What We Can Do: Postcards to Swing States

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I like to think of myself as a “put your money where your mouth is” person.  I find social media justice warriors and people who make a lot of noise but never seem to actually do anything to be extremely annoying.   

I don’t care how great a writer you are; no Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, or TikTok post is going to fix what is wrong in our country right now. 

Publicly declaring your stance seems like a logical first step, but I don’t think it should be the only thing we do.  I never meant for my post last week to be all that I did.  It was part rant and part declaration of where I stand. 

I’ve spent the past week trying to decide what I’m going to do.  My blog is so small, I’m not even sure it’s accurate to call it a platform, but it’s what I have, so I’m going to use it.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how bad things are right now.  I think most people are exhausted and already feel pulled in a million different directions.  That can lead to paralysis and make it feel like things are so bad that it doesn’t matter if we do anything or not. 

I suspect that’s how evil wins: by exhausting and demoralizing the decent people who are trying to fight for what’s good and kind. 

Fortunately, there are so many people out there who haven’t given up and are continuing to fight to uphold basic human decency.  The bravery and dedication of some of the people in the ICE terrorized cities is inspiring. 

Not all of us are in a position to attend protests.  Not everyone can be as vocal and visible in how they resist.  But I firmly believe that we can all do something.  To that end, I’m committing to making Wednesday the day that I share something we can do. 

In all likelihood, they will be tiny, quiet things, but hopefully, that’s better than nothing.

This week, I would like to share Postcards to Swing States with you.  They currently have one campaign going on, which is News Boosting Postcards.  Per their website, these postcards are to “help combat disinformation and make sure voters in states with key elections in 2026 learn how harmful the Trump/GOP agenda is for them. We’ll send you free postcards, voter lists and instructions. You’ll provide the stamps and have until April to write the postcards.”

They provide the postcards (free of charge), scripts, and addresses, and you’re responsible for writing and mailing them on the appropriate date.  You can order them in increments of 100, and there’s an option to choose to send them to Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, or where most needed.

I ordered 500 and chose to send them where most needed.  It was very tempting to choose North Carolina since that’s where I live, but I feel like the people running this have a lot more experience than I do, and therefore, a much better idea of where they’ll do the most good. 

I only recently ordered mine, so I haven’t received them yet, but I’ll keep you updated on when I get them and how it goes.  

I Have to Say This

I’ve been trying to write this post for a few days now. It’s a struggle to find the right words.

The words still aren’t right, and it’s rambly, but I have to say this.

Renee Good should still be alive.

Liam Ramos should be in preschool, not a detention center.

Alex Pretti should still be alive and caring for patients.

No one should be so terrified of being sent to a concentration camp that they cannot leave their house to go to work or the grocery store.

What’s happening in America is not okay.

If you are okay with what is happening, with mothers being murdered in the street, with children being used as bait, with ICU nurses being murdered for trying to help, then we’re not friends.  Not in real life, not online, not in any way. 

I’ve never considered myself a very political person.  I still don’t.  I would like to think I’m a decent person, though, and I cannot reconcile basic human decency with quietly ignoring what is happening. 

I’m not a political blogger.  I never have been.  Anytime I’ve had to classify my blog, I’ve clicked “lifestyle” because it’s mainly about the things in my life, the things that are important to me.  Most of those things are frivolous and silly, but they make me happy, so I share them. 

But, if you are murdered by your government, you cannot drink sweet tea, you cannot rescue cats, you cannot feed groundhogs, you cannot cook for the people you love, you will not see another spring, and you will miss out on so many things you should be there for. 

I am older than Renee Good and Alex Pretti were.  I’ve had years more to do and write about the things that matter to me and that make me happy.  And there’s still so much I want to do.  All of that was stolen from them. 

I don’t consider it “political” to say that it is not okay when what is essentially a masked army descends on a community and begins murdering citizens in the streets.  I call that basic human empathy. 

No one should live in fear because of the color of their skin or the accent they speak with.

No one should live in fear because of who they love.

No one should live in fear because of how they worship (or don’t worship).

No one should be murdered because they tried to be a good person and help their neighbors.

We are not okay.  What is happening in our country is not okay.

I don’t know how we got here, and I honestly don’t know how we come back from this.  But I am sure it is NOT by being silent. 

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” 

I’m still not a political blogger, but I’m also not going to be silent about what is happening.  Silence isn’t going to fix this.