Ramping Up

Summer Ground Game Coming

William Sundwick

Over the last few weeks I’ve been in a real funk over the daily outrage in the news cycle. I sometimes feel like my only solace is to unplug myself from the outside world. But, something inside me runs counter to that impulse – I can’t allow myself that indulgence. I must make sense of what is happening around me.

Being saved from despair requires action. I can’t ignore the constant drumbeat about the state of American politics, and the world, but I can give it perspective. It’s important, and somebody is managing that drumbeat – there is a plan behind it. The media’s plan is to engage us, they want outrage, they want eyeballs. If they want responses. I am responding this summer. Participation in the political process, the ground game, is my secret for overcoming fear. What started as disgust is beginning to melt into depression now. It must stop.

For me, the greatest challenge of the last month has been the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on the border. They have taken accepted international law on asylum for refugees and rejected it wholesale. Separating children, even babies, from their asylum-seeking parents is cruelty unworthy of our country.

Attending the #FamiliesBelongTogether march at Lafayette Square on June 30 presented me with one of those steeling opportunities for action. Not as big as #MarchForOurLives in March, but what it lacked in focus, it made up for in timing. Now is the time for action regarding the November elections. The ground game is underway.

 Marches help, but they need to be followed up with volunteerism. Virginia volunteers proved their mettle last year when an unprecedented 15 seats in the House of Delegates flipped. So, this year we need to focus on certain Congressional districts which are eminently “flippable.” Out of a total delegation of eleven seats in the House, there are only four Virginia Democrats. Two or three additional Democratic seats are within easy reach this fall (especially the VA-7, Abigail Spanberger, and VA-10, Jennifer Wexton).

Few doubt all incumbent Democrats will be re-elected (including Sen. Tim Kaine). Living in bright blue Arlington might suggest local apathy, except that even the Arlington County Board has one seat that Democrats can gain, with a challenger to established Board member John Vihstadt. It’s a great local contest – friction point being affordable housing advocacy vs. NIMBY fears. Matt de Ferranti is that young Democratic challenger. 

Beyond Virginia, however, prospects are less clear. I hear and read lots of political analysis. I can’t pull away from the apparent train wreck of national politics. It seems that we’ve devolved into two antagonistic tribal societies in the United States. I need to think that there must be a path back to a somewhat more unified country. But, what is it?

The first sign of dysfunction, visible in the 2016 Democratic Presidential primay, was the splitting up of the Democratic Party. No longer a unified national party, and not the old New Deal/Southern Democrat coalition that had been familiar for some eighty years. Dems were confronted by a deep ideological divide, left vs. center, so it seemed. But was it real?

Since the 2016 election, much time has been spent trying to “understand” Trump voters – what were they looking for? What did Trump say to them? My only conclusion as a consumer of much of the punditry is that whatever the message of Trump and Republicans, it’s not a message understood by the new elite of the Democratic Party – the professional class of East and West Coast cosmopolitan urban areas. That may be fine given the changing demographics of America, except that this new elite needs to work harder in traditional Democratic constituencies, especially white working-class voters (male and female) who treat them with profound distrust.

We also know that few voters are knowledgeable about the actual mechanics of public policy – they are ideological only on a symbolic level, not a policy level. This is uncomfortable for candidates who feel they must explain “where they stand” on specific issues. They just need to speak the language of their voters, use the correct buzzwords, that’s all! We’ve seen successes at getting the right mood going in special elections so far. These candidates will be the winners in November. It’s intensity of emotion, and symbolic language, not policy, that will carry the day.

Long-oppressed groups, like communities of color, speak one language. Working class whites speak another. The latter now see themselves as threatened, the new “hopeless ones,” especially in rural areas ravaged by opioid abuse and unemployment. Their language expresses fear and sense of loss, the most acute emotion for the Trump loyalists. Those accustomed to marginalization, on the other hand, feel they are on their way up in American society -- or were, until the 2016 election. The pernicious influence of money in politics tends to exacerbate the divisions. It seeks to vilify “the other” – whether it be race, gender, or class. The worst possible outcome for those moneyed interests would be a united front of ordinary Americans focused entirely on them, and what they do with their money. Much better to keep Americans fighting among themselves!

With the supercharged news cycle that we see these days, it’s hard to predict what will happen tomorrow. The news cycle is managed. It is managed both by the media and by the White House itself. Those tweets from the President are not accidental. Neither are the leaks. The best that can be said about the proliferation of Internet news outlets is that a multiplicity of sources makes managing the flow more difficult. News consumers have effectively more power in this rich environment, if they know how to use it.

And, we feel it. The streets are alive with protest – it’s not that difficult to organize demonstrations in major cities simultaneously, each drawing tens of thousands of marchers. We know we can identify and promote the good -- or identify and discourage the bad. Not just in mass demonstrations, but in the political ground game as well. We can canvass and phone bank. We can open our checkbooks. We can even find where cabinet officers dine out and confront them individually!

Perhaps the “arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice,” as MLK said in 1956, but we can move it on a steeper curve if we commit ourselves to action. And, being part of a team is much better than sitting all alone in our righteousness. Interaction with teammates tends to get more things accomplished. It’s also a balm for the ego.

