It's Still All About Practice and Detachment

Well it’s been a crazy emotional rollercoaster these last few months. Since September it has felt like national and global politics have taken a (even) darker, more disturbing turn. Kavanaugh. The murder of Jamal Kashoggi. Numerous mass shootings by avowed white supremacists – they’re not all being reported that way but you only have to scratch one layer below the surface to see the evidence. Balsonaro’s election in Brazil entrenches the global reach of the white supremacist anti-democratic movement Trump has tapped into and expanded. It has felt that the forces of evil are gathering strength. We’ve all been wondering how bad it can get and I think we’re starting to learn – it can get very very bad.

Meanwhile I had my mom’s 70^th birthday party, then my yoga assessment, and then election day. I’m a weepy mess this morning – the day after the 2018 midterms. I think we’re all struggling for perspective, but I have to offer some thoughts on the results as we know them so far.

We lost more of the Senate and it’s hard not to be disappointed by that. Though most pundits predicted a loss, it hurts more than I expected. Like many – I wanted to see a massive repudiation of the Trump agenda and we didn’t really get that. Instead, we got confirmation that what happened in 2016 wasn’t an anomaly, it wasn’t that people didn’t understand, it wasn’t economic anxiety. It represented the strong currents of racism and white supremacy in American history and politics. The 2018 election showed that current as an enduring force. It’s been hundreds of years in the making and we aren’t going to move past it in one election, as people of color activists and leaders have been telling us for lifetimes.

I wanted to see victories for Beto, Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams. I wanted the audacity of hope they all represented to come to fruition. We know Gillum and Beto fell just short. We’re still waiting to hear how Abrams’ race will finally be resolved. I’m sad for these losses, but I’m also heartened and I think it’s important for us to remember that victory for these candidates in these states would have been unthinkable even two years ago. The fact that they made it so close is a huge testament to another thread in American history – the multiracial, progressive tradition. And the power of organizing.

On the other hand, the House victories represent tremendous progress. Democrats won across the country, in traditional republican strongholds. There are so many firsts, so many beautiful victories that celebrate the multiracial foundation of our country – Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Muslim women. Sharice Davis in Kansas – a Native woman. I can’t even pause long enough to catalog all the amazing stories and inspiring candidates, all the votes that pushed back on racism and white supremacy. Other people will be doing that in the next few days and I will drink it up as it comes. There is so much hope in these House victories, in part because they show that in the hard, shoe-leather work of local politics lies the possibility of a different story about America.

And in my own state, we have finally, FINALLY, beaten Governor Scott Walker. I can’t say enough about how personal this is. My spouse and I went through the 2011 Act 10 fights on a movement level and a personal level. We both spent a lot of time at the State Capitol during the Act 10 protests and the recalls that came after.  Since Act 10 passed, my spouse lost her union, we saw a direct hit to our household budget and the decimation of public sector unions in Wisconsin. We’ve seen Republicans dominate both branches of government, with supermajorities in the state house. It has felt so unlikely that we would find a way back to Wisconsin’s progressive tradition. That Tony Evers – an education leader – and Mandela Barnes – a black community organizer-turned-state rep from Milwaukee – will now lead our state is such a beautiful turn of fate. It would be nice if we had picked up seats in the state house, where Republicans still hold supermajorities, but let’s work with what we have.

Two big picture reflections.

I can’t help but notice that the Senate races more closely reflect the outcome of 2016’s electoral college vote and the House outcomes reflect the popular vote. That is a structural feature of American politics and it tells us how important it is to keep expanding voting rights and access to the ballot. Maybe the most powerful victory last night – passage of Florida’s Amendment 4, which returns voting rights to formerly incarcerated people. You may not know how hard it has been (til now) for someone with a felony conviction to be allowed to vote in Florida. Even after serving time, restitution, parole/probation, after getting one’s life back together against insurmountable odds, a former felon in Florida could not vote without traveling to Tallahassee and making a personal petition. How many people could afford the cost, the time, could even think it possible their petition would be approved. Now former felons – including, by one count, 40% of black men in Florida – will be allowed to vote now. This is a game changer and expanding access to the ballot is going to light the path forward from here. (if you have questions about this message me privately, but it's worth noting that sentencing minimums, the war on drugs, and the overall trend toward mass incarceration mean that many of these felony convictions have been for low-level non-violent drug offenses. and in general, most people in prison are there because they are poor).

It is time for us to take heart, to dig in for the long haul, to realize what fight we are in and get to it. We have to do this much work, with this intensity, all the time now. I know that many of the leaders in my network are exhausted and they need a break. That means other people have to rise up and take over the work. We have to support those who have made the biggest sacrifices and figure out how we keep them in the fight.

Yoga is all about detachment from the ups and downs of life. That doesn’t mean being apathetic. It doesn’t mean you don’t care and you don’t invest. It means you identify your purpose, you get up every day and work toward it, and you don’t let the ups and downs push you off your path. You don’t define your life by the depth of happiness or despair, but try to cultivate evenness despite what is happening around your or inside you. The point of cultivating evenness is to create the conditions for deeper spiritual realization, and one of the ways that happens is that by remaining even, you keep working toward what really matters. You don’t get distracted by setbacks or shiny objects. Many of the yoga sutras tie back to this point, but here’s one I especially love:

The wise [student]t knows that owing to fluctuations, the qualities of nature, and subliminal impressions, even pleasant experiences are tinged with sorrow and [the student] keeps aloof from them. (Light on Yoga Sutras, II.15)

So this is our task. Take heart for the fight, but don’t get caught up in the grief or the exhilaration. Understand what last night’s election really means – we made huge progress, we gained the power to stop some of the worst abuses through the actions of the House, and we demonstrated that when we organize we can win. Yes today is to rest and recover. But tomorrow is to get back to the fight. In yoga, the driving concepts are practice and detachment. And the same applies to the fight for justice. Practice – start again tomorrow. Detachment – move through, let go of the sadness; observe, take stock of the happiness. And then keep going.

I am so thankful for everyone who worked toward today. That means all of you in my immediate world, all of you out in the larger world, and our ancestors who fought against larger, more unthinkable barriers to bring to fruition the possibilities of a more beautiful, more just world. Let’s do our part.