Visibility Initiative Project
People like us, living in a vibrant liberal democracy, remained quiet, in the shadows. They, in their silence, in their invisibility, allowed Adolph Hitler to rise to power in pre-WWII Germany. Hitler came to this position after being imprisoned for attempting to overthrow the government of Bavaria. He accomplished this feat by manipulating the narrative about political and economic issues confronting Germany, and riding on the voiceless timidity of the citizenry.Â
Sound familiar?Â
Perhaps they didn’t want to have a brick through their window or to be yelled at on the subway or to be threatened or bullied at work. As a result, 6 million jews were slaughtered, all of Europe became a conflagration, then the entire world caught fire. Â
Here we are again. Â
A man, who by election 2024 will have been convicted of attempting to overthrow our government, could once again be elevated to our highest office. Are we going to remain silent? In the shadows? If we do, abortion will be completely banned, the LGBTQ+ community will be marginalized and imprisoned, trans people will continue to be murdered in the shadows, the rich will own America. Democracy here will vanish.Â
Please join the Visibility Initiative Project. As with my continuing bumper magnet project, I believe that when enough of us stand out in a crowd, voter turnout goes up. Democracy survives. Â
Go to my store front, Blue Wave Politics, (or a similar one) and become conspicuous. Pick an issue you support and suit up for the coming battle. Give these outstanding items to friends, family, and neighbors who share your vision for a better America. You may get your car keyed. You may get yelled at or confronted, even shunned by some, but the only way to deal with MAGA bullies is to stand up prominently. As the holiday season approaches, overtly commit to continuing democracy beyond the next holiday season.Â
The holidays are a great time to give gifts that distinguish. Be bold!! Â
Support the Visibility Initiative Project.Â
I have added many more ways to express how you feel. More items will appear. Additional designs for other critical issues are on their way.Â
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We, the Unchosen
We did not grow up to be the President. We did not become pro sports legends, movie stars or astronauts. We have not won Nobel Prizes. Those dreams of greatness faded with adulthood and responsibilities. We chose families and the work-a-day life. We are the Unchosen. We are America. Â
My father belonged to the Greatest Generation, the one that saved the world from totalitarian rule by defeating Hitler and the Nazis. World War II claimed the lives of 419,000 Americans (60 million worldwide). All but a sliver of those were also Unchosen. Â
The perilous threats we face today overshadow those of my father’s generation. The global cost of worsening Climate Change, in lives and property, continues to mount. American oligarchs like Charles Koch are lining the pockets of Trump Republicans to make certain their income streams are uninterrupted by mitigation measures. Other oligarchs, likewise, make similar investments to avoid being taxed, thereby, assuring government coffers are too empty to take effective action on this extinction level event that is climate change. Â
The conservative U.S. Supreme Court, having diminished women’s control over their own bodies, blunted government efforts to allay our climate crisis, reduced efforts to control deadly weapons, and opened a breach in the wall between church and state, are prepared to vacate rights to contraception and same sex marriage, while allowing wholesale discrimination against certain minorities. Â
A re-elected Trump would hold Putin and Xi in such high esteem that, one could easily imagine him ceding Ukraine to the Russians and gifting Taiwan to China in exchange for one-third of the world pie, the triumvirate of nuclear nations, crushing democracies and ousting tinhorn dictators around the world along the way. Â
In November of 2020, we, the Unchosen, manned the polling ramparts and turned out in record numbers to fight for our seat at the table. We carried the day and took our seat. Â
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Again, the forces of darkness are amassing for the next battle, armed with legalities and loopholes meant to strike down as many of our voting numbers as possible, while scaring up more opposing voters with inflation, immigration, and socialism. Â
Whenever Trump endorsed candidates declare that the 2020 election was stolen, they are not promoting the Big Lie. They are sounding a dog whistle to publicly acknowledge their ongoing seditious conspiracy and commit to installing Trump or a protégé as President following election 2024, by whatever means necessary. If his candidates are elected this November, they will be poised to install their candidate regardless of the outcome at the polls. If they succeed, 2024 will be the last free election in America.  Â
We must defeat them all, even if it means escalating the civil war that may have already begun. Â
If we are victorious in this November’s election, we will further advance the transformation that will save us all. If we persist, triumph after triumph in election after election, through the darkness in the decades to come, we will reach the dawn of that better day, a democratic America, having averted the climate catastrophe. We, the Unchosen, will be hailed as the Greatest Generations to have ever lived. Â
If we fail, there will be no one left alive to notice. Â
We, the Unchosen, are the only heroes we have. We the are the heroes we need! You may not be a Democrat. You may not like what the Democrats stand for, but this November, they, alone, stand between us and the abyss. Choose wisely.Â
Vote! Â Â
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Volunteer for a Democratic candidate near you Â
Volunteer to be a poll worker Â