The message below was sent on February 15 to all subscribers to our email list. If you don’t already subscribe, you can sign up to receive occasional emails from us here. (I promise; we will NOT flood your inbox.)
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Greetings Knox County Democrats!
I hope you are all finding ways to take care of yourselves. When we are grounded, we can find strength to take action. And action is a powerful antidote to being overwhelmed and depressed.
There’s so much we can all do now to save our country, in spite of Trump, Musk, DOGE, and all of the other villains in our face on a daily basis.
Here are four tangible and relatively simple actions we suggest:
1. Most important! Call our elected officials and let them know what you think. An app, called “5 calls,” available in the iPhone and Google Play stores, makes this easy, at least for federal issues. To get the app, search “5 calls” in the appropriate store for your phone, then download and install it. Set your location and you’ll see a list of issues, whom to call (including phone numbers), and a script that suggests what to say. It’s so easy! I try to make at least one call a day, so I know I have done something.
2. For Ohio-specific issues (and there are plenty of them), your best bet is to follow How Things Work in the Ohio Statehouse on Facebook. The woman who runs this effort, Rachel Coyle, is an amazing activist. You’ll find out about the concerning activities in the statehouse, and what you can do to respond. The Knox County Democratic Party tries to communicate some of this through our various channels, but we’ll never be as thorough as Rachel. If you don’t want to use Facebook, you can sign up for emails from Rachel.
3. Join a group of people spreading pro-democracy values and calling out the current outrage. Knox Democrat Janet Chandler and a team of writers will lead a three-session training for anyone wishing to develop skills to effectively reach Knox Countians via letters to the editor or on your social media platforms. The trainings will be held at the Knox County Democratic Party office at 9 E. Vine Street, in Mount Vernon, on:
– Wed, March 12, 6-8 pm
– Mon, March 17, 6-8 pm
– Mon, April 7, 6-8 pm
Space is limited, so registration is required. To get further information and to register, please email Janet at walkanddance@gmail.com.
4. Don’t forget about Signs on the Square – every Saturday for just ½ hour, 1:00-1:30 pm. Meet up with lovely, like-minded people on Mount Vernon’s Public Square and hold a sign – which can be one that you make, or one that you select from the batch always available. This group is closely allied but not directly associated with the Knox County Dems. For more information and to be added an “Autocracy Call List,” email Joan Slonczewski at slonczewski@kenyon.edu.
A few final notes:
Follow our website, Facebook page, Instagram, and even now Bluesky for updates and ongoing thoughts on what’s helpful. Soon we’ll publish a list of resources that some of us view or read as often as we can, and we’ll leave commenting open in hopes that you will share your suggestions.
And, remember, our office at 9 E. Vine Street is open every Wednesday and Saturday, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. Our chair, Kathy Tate, is usually there, but no matter whom you meet in the office, I’m confident you’ll have a great conversation with a helpful and knowledgeable soul.
Let’s go make some calls right now!
P.S. A list of our state and federal elected officials, with phone numbers, is available here.