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There’s No Going Back

contributed by Carrie Jones

TCDP chair, precinct 362

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Many of us, myself included, fondly remember the days of our pre-Trump “normal” lives, where we could focus on our families, friends, hobbies, and health. We knew that our elected officials would uphold the law, political norms would prevail, and our Democracy was strong.

 

In 2016, reality came crashing in. Unbeknownst to many of us, conservatives had been working for decades to transform our courts, gerrymander our voting districts, and install right-wing politicians in every corner of American society. We Democrats were caught sleeping.

 

But we have woken up, and a new awareness of the importance of our electoral systems, from local to national, has grown. Right-wing organizations are still infiltrating our government, even supporting candidates in our LTISD school board election and the TCAD election on May 4th. But we now know what’s happening and they can’t hide any longer. Through voter education efforts, we are shining light on their efforts and keeping our folks informed and engaged.

 

We can’t ever return to the blissful naïveté that we enjoyed years ago. And it’s exhausting and frustrating work to stay informed, but we now know the consequences if we don’t. For each and every election, we must stay vigilant, educate ourselves on the candidates, get involved, and vote in Each and Every Election.

 

Our future, our children’s future, our grandchildren’s future and our communities’ future depend on it.

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