling feed our anxieties and fears. Step away from the constant noise when you can.
Replace worry with action. Turn your fear into optimism. Turn your anger into courage. This may seem obvious, but too often we let ourselves become overwhelmed and forget that we can only control our own actions and reactions.
Chop wood, carry water. This saying demonstrates the idea of breaking a seemingly impossible task into small, attainable steps. We won’t turn Placer blue in one election cycle or even two. But we are making incremental progress. That doesn’t mean we won’t have setbacks, but as long as we take a longer perspective, we will keep working toward our goal.

· Finally, you are not alone. There is always something we can do, but we don’t have to do it alone.

Take a breath. Get re-energized and re-motivated. Volunteer time is almost here. Stay tuned.