Action Dissolves Anxiety
Action Dissolves Anxiety
Don’t despair, don’t freeze, take action
My name is Beatrice Murch and I’m “just one person” but part of a much larger community that I know cares for the state of Democracy in the United States of America. On July 1, 2024 the US Supreme Court passed a landmark decision giving the Office of the President of the USA immunity for what were deemed “Presidential Acts”. I was overcome with anxiety as I realized this was a fundamental shift in the rule of law of the USA. My fear gave rise to panic, my chest tightened, and I couldn’t breathe. I knew that this was as big of a societal change as the horrific events of September 11, 2001 but there were no traumatic images being played over and over to signify to the general public the severity of what had just happened.
After a day or two, I decided to TAKE ACTION to help SAVE DEMOCRACY instead of being paralyzed by fear and despair. As I have lived outside the USA since 2006, I signed up to volunteer with Democrats Abroad for the Biden/Harris campaign to get out the vote. Deciding to do something helped reset my nervous system and I was calm. I couldn’t do anything about the government, but I could talk with people and help get people registered to vote and ensure they had a plan for November. I also bought the domain actiondissolvesanxiety.com and spent the next couple of weeks creating the website in between everything else I have going on in life. I originally bought actionkillsanxiety, but given the violent events over the summer, I thought it better not to have “kills” in the domain name. There are concrete ways to get involved, but by no means is it a complete list. I want it to be simple, not anxiety producing, but encouraging folks to get involved and take action. You can listen to an AI made podcast about the website - it’s scarily on point and makes it sound so important.
Biden soon dropped out and the overwhelming energy for the Harris campaign has restored a sense of HOPE, not seen since the Obama campaign of 2008. I sincerely hope we cry with tears of joy like we did in November 2008 and not with despair like in November 2016. I want to offer options for others to take action to SAVE DEMOCRACY in 2024. I hope you #understandtheassignment and get involved. We need all hands on deck. Talk with your neighbors, friends, and family - ask them if they have a plan to vote, have them check their registration status as many voter rolls have been speciously purged.
In July, I volunteered with Democrats Abroad in the Netherlands and worked the booth at the Pride Parade in Amsterdam. It was energizing to speak with others who understand the gravity of the choices of this election. We helped ten people register to vote, raised over €900 to support our efforts going forward and had a great time. In times of crisis, helping others really can help yourself recenter.
In August and September I joined a communal effort by Democrats Abroad here in the Netherlands to write postcards to Americans living here encouraging them to register, request their ballot and vote blue all the way down the ballot.
Have you thought about how you can get involved? The author Robert Hubbell always ends his newsletter with ‘Opportunities for Reader Engagement’ and I love it. It is a concrete way to take action over the next 30 days! Talk with your neighbors, friends, and family - ask them if they have a plan to vote, have them check their registration status as many voter rolls have been speciously purged. Let’s gett’r done!