Only the beginning ...

2016: lots of people in my networks voting for Hillary Clinton.

2018: lots of people in my networks calling, canvassing, donating, writing, driving, attending, and voting for Democrats. So yeah, things are different.

This matters greatly. It’s about engagement, participation, democracy. If you were someone who showed up and put your body on the line, then you are the solution. When added together, when you and your friend and your neighbor and so on all get involved, things get better.

Even in defeat, and there were some hard ones to take, we win. Even if the vote tallies were not in our favor, the message being sent is that apathy is on the way out. We are ready to take on the dark forces at work in our society and no matter the outcome, we will not quit. Remember, the powers that be want us to be quiet, to not pay attention, and to get out of their way. We say no thanks to that horseshit.

This is our great march forward toward progress. And it has only begun. See you out there.

Vote Dems

On average, I am furiously outraged at the news 6–72 times a day. I am tired of the corruption and incompetence. I have had it with all the lies and deceit. And I can’t take anymore the idea that all our collective futures are getting ruined because the people in charge of our government are enacting some truly horrible policies with ramifications that will be with us for decades.

Despite all of that, and even setting aside the racism, sexism, and overall hateful bigotry of the current administration, there’s really only one reason that should compel someone to vote for the other political party. And that reason is this:

Checks and mothafuckin’ Balances, people!

Without checks and balances, power is abused. Without checks and balances, the worst is possible. Without checks and balances, our institutions cannot fulfill their promise of liberty and justice for all of us. I think this is one of the simplest ideas in all of the world. If you want large entities like government to work, you cannot have unchecked power. It leads to disaster.

So with that, if for no other reason, to restore checks and balances to our political ecosystem, VOTE DEMOCRAT!

Small ‘d’ democracy

I’ve hosted events, attended fundraisers, knocked doors, made phone calls, wrote notes, dropped off lit, and made many donations. I have a host of yard signs covering my yard. I’ve offered up my design skills in the making of posters and such to help candidates raise money and/or highlight important issues at stake in these upcoming elections. And I’ve been posting every day on a host of social media accounts about the importance of voting. And you know what? None of it is enough.

But hopefully, with all the contributions of everyone else, it adds up to be enough. Adding together the forces of anyone who cares about our democracy in the most important midterm election of our lifetimes, maybe that does the job. Alone, all my efforts were a drop in the bucket, but together, those efforts get multiplied. Because that’s how you do it. You do what you can do, how you do, and you make your mark. And so does another person, and another, and another. Living out this small ‘d’ democracy the best way we can.

We can help. We can make a difference. So let’s get out there! For an hour, for two. Toss in a few bucks. Maybe twenty. And if you voted early, then get to work on election day. Canvass, make calls, hold signs, make more calls, or drive voters. And then get ready to toast your favorite candidates who put their bodies on the line for our democracy. They did so for the good of the nation and the hope of our future.

Onward democracy!

GOTMFV

Less than a week away people! Time to get after it. Time to get out there and mother fucking vote! Early vote, regular vote, whatever is your thing, just make it happen. It matters. Big time. There are no substitutes. The most important thing you can do is vote. From there, everything else follows. But first, you gotta vote. #GOTMFV like a mofo.

The New American Boogeyman

Here we have a man. A man who has been given all the advantages in the world, including huge amounts of wealth, through cheating and fraud. He did not earn this wealth. He was privileged to it, because he is white and his father was very rich. This man now sits atop a government of suspicion and division. An ineffective government to be sure, but one so ineffective it’s reverberating disaster in many areas of our public life that will be with us for decades. And this man, so weak in his leadership, so steeped in his racism and bigotry, he cannot lead by example. No great speeches, no unity, no examples of appealing to our better nature. No, instead, he chooses to attack the most vulnerable, the most powerless, those without a voice, without a home, without a country. I give you the new American boogeyman: the refugee. 

Careful which side you pick in all this, you’ll be judged for it.

Less Capitalism, More Humanism

I’m asking for a design profession less focused on commerce. Less about higher billable hours and maximized profits. Creativity spent in the mission of moving goods and services is limited. It’s constrained by monetary structures that may or not have the best interest of creative work in mind. Where’s the heart? Where’s the community? Where’s the human?

Can we create a design community built on a human foundation rather than a capital one?

Why did I spend so much time doing this?

I’ve just finished my 7th (and final, at least for now) essay about America. I’m not a writer so it did take me awhile. And the stories aren’t as good as if an actual writer did the same project. But I still think they matter. Why? Short answer: because they’re timely, personal, and as political pieces they were written by someone who doesn’t (really) work in politics.

So here are my notes. Why I spent so much time working on these stories. And full discloser, I did enjoy all the reworking, restructuring, and refining. As a person who spends most of his days concerned with images it was nice to be so concerned with the words. 

And why so concerned with America? Well, because:

• I think these times are extraordinary. Whether you whole-heartedly support what’s been happening to America in the last two years or you whole-heartedly don’t, I really wanted to go on the record in all this madness. While it was still happening. Without much distance for reflection. Instead, a gut level response to the events that will shape our lifetimes for decades to come.

• I’ve always (and I mean always) been very concerned with what it means to be an American. From a very young age. My grandfather, like so many others, fought against fascism in WWII. When he was 22 he was fighting Nazis. When I was 22 I didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do with my life. He did something consequential, how was I going to do that? The fact that I live in America at this moment in time, seems to me, that I should do something that matters. Still working on what exactly that is.

• I’m not professionally qualified to write on any of the topics covered aside from the finer point that I’m an American citizen and I think every American citizen should do the same thing I did. Meaning, don’t just root and cheer or bitch and moan in the privacy of your own head. Get your thoughts out there because the process of doing so is beneficial to both you and others.

• Even though I’m professionally qualified to be a graphic designer, and after all these years that’s where I put on the most comfortable hat, I do technically work in politics. I’ve designed for activist campaigns, politicians, and other political efforts. The highlight? President Obama’s re-election campaign. But still, I speak the language of design, not politics. So when I have taken to long form writing, it’s typically been about design. And process. And projects. Things I am, in fact, an expert on. But I suppose I brush up close enough to the world of politics where I felt I needed to evolve a bit. And that I had something interesting to say.

• I’m super liberal. I’m quite an informed citizen—NPR, the New York Times, all sorts of political podcast. I live in a very Republican red state. And I grew up in a super duper conservative small town where Democrats were referred to as baby-killers, terrorist-sympathizers, and anti-America. It was great. Mashing all that together for a series of stories about America, that should be interesting, yeah?

• Just something to note. If you’re a conservative, don’t let your kids grow up listening to punk rock. There’s no telling what will happen.

• Also, note. These stories were written for readers. My editor really pushed to also make them scannable with a good amount of subheads. In the end, I always agreed with her. I mean 16 minutes, whose gonna read something that long?

• I wanted to work on my writing. This was as good an exercise as any. Hence, I worked with an editor and each story was fine-tuned so it was presented in the way I fully intended. Not just spouting off on Facebook here and there.

I think that’s it. If you’re interested, you can read all 7 stories on Medium.