Colors are glowing in the late morning sun. After some overnight rain, there is a freshness to trees, grasses and flowers even as they begin their autumn detachment. As always the exhilaration of cooler air and high color is underwritten by the prospect of pending loss. The potential for ambivalence is well-defined by the vines suddenly more visible everywhere. Their brilliant yellow (invasive bittersweet) or red (Virginia creeper or poison ivy) illuminates their presence and also reveals their insidious choking of our landscape as countless trees are overtaken and smothered. While green, their effect is much harder to see; gone gold, it is glaring. Enjoy the gold, rue the unchecked consequence.
Many of us have dahlias and glads to dig and store. Personally I have not gotten to the moment when I turn my attention from this year’s garden to the next. But this year, more than any other I can remember, we have an enormous opportunity to turn from the chaos and destruction of the past 22 months to a new prospect for the coming year and beyond.
Even before the official Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3, we have the chance to cast our ballots during early voting, which started Saturday, Oct. 17 statewide. Saturday, Oct. 24 is the last day for voter registration. You may still register right up the 24th and vote early on the same day. Be sure to check your town’s specific hours and options.
If you rely on mailing your ballot, it looks as though the president’s threat of using the post office to interfere with elections has been blocked. Your ballot should be safe. Mail it well ahead of Nov. 3 to ensure it is postmarked and delivered in a timely way.
If there is any choice, please vote early and in person. Early voting is already stacking up millions of votes across the country and many early votes and a high volume of total votes will minimize the potential for election interference.
Now comes the fun part: Talk to everyone you know. Offer a ride, ask someone to keep you company, send messages to family and friends. Think of contacts you have in other states, especially those states with key races (Alaska, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Nebraska) and encourage people to come out and bring their friends. My mentor used to state his political organizing strategy as “Each one reach one.” This time the stakes are so high, we each need to reach 10 or 20 voters or more.
The outrages mount daily. Elon Musk and other super-rich people are busy funding ads and flyers full of lies in an increasing number of places — a measure of how frightened the president and his enablers are. Each of us can help counteract such cheating and correct the record. Each of us can encourage people to take action by exercising their vote, just like the muscles that give us the strength for heavy lifting.
The huge ever-growing heap of assaults on our democracy, world stability, the environment, our neighbors, and our moral values casts a shadow over every day. The destabilization of our government and our society is hard to bear. The ongoing lies about Ukraine (it is responsible for high gas prices!), Musk’s apparent limitation of crucial Starlink services and the president’s apparent decision to withhold information about potential Russian strikes threaten not just Ukraine but Europe, as does the illegal “deal” to allow Russia to sell diesel on world markets in direct contradiction of the recent bipartisan law on sanctions. ICE continues to increase the unrestrained assaults on communities. The morally repugnant plan to livestream an execution has been dropped, but the degradation of our armed forces continues. The administration has refused to follow multiple federal court rulings on a wide range of issues. The continuing harassment of women — Lisa Cook of the Federal Reserve for doing her job, Cassidy Hutchison for telling the truth under oath, Ilhan Omar for being a Somali legally elected to Congress, and so many others — reflects the president’s fear of females. Plans to ravage our national resources, grift public funds for personal advantage, and deface our nation’s capital and public lands continue.
When we play a game that requires casting dice, we consider it a game of chance. Casting our ballots this election is not a matter of chance. It is a choice — a moment when we can recast the future of our country. See you and your friends at the polls!
Judy Wagner lives in Northfield.