Ending my own silence. Democracy. Being single.

I've been so busy. Democracy will not continue without us all fighting to keep our democracy.

I didn’t plan to focus so much of my life on helping save our democracy.

Did you?

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Plus, it turns out I’m not a good advertiser of the work I do. Those of you who know me know this is true. I’m more of a quiet stealth operator than a public display person.

In these last weeks of being quiet here while I’ve been doing political activism, it turns out I’ve lost two paid subscribers.

I just learned this. It hurt. And it makes sense.

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The work I stepped into without thinking about it, and where I’ve been spending most of my time, is marshaling. I help get marshals trained, organized, prepared for the next demonstration, and the next. Along the way, and most importantly, I’m helping build a marshal community, a community of marshals that care about each other, that care about all of us.

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We’re going to need community as we make our way through these 4 years. How else will we manage, and why would we try?

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A friend of mine is creating sewing circles in her backyard garden. She has me thinking this morning about Pete Seeger singing the Garden Song.

“Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow…

Please bless these seeds I sow.”

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I didn’t think until recently about how closely aligned marshaling is with sex education.

Marshals help keep our communities safe, connected, uplifted, joyful, and protected from harm. This includes our bodies, and our bodies together with other bodies. Marshals help protect our First Amendment right to use our voices.

Sex educators help keep our communities safe, connected, uplifted, joyful, and protected from harm. This includes our bodies, and our bodies together with other bodies. Sex educators help protect our First Amendment right to use our voices.

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The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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I’m curious about me, sex educator, taking on the work of developing a solid marshal community.

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Are we aware of how close we are to losing our democracy? It’s a question I want to ask my friends. Not the friends who are full-time in on the work of now, but the friends who aren’t yet.

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Related to marshaling, to being a sex educator, to living in these times:

Things I love about being single include having all the time I want to work on helping save our democracy; waking in the morning, sometimes well before dawn, to sink into hot water and first prayer; walking out late at night with my old dog, to see if the moon might be rising over the steeple of the church just up the block, or whether she might just be rising up over my own home; feeling deep pride in figuring out how to be capably disabled, which is quite something; making a special meal, which could be peach ice cream, or could be broccoli rabe with brown rice and crispy tofu, just for me.

Things I’m looking forward to sharing with my to-be lover include working together to help save our democracy; waking in the morning, sometimes well before dawn, to sink into hot water and first prayer; walking out late at night with my old dog, to see if the moon might be rising over the steeple of the church just up the block, or whether she might just be rising up over my own home; feeling deep pride in being capably disabled in relationship, which would be quite something; making a special meal, which could be peach ice cream, or could be broccoli rabe with brown rice and crispy tofu, and eating it together, perhaps outside on my front porch, the string of lights lighting up our love.

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Either way, single or with my to-be lover, I’ll be joining my friend in her backyard, where a group of folks will be stitching the world back together.

Maybe her sweetie will be playing Pete Seeger songs on his banjo.

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This will be after this Saturday, June 14th, when I’ll be with you, all of you, on the streets, saving our democracy.

I’ll be one of many wearing a yellow vest, helping keep us all safe while we do the necessary work of now.