10-23-23 Newsletter

 

"GLEAMS OF GOLD IN THE DARKNESS" "Nevertheless those who create, who nurture, who produce music or paintings or poems or novels, who produce treatments and even cures for deadly diseases, who are scholars, artists, naturalists, scientists, those who love in the face of hate, who do the right thing when the wrong thing would be so much easier---what they produce is not hope, but life itself: a reason to live and to persevere in spite of all the horrors, and with no guarantee that anything will get better. "Without those remarkable people, human existence would be, perhaps, entirely  unbearable. Because of them, there are gleams of gold in the darkness." -- Willoughby, reader's comment, Steady newsletter, October 15, 2023 RESISTANCE AND RENOVATION We must resist the sense of helplessness that comes with tracking the news. Suggestions for staying engaged and hopeful: • Check out Chop Wood, Carry Water every Sunday for good news from around the world, and note how citizen activists helped achieve success. Yesterday's edition is here. • Stay informed. Current polling on many issues reveals that many Americans don't have accurate information. Social media is a hotbed of misinformation, much of it created and spread by Russia. Check out reputable news sources, preferably more than one. • Activate your inner activist. Many effective grassroots groups are working to elect progressive candidates, support important ballot issues, and defeat the spread of Trump-allied propaganda and candidates. Those groups need you for essential pro-democracy work. Sign up to work or donate. • Stay in touch with your elected leaders at various levels of government. City, county, state, and federal contact info is at www.incoregon.org. Most elected officials welcome phone calls, postcards, and emails. "In other words, democracy renovation is underway all over the country. And a lot of people are passionate about it."  -- Danielle Allen, The Washington Post, October 19, 2023.  You can read more about democracy renovation here. AMERICAN IDENTITY "But “American” is not an ethnic identity. It is a choice, a bond to the Constitution and its ideals. America is not a defense compact or a customs union. It is a statement: Human beings have rights that can never be taken away, and our nation values and defends those rights." -- Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, October 16, 2023 -- The Lincoln Project INCO INSIGHTS "As journalists have occasionally said, What is there that will happen next that you can't even imagine?" -- Paul Lauterbur, Nobel Prize for Medicine, 2003 Indivisible defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website or here. Look for the INCO column in Hipfish Monthly. We're on Facebook, too. INCO Weekly Newsletter   October 23, 2023 Website Email Twitter Copyright © 2023 INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or signed up at a community group meeting. Our mailing address is: *|766 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103:HTML|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.