Alex Jones of InfoWars said that “Democrats” were going to start the second civil war on July 4. So, on July 5 I did my first “Beyond Arlington” phone banking shift calling infrequent voters in Spotsylvania County, urging them to vote for Abigail Spanberger to replace Dave Brat. It felt good!

Courage, Determination, Strength

Face-to-Face with Disability Awareness

William Sundwick

We knew about her disability. We had hosted her in our home once before, three years ago, for a different event in Washington. But this time was different. Activism was her primary motive. The earlier event had been about religious advocacy in a more general sense. This time we shared her outrage and planned on participating in the “March for Our Lives,” anyway.

My primary mood preceding her arrival from Ottawa was that although we had an obligation to her (i.e., sympathy for her plight), I dreaded having to deal with her multiple disabilities for a whole week! She uses a walker due to balance issues, is hard of hearing with aids that are only partially effective, and near-sighted without a proper prescription for eyeglasses – apparently, even the Canadian health care system can’t help the poor and disabled enough. Also, swallowing and denture issues prevent her from eating many of the foods that are a staple in our household (not to mention restaurants).

Is it her poverty that’s the key to her difficulty? Perhaps -- even in Canada.

Most of the resources on Turner Syndrome emphasize that early identification (even prenatal) is best for what may be prolonged ERT (Estrogen Replacement Therapy). That’s the first thing that jumps out when you read the descriptions of the genetic abnormality. But our Canadian friend was not diagnosed until her teen years, when she failed to menstruate. Her symptoms nevertheless were manageable, once she accepted her likely infertility. She became a nanny and married an American.

Only as she approached middle age did things start to unravel. The 10 per cent hearing loss climbed over a few years to a 50 per cent loss. Brittle bones and balance issues caused increasing danger for falls – she’s used a walker since her mid-forties. When she flies, she requests wheelchair accommodation. She looks for ramps and cuts in the curb when walking on the street. Our house has none of that. Closed captions on TV help her immensely, and she can’t use voice communication on her phone. She also needs a Blackberry with actual keys, can’t use the touchscreens of typical smart phones and tablets. At the Dulles ticket counter, she had trouble reading even the large signs over the airline desks.

Her American husband died from a massive stroke in 2005. He had suffered cardiovascular problems since he was tortured as a Vietnam prisoner of war. Lobbying Congress was on her agenda while in Washington. She cares about torture (her Facebook page: “Torture Is Always Wrong”). She hand-delivered a one-page letter to each Senator’s office (all 100, both parties) condemning the nomination of Gina Haspel as Director of Central Intelligence. Despite them being in recess, she was pleased by the reaction she received in the three Senate Office Buildings. She also gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to her visit with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. She’s confident that, after applying in person, she will be seeing survivor benefits soon. 

Her hand-painted sign for the March read “Canadians Stand with U.S. Children.” It was painted on a pillowcase by a friend. She claims that even in childhood she was outspoken – “listen to me!” “I’m special!” – she thanks her parents for much of her activism. The Turner diagnosis simply gave her more of a focus. Her husband’s struggle added to it. Now, she is convinced that she does matter – she can do much, she can instruct, she can share her strength and her resolve. She can create her own platform by shouting at demonstrations and writing angry emails. Her message, delivered wherever she can get a platform, consists mostly of: “there are many of us,” and “let me be your voice” – our rights are no fewer than others’ – and, we are eager to form alliances with other marginalized groups. We need to be “in your face” more, not less!

It is a powerful message. Those of us with privilege are forced to contemplate what it’s like to not be taken seriously. The implications for intersectionality cannot be missed. It really is about the blindness of privilege. We should all be called. There is no ambiguity in this message. We all need to seek affiliation with organizations that promote the marginalized -- whether churches, political party, charitable organizations, or street protests.

The marginalized include children who are potential victims of gun violence.

The marginalized include veterans who have been victims, beyond their understanding, of the horrors of war.

The marginalized include people who suffer the effects of rare genetic abnormalities that come to rule their lives.

When the privileged start noticing the marginalized, that’s a beginning. Next comes analysis. What accommodations are needed for the marginalized group? Who are the decision makers? What can be done to affect the power relations between the marginalized group and the decision makers? The Disabled need to tell the Able-bodied what they need. Others need to tell the powerful and privileged what they require, as well.

While it may feel good for the privileged to claim they sympathize (even empathize) with the marginalized, little is accomplished without action. Power analysis and direct confrontation – whether in the streets or at the polls, or both – is what will bring action. At the March, hundreds of thousands shouted in unison, “vote them out!” 

In the meantime, those of us who must force ourselves to pay attention, because it is so unpleasant to be aware of the marginalized, can listen. We can reflect on our own precarious privilege. I sometimes wonder how long I have before my mental acuity starts to slip – already, I am rattled when my daily routines are interrupted for a week by the visit of a disabled house guest -- I lost the nighttime use of my office, since it is in the only first floor room with a sofa bed (Quelle horreur!).

Yes, I am listening … yes, the struggle continues. It’s not easy to listen.