The State of the Union is that we are suffering

Make no mistake…the state of the union is deeply problematic - full of political platitudes and lip service from politicians who are just peddling for more of the same. Policing, like privatized healthcare and housing, cannot be reformed. It can only be reimagined. 

And yet each year we endure a SOTU that doesn’t go nearly far enough to address the many intersecting crises we are facing.

Are we in a better place than four years ago? Arguably. Is it enough? Not even close. The true State of the Union is that we are sick and suffering; and no amount of incremental change to an already broken system is going to get us well.

But it’s not just about “them”, it’s about us. Those of us who are yearning for whole transformation, cannot just talk about the change we wish to see in thew world we must live it everyday. Prefigurative politics challenges us to plant the seed of tomorrow into the soil of today.

May we turn towards each other and practice our vision for tommorow today.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @WorkingFamilies

NTK

• Many of the people rising for Nichols’s parents during the State of the Union didn’t do enough to prevent his death—and quite a few did worse than that. Congress Shouldn’t Clap for Tyre Nichols’s Parents—They Should Apologize

• From raging against the “woke mob" to belly-aching about left-wing “indoctrination,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders revealed that the GOP is still hanging its hat on the culture war.

• To serve the needs of all, we need an understanding of how modern medicine was set up, the biases that are embedded in the structures of health care and strategies to transform those structures. The role of deep medicine and cultural safety.

• The uncertainty around what one Trump-appointed judge in Texas could do to further decimate access to abortion has raised a slew of questions about the limits of the federal government’s powers. Here is what you need to know about the court ruling that could create an abortion crisis.

• “You Don’t Have to Be Complicit in Our Culture of Destruction”. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass argues for a new way of living.

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SOLIDARITY

We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re already seeing the dangerous and heartbreaking and other states around the country. Additionally, a court decision (by a Trump appointed judge) is expected to come down as soon as tomorrow that could ban abortion pills nationwide. Here’s what you need to know from our friends at @VOTEPROCHOICE:

Care is not criminal: Anti abortion extremists want to criminalize abortion patients and providers. We need to elect prochoice elected officials who shape criminal legal system policy like District Attorneys, Judges, Sheriffs and Coroners who will protect people, not throw them in jail.

Support abortion access: Find and support your local abortion fund in their efforts to help people overcome the obstacles they face in getting an abortion.

Election 2023-24: There are 94000+ open seats this year - many of those are local and state leaders who will decide what your abortion access looks like and if you will be prosecuted for care. We need to build pro-choice power by recruiting and supporting local candidates who will not criminalize abortion, registering prochoice voters, doing outreach in our community to raise awareness, increase engagement and provide mutual support.

Art and resources by @VOTEPROCHOICE

WHAT WE ❤️

"We've gotta stop letting ourselves off the hook as we think about this political arena because we have government by the people of the people & for the people, but only if we make it so." -Dorothy Cotton

Dorothy Cotton was an American civil rights activist, who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and a member of the inner-circle of one of its main organizations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The upcoming documentary (premieres tomorrow) MOVE WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS MOVE brings to life the story of Dorothy Foreman Cotton, a charismatic and courageous colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, whose freedom schools, freedom songs and inspiring messages of hope are profoundly needed today. Find a screening near you!

WE-NESS

May we become the future world we wish to see in the present.

Art by @ThriveEastBay

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