The next ten days

Will democracy prevail?

Author

Tracy Malloy-Curtis
October 25, 2024

This weekend, I won’t be heading off to the CGP Conference (held in Florida, a state where it is dangerous for any woman or person capable of being pregnant to travel). I’ll be canvassing to try to ensure that 10 days from now, America remains a democracy, flawed as it may be. Because there is a good chance that half of my fellow Americans will hand the country back to someone his own generals describe as “fascist to the core”, who is eager to deploy the military against his enemies (journalists, activists, Democrats, immigrants, queer people, women….); who has a cadre of smart, evil people standing by with their 900-page playbook to dismantle the government; and who is actively encouraging armed vigilantes. And who, along with his sidekick Elon Musk as well as state actors like Russia, is the country’s most prolific exploiter of misinformation, lies, and conspiracies. The groundwork has been laid to disqualify the will of the people and their right to choose their own leaders.

I’d like to take my son canvassing with me – he’s thoughtful, informed, and principled. But I live in a place where a lot of people have guns and where people in my neighborhood are flying black American flags, meaning that when the civil war they are hoping for arrives, they plan to kill the enemy on the spot. I don’t want to risk his life by participating in civic engagement.

My son is 16 and just pre-registered to vote. He told me that he was looking forward to casting his first vote in the 2026 mid-terms. I’m worried he’ll never get that chance. Not only because half the country apparently wants to hand this country over to a fascist, but because so many will never bother to show up. In 2020, 81 million eligible people did not turn out to vote.

Don’t be one of them.

In the meantime, as a fundraiser, I recommend sending some support to groups working tirelessly to ensure that this will not be the outcome, and to protect those most at risk: