Timothy and I were closely allied political wonks. (I won’t say junkies, because it was candidates’ policies we were more interested in than fistfights between politicians.) We often watched the Democratic National Convention online together, as well as debates, campaign news, & etc & etc. I was therefore thrilled to watch the first night of the 2020 ‘Year of Weird’ convention via Zoom with some friends, complete with beer and pretzels, to feel a touch of the happier times.
Charlie and I — one-time Berniecrats — were keen to hear Bernie Sanders speak, but I was also impatient to hear Michelle Obama. Her speech from the 2016 convention was electrifying and so heartfelt. “When they go low, we go high” rings in my ears whenever I feel an impulse to provide a snappy answer to a challengingly-posed question. I try to follow her guide and reply calmly, thoughtfully, from the heart and not from a place of fear.
The moments of her speech that caught my eye and ear this year are already famous, less than 24 hours after the speech. Top of the list must be her resigned, “It is what it is.” But I laughed out loud when she delivered her exhortation to “Vote like your life depends on it.”
There’s an old campaigner’s saw that jokes “Vote early, vote often!” We’d never advocate for the latter, but given the efforts around voter suppression in parts of the country (and already-noted attacks on the US Postal Service), we sure advocate for the first. There’s advice for all voters in the campaign “More Than a Vote,” too.
Thanks, Michelle, for the reminder. We got this.