After yesterday's somewhat cathartic post, today I'm just tired.
The one-week aftermath of the election leaves me with a familiar sort of unease. Usually this kind means I'm past deadline on an important project, or I'm putting off opening my email because I know there are 500 unread messages in it, or winter's coming soon and the kids only have sandals still, or it's November and any day now relatives will start emailing me wanting to know what all the children want for Christmas.
There's something that needs to be done, and I have enough on my plate with the ordinary tasks of life.
So what's to be done? (Besides the ordinary tasks of life, I mean, offered in cheerful generosity when possible.)
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A couple of weeks ago I posted on Facebook: "I just ordered a pizza and had to talk to a real live human being over the phone." Friendly commenters teased me, some sympathizing, with mock horror. I think some of them understand for real. I can't be the only one.
I hate talking on the phone, and even ordering a pizza requires me to overcome an actual aversion. I am accustomed, now, to pay-at-the-pump, Amazon shopping, and online takeout orders. I don't even talk to friends anymore, thanks to FB and texting and email, and I like it that way.
When by chance I actually have to call someone, even for a simple transaction like these, I almost have to rehearse how it's going to go, or I get stage fright.
When they pick up, I'm going to say, "Hi! This is for delivery...."
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So it was with a little bit of dismay, along with interest, that I read this Twitter thread by Emily Ellsworth:
I worked for Congress for 6 years, and here's what I learned about how they listen to constituents.
First, tweeting or writing on Facebook is largely ineffective. I never looked at those comments except to remove the harassing ones.
Second, writing a letter to the district office (state) is better than sending an email or writing a letter to DC.
But, the most effective thing is to actually call them on the phone. At their district (state) office. They have to talk to you there.
(Do go read the rest.)
Interested because I suddenly feel like I should maybe contact my Congressional representative and my senators about stuff, and dismayed because apparently the best thing to do is (shudder) talk on the phone.
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What stuff should I contact them about, anyway? I don't think I'm ready to, since I don't know my script.
Problem number one is that I have a generalized sense of Must Do Something or Say Something, which I probably ought to narrow down.
Problem number two is that my Congressional representative and both senators are Democrats. Note: I have no problem with having a Democrat for a senator or for a representative, any more than I have a problem with having most of my neighbors be Democrats (in fact, I hear that sort of thing is correlated). The problem is that I would really like to urge Republicans to oppose President-elect Trump's bad policies, rather than urging Democrats to do so, since I think they're going to do that anyway.
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Pausing for a public service announcement: If your state has a Republican senator or two, consider contacting them to request that they not automatically rubber-stamp all of President Trump's appointments that are subject to Senate approval by simple majority?
Some of the proposed appointees, we hope, will be competent, qualified, and fair -- or at least, partisan in an ordinary-Republican sort of way. It's probably not helpful to complain about those people, and I would argue, we should be encouraging normal behavior.
But let's face it: at this point many of us are worried that Donald Trump will appoint at least some people who are incompetent, or interest-conflicted cronies, or white-nationalists. Targeting those appointments for opposition might work. But it's the Republican senators we need to call and urge not to approve them.
So: if you have a Republican senator, maybe give them a call? I don't think Al Franken needs me to tell him to oppose a Republican president, you know?
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And if you have a Republican representative (again, I don't), perhaps you might call him or her and request that they sign on to a letter being circulated by Congressional Democrats demanding that Trump rescind antisemite Steve Bannon's appointment, or if that doesn't work, that they author their own or otherwise add pressure from the Republican side.
For all I know it's crazy to expect Congressional Republicans to do anything openly to resist Trump's bad appointments, but maybe it's worth a try.
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So, with my representative being a prominent Democrat, I wonder if there's anything I could call up and say that could make a difference. I would really like to see Congress as a whole take its power back from the executive branch -- I have the impression that Republicans agree with more than Democrats do at a philosophical level, but both are guilty of forgetting it when "their guy" is in the Oval Office. I would like to see subsidiarity respected: not a knee-jerk "everything back to the states" response, but a careful consideration about which matters naturally belong to the federal government and which could be entrusted to states and communities.
If the federal government were less important than it is, if the executive branch was still being effectively checked by Congress, we would not have to fear dangerously awful presidents as much as we do now -- not because we might not get awful people elected to the presidency, but because they would not be able to so as much damage. I don't know how to put that into words on the phone.
Or maybe I don't know how to make that more specific. It is more difficult than working out in advance the optimal order in which to describe the toppings on my pizza, you know.
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