Connect! Unite! Act! is a weekly series encouraging the creation of face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups meet to socialize, support candidates, get out the vote, and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert maximum influence on the powers that be. Visit us every week to see how you can get involved!
What better week can there be to lean into a vampire slayer bit than a week where a senate candidate in Georgia goes on a long, strange story about the power of vampires and werewolves? In truth, I’ve never been much of a vampire fan. I’m more a fan of the people who slay vampires. While I’ve had deep problems with the behavior of Joss Whedon, I had the good fortune to meet with several of the phenomenal writers, actors, and others involved at the time and in that period I was enthralled with the core concept. Now, if you want to start talking Willow and Tara we may have to have a different discussion that will involve Deep Space Nine, Jadzia Dax, and the upset of the narrative and so on, but when it comes to connecting over a tale, there are few things I can site line for line in the same way I can episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Put on most episodes and I’ve got it. Yes, there are more than a few that are cringeworthy (“Beer Bad”?) But the core message most received was simple: Things can be defeated. In Season 5, episode 12, Buffy speaks to the council and tells them the more they demean her power, the more she knows her power is real.
If you can’t tell, I love using Connect! Unite! Act! to talk about social issues within the frame of an entertainment scope. It is often easier for us to relate to a problem by thinking about protagonists, antagonists, and plot. Recently, there has been a trend of terribly misidentifying what an anti-hero is: a character who is clearly a good guy who breaks the rules to accomplish their goals. A good example is Deadpool. If you find yourself rooting for Cersei in Game of Thrones, she isn’t an “anti-hero,” she’s just a villain. She might be an entertaining villain, but she’s a villain all the same.
Let’s be clear about this, and with absolutely no doubts: Republicans have made every effort to be villains. They are not anti-heroes. They have continued to sink into incredible moments of pettiness. Michelle Obama challenged all of us to rise up and above, and now in Georgia we have a chance to go out and slay.
Is this really the mentality we need in the Senate? Has a hellmouth opened in Georgia? The answer is no, because what has opened in Georgia is an opportunity for young voters, for more voters, to find a way to get to the ballot box and help protect our democracy. Georgia will pull out all the stops to try and prevent voters from participating. So how do we do better? How can we help Georgia Democratic voters, and Sen. Raphael Warnock, prevail?
We are tasked with something huge this year. It is a rapid turnaround, but it is also a tribute to our volunteers, to our campaign workers, to staff, and to candidates who are prepared to go out and fight every day to help voters get out. You can help lighten their load; some of the methods have been listed in the past. I strongly encourage you to visit the Daily Kos get out the vote page to find an action you can take part in that can help us make a dent in Georgia!
And this always gives me a chance to share one of my all-time favorite get out the vote videos:
What can you do to help us win Georgia?
Christopher Reeves
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