Abandon Hope, It Will Set You Free

I know the title seems bleak but please hear me out.  For the last decade or so, Democratic voters have been told we have to vote out of fear, fear of Republicans taking more and more of our rights away.  Democratic politicians have decided that’s their winning strategy because they either can’t or won’t offer us hope anymore.  The last time they did was when Obama ran to the left, promising universal healthcare.  Then we didn’t get universal healthcare and perhaps that made the Democrats decide they can’t run on hope anymore because they know we know it’s an empty promise.

So, since our “leaders” have abandoned hope it makes sense that we should do the same. When I say abandon hope I am certainly not talking about hope in our country.  There is plenty of room for redemption in the US of A.  I’m suggesting that we abandon hope in our elected officials, especially those at the federal level.  The Democrats control the House, Senate and the White House.  Instead of codifying Roe or raising the federal minimum wage they hide behind spoilers Sinema and Manchin as if they have no power to discipline their ranks  (https://www.businessinsider.com/video-sen-kyrsten-sinemas-dramatic-thumbs-down-vote-against-15-minimum-wage-2021-3).  When Madison Cawthorn embarrassed Republicans by airing their dirty laundry they checked him hard and fast, they supported his opponent and he is no longer a politician (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMfOoWdaA7M).  The Democrats won’t do the same, at least not for the people who are tanking their agenda.  When it was time to rush a vote for Iron Dome funding for Israel the Democratic Party leadership managed to bully AOC into tearfully voting “present” rather than “no” which could have sunk that particular bill and kept it from the Senate (https://abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/2021/09/24/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-explains-why-voting-present-on-bill-to-fund-israels-iron-dome-moved-her-to-tears/).  I don’t even want to speculate why as it doesn’t matter; the Democrats have power but absolutely refuse to wield it effectively and it’s time to adjust to that reality we live in.

What do I mean when I say “adjust”?  I am talking about aggressive organizing, direct action and mutual aid.  I’m talking about engaging in politics the way we used to over a century ago, from the bottom up (https://history.delaware.gov/2020/08/25/history-at-the-beach-the-womens-christian-temperance-union-fountain/).  Take abortion for example.  Republicans are trying to make it illegal to even take or mail misoprostol pills.  That’s tyranny plain and simple, and our constitution insists that resisting tyranny is our fundamental right. A group of people called “Four Thieves Vinegar” are doing just that by acquiring the ingredients meant to make such pills, making and distributing their own medicine to women who need it     (https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjby4b/anarchist-collective-shares-instructions-to-make-diy-abortion-pills).  They understand the reality we are living in, they abandoned false hope and embraced their power.

That is what we have forgotten: we have power.  We do not need to wait or hope for our elected officials to do their jobs and we certainly do not need to resign ourselves to fearing Republicans. There are other examples of Americans exercising their power against tyranny; when politicians fail to make healthcare more affordable, groups of people organize bus rides into Canada to get affordable insulin for diabetics (https://allthatsinteresting.com/canada-insulin-caravan).  In reaction to politicians simply letting the homeless suffer other Americans have taken to setting up “free food fridges” where food insecure and/or homeless individuals can take what they need from ordinary people who want to help them within their means  (https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Grondahl-Jammella-Anderson-s-rise-from-food-16029560.php).

Americans are even more powerful when we engage in mutual aid, supporting each other directly rather than hoping our tax dollars will be spent effectively. The most bleak example that some of you probably already know about is GoFundMe; Americans reach out to each other for help in paying their medical bills (https://thegrio.com/2021/09/23/gofundme-medical-bills-health-care-system/).  This is an example of Democrats failing to control health care costs, Americans acknowledging that failure, giving up hope in those politicians and embracing their power by stepping in to try and alleviate the pain.  Donating to Food Not Bombs is another way that Americans help each other, specifically to help feed each other (https://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/index.php).

Direct action can sometimes be VERY direct, like putting your body on the line direct. Some years ago there was an instance in a small town in Tennessee where ICE was trying to drag a family from their home; their neighbors rallied around their house and blocked the entrance, protecting the family from state tyranny for as long as they could   (https://abcnews.go.com/US/tennessee-neighbors-form-human-chain-prevent-ice-arresting/story?id=64508277).  That is not only true humanitarian patriotism but again, it is power.  If you do not want your tax dollars going to violence and terrorism but your politicians won’t reflect your will then you can go out and force change with your own two hands.

Protecting fellow Americans against eviction is another form of both mutual aid and direct action.  If a renter can’t afford rent we can help them with that cost by creating a rent fund. If their landlord is refusing to do upkeep we can help the renter create an escrow account to legally deny their payments until the landlord does their job.  Perhaps the greatest way to give renters power is to help them organize into a Tenants Union.  Renters have the right to organize in order to negotiate with their landlords, just like workers are entitled to unionize for bargaining wages.  Organizing our neighbors into tenant unions is perhaps the best way we can start to do another thing our politicians won’t: control housing costs.  If renters are empowered to bargain that would force landlords to lower costs.

And this is just another reason to give up hope in our politicians.  In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the people decided to provide high speed internet as a public utility from the city. What happened after that? All over the country internet service providers lobbied to pass laws banning what the people of Chattanooga did, making it illegal for them to exercise their power, illegal for them to force these companies to compete with them (https://www.thedailybeast.com/chattanooga-has-its-own-broadbandwhy-doesnt-every-city).  Democrats for the most part sat by quietly and just let this happen, let property owners stifle the people’s rights. I personally am terrified at the thought of property owners doing the exact same thing here in Florida, taking away the right to organize tenant unions. I tell you about this with great trepidation because I know property owners have the power to take that away from us and our politicians will not attempt to stop them, to defend our rights. We already know Florida is hostile towards renters because our state has banned rent stabilization, so property owners have already exerted their power over us to an extent (https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/rent-control).  The city cannot control rent but individuals still can if they organize, if they start utilizing their power. And they would have to do so as quietly as possible.

Let me be clear, I am NOT saying that you shouldn’t vote.  Of course we should vote, it is both our right and our duty and Republican hostility towards us exercising that particular right shows that it is something that threatens them, it is something that still matters.  But voting is an action you only take every 2-4 years and even then it is a form of ceding your power to someone else who may or may not represent you as they should.  I am saying that we should treat voting like it is, the least effective way for us to exercise our power and thus the lowest on the list of priorities.  No, we don’t have to hope for other people to do their job, we have the power, we just need to direct our efforts where they are most effective.  Abandon hope in the people who have failed you and embrace your power and the power of your fellow citizens, it will make you feel better, make your community better and it will truly set you free.

-Shannon Scott