Tom Adams

The 2024 Elections: Step up or Step Back?

Our local community newspaper, the Greenbelt News Review, had a fictional story last week about the 2024 elections When Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils Makes Sense. The writer describes the dilemma of the person who doesn’t like either candidate. After some reflection, the person decided the best way t was to not vote at all.

Values that endure – Fifty years of Connecting Communities and Hope

This week’s post is about how a small enterprise built on hope and shared commitments can endure and continue to do good. I recently relearned this lesson by attending the 50th anniversary of Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore (NHS), an organization where I had the privilege of serving as its first executive director fifty years ago.

Leaving the Addiction Switch in the Off Position, the Recovery Choice

I have been in recovery quite literally my entire adult life. The early days were very difficult. I was 21 years old attempting to stay in recovery and avoid all alcohol and other drug use while my peer group was in full experimentation mode. As I developed what is called recovery capital, recovery became easier. Yet, it is important for me to note here for readers that recovery is something I need to pay attention to. I take care of myself to stay in recovery. I am a few weeks shy of 38 years in recovery, I have developed a lot of recovery capital. Yet sustaining recovery still takes effort.

Pondering Christian Realism

A couple of months ago, I listened online to a talk by professor Kevin Carnahan about Christian Realism. It’s a perspective I hadn’t encountered before, at least not in these terms. I thought I would share some of my thoughts about it here in case you might find the connections I’m making helpful.

Faith and our duties as citizens

I’ve been writing recently about how faith and values lead me to certain actions as a voting citizen of the US. This post shares some lessons and observations on this topic and raises some questions to consider. The September 10 Presidential debate made real one more time the difference between an anti-immigrant, fear-based message, and a message of hope and inclusion. There is a lot at stake this election.

Walking the Earth

We are all walkers. Sometime during our first year on this earth, we took our first steps. Now I doubt that anyone of us remembers those first tentative steps on our own two feet. But I bet our parents remembered them and took pride in watching us teeter along. It’s what we did when we witnessed our children’s first steps. Walking defines us as a species. We are the species that stands up and walks.

Who you gonna call? Faith and the 2024 Election

The Spirit is moving in amazing ways in America these days. Watching the Democratic National Convention last week was like attending a summer revival and a national retreat on why living from faith, hope and love lead to joy! I have been away at the beach and was planning to take this week off and share a post a friend wrote that seems so relevant to our national discourse and election. Instead, I was so moved by my experience of the convention that I want to try to express my notions on what follows this amazing show of unity and love.

The 2024 Elections: Step up or Step Back?

Our local community newspaper, the Greenbelt News Review, had a fictional story last week about the 2024 elections When Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils Makes Sense. The writer describes the dilemma of the person who doesn’t like either candidate. After some reflection, the person decided the best way t was to not vote at all.

The story then describes 10 people and their reactions to two finalists Donnie and Kammie. Five can’t stand Donnie, four think he is the best. Two of those who don’t like Donnie don’t like Kammie either. So in the end Donnie gets his votes from his four admirers, Kammie gets three votes, and three people don’t vote. This pattern is repeated enough times that Donnie wins. And Kammie’s supporters can’t understand how this happened.

A lot of people are excited about Kamala Harris and her campaign. So too, a lot of people continue to think Donald Trump is the way forward for America; they are committed to continued economic gains for the wealthy, and white domination of America’s power structure.

Because this election is important to racial justice and democracy in our country, I am encouraging everyone to take the dive into the messy pool of the 2024 election; please act now. Like the voter who doesn’t like either candidate, we all have a choice. Step into increased involvement in this election or step back and see what happens?

While stepping back is tempting, the results are scary for our country. There is less than a month before the Nov 5 election. Early voting has begun or will begin soon in many places. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT.

To build and sustain a loving just community, we need each other. Despite prevalent myths, no hero leader succeeds alone. We need each other to engage in the 2024 election, and take the actions our heart and faith tell us will advance a more just and loving world.

Here are some actions I and other friends are taking. Decide what stepping up means for you, and commit to whatever actions you decide. Here are four of many choices:

Make sure everyone you know is planning to vote. If you wonder whether someone plans to vote, call them and share your concern about the election and the importance of every vote. There’s plenty of polling data that shows how close the races are in so many places. Check out any data relevant for your calls, then make the calls.
Write letters to voters in swing states sharing why you think voting is important, and encouraging that person to vote. A nonpartisan national nonprofit Vote Forward has developed a guide for how to write letters, provides addresses and sample templates for your letters. Check out their simple Guide. Geraldine and I have joined our niece, our neighbor, and two other friends who are actively writing letters. Join us – it’s easy!
A friend in Oregon is doing what is called “deep canvassing” by phone for Montana; another friend from MD is doing in person deep canvassing in Pennsylvania. Deep canvassing seeks to bring compassion, deep listening and democratic values to voter outreach. There are opportunities to be trained on line and to carry out this effective technique from home or on site. Local organizations like Silver Spring Progressive Action in the Washington DC area or national organizations like Deep Canvass Institute offer a range of ways to get involved, and support for deep canvassing or other outreach efforts. Check them out, then consider giving it a try.
Campaigns sadly cost a lot of money. The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case in 2010 makes it possible for wealthy people to invest large amounts of money, and influence election outcomes. For democracy to prevail, all people need to invest in campaigns important to our democracy. If you give a little now, you probably will be deluged with requests for more. Ignore all the requests, and develop your own path to decide which candidates to support and how much. I have found talking to friends in different parts of the country about their choices very helpful. Stay informed and give what you can.

Voting is a public responsibility and a private matter. It’s time for us to step into what’s ours to do this election cycle.