These past few weeks have been tough on America, and many of us are still grieving, wallowing in our anger and sadness, and that is okay. You may have gone out and protested, or maybe you just stayed in bed wondering what went wrong. However, while you’re probably patting yourself on the back right about now for surviving election season, our work is far from over. We don’t have time to be sad. We need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get to work. So here are just a few ways you can help get America back on its feet, and prepare itself for the upcoming year and years to come.
1. Subscribe to reliable news sources
This is a pretty simple one. If you want to stay well informed, make sure you focus your attention on trustworthy sources in order to stay informed and you’ll be supporting free press and media in the process! (A great source would be NYT.)
2. Have ADULT conversations
Of course, anger tends to be an easy emotion to display during a conversation, and a civil discussion tends to turn into a heated argument. But now, take a deep breath and have those civil conversations with people who may not agree with you. And importantly, no more un-friending people with different reactions to this election. That just won’t help.
3. Donate, donate, donate (and volunteer!!!)
Whether it’s $5 or $50, whatever you can give, make sure you take the time to donate to organizations that need our help. These include Planned Parenthood, ADL (Anti-Defamation League), NRDC (National Resources Defense Council), IRAP (International Refugee Assistance Project, just to name a few. They need your help and support now more than ever. One easy way to donate is to buy this sticker. All proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood, ADL, and ACLU!
4. Create petitions or sign petitions
Go to https://petitions.whitehouse.gov to petition the White House. Every voice, every opinion, every signature counts.
5. Show up!!!!
This one is pretty easy. Showing up is the first half of the battle. Go to local events, join clubs at your school, volunteer, make calls, etc. All you’ve got to do is show up and keep showing up. You can even ‘show up’ online by joining facebook groups such as “#imwithus” and “Pantsuit Nation.” These are really amazing and safe spaces to have your voice heard and to hear what others have to say. This alone gives you an entire world of opportunities to help out post-election.
But most importantly, do not stop fighting. Hillary’s message is by no means lost. Trump’s victory only allows us to make that message louder and louder each and every day.