You Should Be “Into” Politics
Politics: Can’t live with ’em, might literally die without ‘em!!!
You know those friends you have (or had) who “just aren’t into politics?” I bet there’s something that most of them have in common. I shan’t say it because, if you’re subscribed to this newsletter or read any of them at all, you can probably guess what it is.
To some people, I’m sure that being ‘into politics” seems like a hobby, like woodworking, or making memes. And sure, for the rest of us, “being into politics” could be a hobby, if breathing or going to the bathroom was a hobby. When someone asks me if I’m “into politics,” it feels like they’re asking if I’m “into surviving” or “into being an autonomous human.”
I suppose it could be easy to consider politics a hobby if you know you’ll never have to worry about getting pregnant, or an abortion, or fearing for your life during childbirth. It could be easy if you’ve never had to worry about what you’re wearing when you walk down a dark street alone. It could be easy if no one’s ever thrown a racial slur at you. It could be easy if you wouldn’t blink at paying upwards of $1,000 for a visit to the ER. It could be easy if no one in your family is brown enough to worry about being stopped by the police, or a surprise visit from ICE.
Our political system was built and safeguarded to accommodate those who are male, those who are wealthy, those who are white, those who are not disabled, those who are cishet. And it churns on, unimpeded, as long as those people allow it to. It churns right on over the bodies of everyone else.
What I’m trying to say is that there is a very real human cost to people not caring. Real people die because other people just aren’t “into politics.”
Can I be depressing for a minute? There is a not-insignificant part of me that believes that the system will not meaningfully change no matter how much organizing the women, the people of color, the poor, the disabled, the queer do. Unless we are joined by those who have benefited from — and frankly, helped operate — that system, joined by those people in whom generations of power and authority have accumulated. At the end of the day, it’s those people whose voices carry farthest in rooms that look like this:
If you think black lives matter, you should be into politics. If you believe women, you should be into politics. If you also believe they should have control over their own bodies, you should be into politics. If you believe members of the LGBTQ community should be afforded the same rights and liberties as the straights, you should be into politics. If you believe in climate change and would like your children to not live in a nuclear wasteland, you should be into politics. If you’re at all alarmed or dissatisfied with the nature of our leadership, or how the world feels in general, you should be into politics.
It’s not enough, anymore, to just say these things, not that it ever really was. Do something. Do anything! Tell off your racist uncle. Text-bank with Build The Wave. Volunteer for a local progressive candidate. Canvass. Sign up to volunteer with Run For Something. Call your senators and tell them to fuck off when they do shitty stuff. And for god’s sake, vote on November 6. Get into politics. I’m so tired of seeing the women (and particularly the women of color) that I know — who are very exhausted, lemme tell ya — begging people to care.
Look, I know life is already busy and hard enough. But this is how we make the world better. It doesn’t get better on its own — in fact, left to its own devices, it’ll probably regress, and the unequally distributed power that operates it will curl in on itself even further.
There are so many women who are pushing through the exhaustion to not only do something, but take their place in rooms that look like the one above. They are slivers of light in an unending waking nightmare. You should care about them.
— Natalie, who is into surviving
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Where to start with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? At only 28, she challenged incumbent Democratic congressman Joe Crowley for his seat representing part of the Bronx and Queens — and won, having spent less than $200,000 to his $3.4 million. Before that, she was bartending to support her family. If she’s elected in the November midterms, she’ll be the youngest person to sit in the House of Representatives. My other favorite fact about her is that there are literally tens of thousands of Google search results for “Alexandria Ocasio Cortez lipstick” because she looks killer in every photo that’s ever been taken of her. Your congressman could never. Read more about her platform — which includes medicare for all, solidary with Puerto Rico, housing as a human right, and much more — here.
Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar is the first Somali-American elected to office in the country — she’s a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. But she’s also now the Democratic nominee to represent Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. If she wins in the November midterms, she could be the first Muslim woman elected to the House. Read about her stance on the issues — including rights for the LGBTQ community, gun control, investment in the arts, and more — here.
Ayanna Pressley
If she wins in November, Ayanna Pressley could become the first ever black representative for Massachusetts. She was the first woman of color elected to the Boston City Council before that, and challenged Democratic incumbent Michael Capuano for his nomination earlier this year, beating him by a margin of almost 20 percent. My other favorite thing that she’s done is call Trump “empathy-bankrupt.” The rallying cry of her campaign? “Change can’t wait.” Read about her platform — her belief in justice for victims of sexual violence, criminal justice reform, immigrant rights, and more — here.
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