Given the inevitable dramatic shift to the right that is about to happen in the US government and the associated chaos in the wider social / political circles, I, like many others, feel helpless and adrift. My vote did not help defeat the self-identified anti-truth bigot now on his way to the white house. Now that the elections are over, there’s little I can do directly to prevent him from taking the most powerful office in the world. But while I can’t take power from him directly, what I can do is throw support to his enemies – the voices of reason, logic, civil liberties, and common sense.
Anil Dash has a great article on this :
“Don’t waste a single moment listening to the hand-wringing of the pundit class about Why This Happened, or people on TV talking about What This Means. The most important thing is that we focus on the work that needs to be done now. While so many have been doing what it takes to protect the marginalized and to make society more just, we must increase our urgency on those efforts, even while we grieve over this formidable defeat.”
I am not one of the fat cats who are overjoyed at this turn of events, though I am better off than many, particularly those who are going to be impacted directly by upcoming policy changes and direct action in the next few years. I’ve chosen to donate heavily… give to support those organizations who will carry the fight forward.
To that end, this is a list of the people I’ve chosen to support. I’ve set up monthly repeating donations – I feel that sort of regular, dependable revenue is important
- Wikipedia – because accurate, globally available information should be a basic human right.
- NPR – One of the few reliable, unbiased, professional reporting services left in the world
- EFF – An effective voice in the digital landscape for digital freedoms
- ACLU – Don’t really need to give reasons here, do i?
- FeedingAmerica – A very good organization that supports food banks
- Southern Poverty Law Center – A voice against racism and hate groups
Are there those I’m missing you think I should support? Please comment and let me know.
Edit I’ve added NARAL and Planned Parenthood to the list. Thanks for the recommendations.