In early 2017, just after the election of you-know-who and the Women's March that brought millions of people all around the world out into the streets in protest, a small group of friends gathered in my kitchen. We wrote and decorated dozens of postcards to send to the White House as part of a nationwide event called The Ides of Trump, the goal of which was to have one million postcards land on March 15 on the doorstep of the most reviled American president in recent history.
While we wrote, we talked about our feelings of helplessness. What could we do to get the country back on track? Writing postcards together was fun, we realized, so we decided to keep going, and try to get some Democrats elected.
That small first step more than five years ago became Postcards for the Resistance. I posted an invitation to our next postcard party on Facebook, and that brought Stephanie and Deb into our group, and Stephanie brought Erica, who brought Liz, and.... you get the idea. We met every 4-6 weeks, writing for campaigns all over the country through several small volunteer organizations that would work with candidates, craft a postcard campaign, procure lists of names and addresses, and create a script.
We had some successes (both Georgia Senators) and some near-misses, and we continued to meet and write and share baked goodies and wine and laughs. And then the pandemic changed us, as the in-person parties were out of the question.
So, we changed, too, and the change allowed us to grow (42 people now, from all across the country) and get more cards in the mail. We continued to write postcards from home, in support of Democratic and progressive candidates up and down the ballot, all around the country. We also wrote to get out the vote, and to support important issues. I invited friends from everywhere, and they invited friends.
Our model is simple: I provide everyone with appropriate "be a voter" type postcards, and every week or two I send an email detailing several campaigns that are looking for writers. Each person chooses what appeals to them, and if they don't have time to write that week, that's fine. I take care of getting lists of names and scripts. Our group writes hundreds of postcards each month.
We've recently begun to meet in person in Boston again, and the write-from-home operation will continue at least through the 2024 election.
Postcarding is a great way to channel our frustration with our world at this moment, and to reach voters in a nonintrusive way. Our goal is to turn occasional Democratic voters into habitual voters.
If you'd like to join in, or get more information or ask questions, please reach out to me by email lydiawalshin42 AT gmail DOT com, or leave a comment on this post and I'll get back to you. All writers are welcome. (Sorry, US only.)
