This will likely sink, but I hope some may read my thoughts. Writing them out helped. [View all]

[Betty Boom]

What would I have done?

My ancestry is 100% German. My ancestors mostly left Germany 1840-1860, but I have occasionally thought about what might have happened if they had not. Would I have close relatives who turned their heads as fascism and autocracy were upon them? Would they have been “good Germans,” as the expression went? Or would they have fought it?

It’s not an understatement to say we are in a moment where democracy is in peril. This is our 1933 Germany, my friends. And I have done my best to answer the question I pose to myself every day: what would I have done? And so for weeks now, I have risen every day, and I have phone banked. I have heard the fear and the anxiety of so many voices on the phone. And I have done what we were called to do: I have left it all on the field. I have done what I could do. And now it’s up to the rest of my fellow citizens to do the right thing, to confirm that they know the choices are binary, and to vote accordingly.

Do we choose cruelty, or do we choose kindness?

Do we choose to “other-ise” our fellow citizens and recent immigrants — or do we choose inclusiveness and an understanding that the strength of our country has always been that it is a melting pot of cultures and beliefs?

Do we embrace misogyny and racism and xenophobia and homophobia — or do we reject those weaknesses as remnants of a disgraceful past?

Do we celebrate leaders who seek to divide us — or do we embrace those who seek to unite us?

Do we want our children to see narcissism, lying, grifting, cheating, being a sore loser, and never admitting when they are wrong as being the traits of a leader — or do we want them to see that leaders are people of character who accept defeat with grace and dignity, who admit when they are wrong and then apologize?

Do we excuse incoherent ramblings bordering on dementia — or do we want a clear-eyed, rational, articulate leader at the helm?

Do we want a leader who operates within the conspiracy theory, anti-science sphere — or do we want an educated leader who respects expertise and science?

Do we want a government that respects the rights of families to make private medical decisions — or do we think the government should control those decisions?

Do we want an America that wallows in resentment, hatred, and fantasies of revenge and retribution — or do we want to move on, and rid our nation of the political minefields that have estranged friends and family?

Do we want a petulant adolescent at the helm, or do we want an adult?

Do we know that bullying is not strength — it is weakness?

It bears repeating. Do we choose cruelty, or do we choose kindness?

Please choose kindness, America. The whole world is watching and waiting to see the true character of this country I love so much. I hope that I am not disappointed. But if I am, I will continue to fight.

I will fight until this darkness is vanquished.