It’s November 4, 2020 and the Biden/Harris ticket has won the election decisively. Or maybe it’s November 10, because accurate counts take time, but the win is still decisive. America has done it! There won’t be another four years of maliciously orchestrated chaos and destruction coming from the highest office in the land. We did it. We mobilized. We voted in numbers that overcame every attempt to tamper with the count. We breathe a sigh of relief.
Not so fast.
Voting is not, nor has it ever been the beginning or the end of our political obligation. Yes, we like to hyper-focus on this one day, mostly to absolve ourselves of the responsibility of having to think about and engage with our governance every day. Why, after all, would we want that? We have more important things to do like build careers, have families, live life and…argue about who should have Birkin Bags? And that narrative serves a variety of monied interests, from media conglomerates to political parties, because it fosters a finite engagement with our elected officials and allows them to operate frequently with little to no accountability. But particularly in this political moment, when so much is at stake, voting is just the very beginning of what we must do, if we do not want to see this country devolve further into sectarian politics and violence.
So the question is more than “Did you vote?” The question is “What will you do next?”
There are multiple levels of action and responsibility that will be necessary in order to ensure the transfer of power from this endlessly corrupt administration. Our elected officials, of every political stripe, must stand firm and united in their insistence that the loser take the necessary steps to transition out of office. Our military must commit to standing with the newly elected administration and to not supporting any attempts at a coup from the departing administration. Our media must cease to justify the authoritarian actions of the corrupt in the name of unbiased journalism. Journalism is not the act of having representatives from “both sides,” it is a factfinding mission. Our media must present the facts and let them speak for themselves. It must offer no quarter for justifications for a coup.
In all of this, we, the every day American may have the biggest role to play.
And when I say we, I am largely talking to white people because it’s primarily your people who are about to go crazy when their leader loses. What will you do to stop them from taking to the streets to commit acts of violence in the wake of this loss? Have no doubt, this is what they plan. You know because you have heard them talking about it already. Perhaps you have tried to downplay it as a joke, but we have already seen Kyle Rittenhouse and the Wolverine Watchmen. Be clear, there are groups all over this nation that are currently plotting similar acts of violence. These are not amorphous mobs of humanity, though. These are your fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, nieces and nephews. These are your kin.
So what will you do when they begin to mobilize? Will you go to their homes to stop them? Will you stand in their way and place yourself between them and the people they intend to harm? Will you take action to stop them from tearing apart this democracy (such as it is) brick by brick? Because that’s probably what it will take.
We want to look to our institutions to save us, but the track record — particularly under this administration — is bleak. Again and again, we have watched as the institutions that we have expected to hold firm have kowtowed in the face of the annihilating corruption of this administration. We have watched the people who are supposed to serve and protect offer water, words of encouragement and thanks to “Proud Boys” and white supremacists.
In this moment, we cannot rely on our institutions. We must rely on ourselves.
This is not a call to match violent intent with violent intent, but rather to encourage you to make a plan (one that will keep everyone involved safe). Decide now what you are willing to do to sustain this democracy. It is not perfect…but the alternative that is being offered is far, far worse.
So yes, your vote today is important. But perhaps more important is what you do tomorrow.
