BE THE CHANGE

We have two goals for our county Democratic party: (1) To get the Democrats out to vote and (2) To identify, recruit, train, and support individuals to run for local, state, county, and national elections. Living in one of the reddest and most rural counties in the country is a tremendous challenge. Some might ask, "Why are you beating your head against the wall?" But my question is, "How can I not keep trying when I'm so passionately opposed to everything the president and Congress are perpetrating on the most vulnerable of our society?" I keep doing it. I'm doing it for those who don't have a voice. I'm doing it for my grandchildren. I'm doing it for those who have no idea how the current policies and laws being passed will eventually negatively impact them––all while they're chanting "Make America Great Again." Yes, I'm doing it even for them. I've been warned by one of the leaders of my community, a former Obama supporter who now supports Trump, that I will be ostracized in this town for being part of the Democratic Party. I will not stop speaking out and standing up for what I believe is right––no matter what! My response was, "Bring it on." For several days, I've been calling people to volunteer in Llano. Conversations with many of them told me a lot about what's happening in the minds of people living here. They are frightened about the country's current direction. Still, they are even more terrified to speak out or tell anyone they are a Democrat. After all, the president and many followers talk about shooting liberals and the media. Guns are indispensable to people in these parts. It's an understandable fear. Sometimes, as you talk to people, a glimmer of hope shines through the darkness. I received a returned phone call yesterday from a woman and her 18-year-old daughter. They have been anxious to get involved but didn't know how they could help. Well, you can bet I had some ideas...like, "How about being a Precinct Chair and recruiting volunteers in your town to block walk or send postcards to encourage people to get out the vote?" This woman works full-time and travels the state as a Regional Manager of a company that provides residential communities for low-income seniors. She immediately responded, "YES, my daughter wants to help, too!" I have no doubt that these two will significantly impact their small town. They are fearless fighters. They just needed to be asked. To my surprise, another young woman reached out to me on my county party's Facebook page last night. She wanted the Precinct Chair job, too. When I told her it had already been filled, she offered to help in any way she could. She's a stay-at-home Mom with two young children. I thought about her last night and sent her a message this morning, asking her if she would run for a local office. She replied, "I would definitely like to head towards the "running" track. I must show my girls that strong women are responsible for doing the right thing, and we will change the world. I'm sick of all this BS, too. I refuse to sit back and do nothing!" I'm crying as I write this. There is hope. We have others waiting in the wings to BE THE CHANGE! You can, too!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DR MCELROY AND TEXAS A&M

Image
  I’ve lived my life with integrity, compassion, and honesty.  I don’t back down from a controversial subject and will always speak out against injustice and prejudice.  I received many benefits from being White, although I was still short-shafted regarding equal pay as a woman.   Case in point: I was replaced by two men when I retired from overseeing a 36-bed rehabilitation hospital and 6 outpatient clinics serving children through adults. The man who replaced me had great difficulty managing the inpatient rehabilitation services. Hence, the Healthcare System overseeing the services promoted a male physical therapist to manage the outpatient facilities.  Each of the men was paid more than I.  It’s probably not a stretch to guess that had I been a person of color with the same credentials, I would not have been hired, and doubly so if I had been a woman of color with the same credentials.   A tenured UT journalism professor was recently recruited to Texas A&M to kick-start their jo
Read more

MY LIFE WITH TERI FLANAGAN

Image
  (Teri authored a story about me entitled "My Life with Dana Rushing" in the local newspaper after I moved from Horseshoe Bay to Austin. It was a total surprise and touched me beyond words. She is now in hospice at a facility in Marble Falls. Teri's husband has given me permission to publish this story. It will be in The Beacon this week.) I’m incredibly fortunate to have a friend I could call to assist me with the various projects I began or coordinated while living in Horseshoe Bay for five years. Other friends also answered my call to action, but Teri was always the first one I contacted because I was confident she would agree to help. Teri once said when she saw my name on her caller ID, she knew I wasn’t calling to chat and that she was being recruited for another project. Still, Teri answered my call. Teri is a talented artist and an avid reader. Her beautiful painting of a colorful donkey hangs in my home. A burnt orange wooden walking stick David made helps k
Read more

ROSA PARKS AND THE DREAM

Image
I dreamed of Rosa Parks last night.  She was sitting in a seat in the middle of a bus with Black men sitting on both sides of her.  I figured they were bodyguards and had joined her after news got out that this 'uppity Black woman' had dared to take her place amongst the Whites. The days of sitting in the back of the bus were over for her.  She worked long, hard days at low wages for a white family and had to take a bus every...damn...day.  Her great-grandparents had been slaves.  Enough was enough.   She felt she earned something more than a seat at the back of the bus.   She didn't know that this small act would set up a firestorm of millions of people being emboldened by her.  More and more people began speaking out, demonstrating, and even rioting to bring civil rights to the forefront.  The battle continued until, at last, civil rights passed.  Racism became somewhat more subtle over 50 years. But the Rosa Parks I saw in my dreams is still in that seat.
Read more