Keep Your Foot On The Gas

After the 2016 election, I was bitter for many reasons, one of them being that because of the polls, I became complacent. I just figured, "Eh, we've got this one in the bag!" and I took my foot off the gas with GOTV work as the margin widened to the point of what seemed like inevitable victory. I still remember posting a photo with my daughters after voting, saying something about how thrilling it was to tell my daughters that the glass ceiling was about to be shattered.

It makes me want to weep (and barf) just thinking about that.

This cycle is different for so many reasons. We have been suffering hard and in a state of perpetual anxiety for four years. I literally feel sick to my stomach for so many people whose basic human rights are at stake. I can't believe what this country has become. I have been on work calls with international teams where I am embarrassed to be the American.

And I vowed this election cycle to not take my foot off the gas, no matter what the numbers look like. I have been inspired by so many people (friends and strangers alike) to use my voice, to be louder, to engage in hard conversations, to write letters and postcards to voters, to stare my COVID anxiety in the face and work a 15-hour poll shift for the first time.

And one of the most gratifying things has been hearing from other people that they are keeping their foot on the gas, or stepping on the pedal for the first time, in the midst of these extraordinarily hard times. I wish I had collected all the messages from the very beginning but here are just a few from today via Instagram Stories.

To play a part in other people's journey to fight for democracy and find their voice makes me want to weep...but in a totally wonderful way. Please keep your foot on the gas.