The Mettle of a Magician...

Magic Circle John William Waterhouse

The Mettle of a Magician...

ANGIE BUCHANAN·TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018

All you magical types out there… Yeah you! Trying to look cool over that cauldron…

Ok – so we’ve had some time to grieve, to freak out, to spin and hiss and froth.

You done wringing your hands yet?

Is it time to move into being effective?

Great!

Let’s start by assessing some things.

First, are you registered to vote? Or are you still insisting that it doesn’t do any good anyway because the system is rigged?

Guess what? It is rigged, by the overlords who have convinced you to believe that. Stop sulking or resisting based on that. It’s adolescent. Get off your ass and get out there.

Register, and vote. If you think you’re already registered, make sure. Things are getting “lost” or “erased.”

There is NO excuse. None. Quit whining. Quit quitting.

Rides are being provided, polls are open from early morning until late evening,

Employers must allow you time to go vote, and there are absentee ballots for those of you who are disabled or who will be out of town.

Get on that NOW, before it ‘slips your mind.’

I see a number of you younger people complaining that you’re tired of being confronted about this. Understand that I lose all respect for you at that point.

People’s lives are at stake. Get up and go do something. ESPECIALLY those of you who are unemployed. Why aren’t you volunteering???

Next, what are you doing for the candidates who share the talking points and values that represent you? Are you helping them get their messages out in the districts where it matters?

Are you showing up at their campaign offices?

Stuffing envelopes?

Distributing yard signs?

Handing out pamphlets?

Donating money? Even $5.00 helps.

Are you offering to drive people to vote?

Or pay for bus/cab/Uber passes?

Are you checking in with the homebound to make sure they’re registered?

How about the neighbors?

People you work with?

Do you have a yard sign in your yard?

Are you volunteering to work a polling place?

To answer phones for a few hours?

Or are you just dissecting those candidates; looking for imperfections to justify staying uninvolved?

You think this post is radical? Dramatic? Angry?

Yup – probably is. What’s wrong with that? If not now, when?

People are dying. Black people, brown people. People are losing their rights. Women, gay people. People in our country do not have access to clean drinking water. Flint, MI - Puerto Rico. Or electricity. Or food. Or medical care.

Meanwhile - Corporations have become Serfdoms with individual rights and unlimited ability to contribute financially to campaigns that serve their bottom dollar.

Corporate Executives are making 4000X more than their lowest paid employees while paying someone to train them how to apply for food stamps.

We have a liar wearing the robes of a Supreme Court Justice.

Stop standing on your idealistic soapbox, preaching about how bad the world is, and how all politicians suck.

Stop cannibalizing each other.

Assess the conditions with a wide angle lens and make the choices that will move you closer to your goal.

Look for the things you DO agree with in a candidates platform and stop focusing on the things you don’t like. You can hold their feet to the fire about that later.

Vote for the one who actually has a chance of winning the race. Not the one with the best hair, or suit.

There is no on/off switch for our current state of affairs.

There is no messiah – no one is coming to save you.

Your vote counts.

Vote as if lives depend on it – because they do.

Vote as if it was YOUR life.

I tell my students – “The mettle of the magician is proofed in the effectiveness of their magic.”

Show us what you’ve got.

Prove your power.

-Angie