How to be politically active

This week, I spent time sitting quietly, resting my mind from the barrage of information, and reflecting on my own feelings.

I moved through the stages of political grief: denial, bargaining, and – the one media pundits love to stew on in times like this – blame. But after finding stillness again, I began meditating on the question that many of you may be asking yourselves this week: "Am I doing enough?"

That's a hard question. I'm informed, I volunteer to call and canvas during elections, I commiserate with my friends about the complex, nuanced issues that none of us have the power to solve. No one would say I'm not engaged politically. And yet, the more I sat with this question, the more I came to the conclusion that:

No, I'm not very politically active, and I'm not doing enough.

What does "politically active" mean?

There is no concrete definition of someone who is "politically active." There are no criteria. There's no test. But for a moment, let's replace the term "politically" with "physically."

Similarly, there is no strict criteria for what constitutes being "physically" active. But we likely wouldn't say that someone who knows about exercise, does it once or twice a year, and talks to their friends about exercise they wish other people would do is physically active.

If that person called themselves physically active, we'd call them a delusional poser.

Those who are truly physically active show up regularly, at least twice a week, and think about playing sports or exercising as simply part of the way they live their lives.

And being active for them means performing the action. Talking about exercise or consuming content about it is not being active. That's simply performative action.

Some of my heroes: Fannie Lou Hamer, George Mellor, and Jane Jacobs. Each of these people treated political activity like exercise. They showed up, day after day, and made it part of their lives.

It's hard to become politically active as they were, but it's only as hard as it is to become physically active. The three-part strategy matches one-to-one.

1. Pick a thing

Just like with physical activity, being politically active comes with a paradox of choice. Do you want to play tennis, lift weights, or run? Except, when choosing how to be politically active, whichever issue you choose to fight for comes with the guilt of not fighting for something else.

And in today's world of "social media activism," there's always an issue that seems more important and pressing – making it impossible to stick with something consistently and make real change.

I have no evidence to back this up, but I believe this is a major deterrent to true political activism: stigma. Not around being an activist (although this exists, especially for women), but around being the wrong kind of activist.

Well, let me be the one to just come out and say that anyone who diminishes your contribution to a cause because they think that cause is less important than another is probably a poser. And if they're not, they're being insufferable.

So, just pick a thing you care about. And if that's hard, pick a thing a friend of yours cares about and...

2. Do it together

There's this perception that both exercise and activism have to be grueling, difficult, and painful in order to be meaningful. But most physically and politically active people know that in order to make this a part of your life's practice, it has to be fun.

And just like with exercise, activism is more fun to do with other people.

Walking 20 miles can be a slog on your own, but feel like a breeze when you're chatting the whole time with people you like. So, get a group together that's willing to commit to doing something once a week, month, quarterly, whatever it is, and then...

3. Put it on your calendar

I'm the type of person that if I don't put it on my calendar, I won't do it. Therefore, making time for activism and fighting for an agenda needs to be baked into my life's agenda.

Over time, this standing appointment will just become a habit, a part of my life, something we work other things around. Just like how I have standing appointments to work out, sing, hang with friends, and spend quality time with my wife – everything I want to do is on my calendar.

Finally, with all of that preparation, it's time for the easy part...

4. Show up

After picking an issue, gathering a group, and putting it on your calendar, it's time to actually take action. And that will look differently for everyone.

In the context of exercise, getting to the gym is usually the hardest part. But once we're at the gym, it's very likely that we're going to do something. Walk on the treadmill, lift some weights, bike. The world is your oyster. The win is not what you accomplish in the gym, it's that you showed up.

In the context of being politically active, just showing up could mean spending 30 minutes with friends writing or calling your local representatives to express your concern for issues and demand action. It could mean holding signs on a street corner showing your support for a community in danger. It could mean going to a local council meeting and raising your voice.

And if you need more ideas, across your town or city there are likely dozens of organizations fighting for issues that are affecting your local community. Sign up for their newsletters, send them an email, ask how you can get involved.

That, in itself, can be a great first step.

Beware going too hard, too fast.

At this moment, you might be full of energy and ready to make being politically active your whole personality. I know that's how I'm feeling.

But remember that, just like with exercise, it's more important to start small with something you can easily commit to. Because the goal is to do this for the rest of your life. The practice has to be practical. It has to be sustainable.

The long road ahead

The next four years are going to be hard. We've realized that the cavalry isn't coming because we are the cavalry. So, we better start training and...

1. Pick a thing
2. Do it together
3. Put it on our calendars
4. Show up

For me, I've decided to get more involved in fighting for affordable housing in Charlottesville. To start, I've put it on my calendar to spend 30 minutes every Sunday crafting an email to my local city council sharing my concerns about homelessness and economic instability in the city. I've also subscribed to the event newsletters for two local organizations fighting for these issues so I can get involved.

I hope you'll keep me accountable to show up and do more.