The Antidote to What’s Wrong in the World

The volunteers stood in bright October chill with flannel, LL Bean vests, and Dunkin mugs that whispered steam into the autumn morning.

These folks could have been eating cider donuts in an orchard somewhere. Or putting hoses away and cutting back their hostas. Or going to a Patriots pre-game party, finally trying out that new dog park, working an extra shift for more cash to take them through the holidays. They could have been anywhere else.

But they chose to wait around a few picnic tables for their turf assignments to go knock on the doors of strangers and see if those strangers - who are really neighbors in disguise - have a voting plan for November 3.

Turfs were handed out. Clumps of flannel walked to cars. More turfs were handed out, more cars departed.

And then something funny happened.

All the turfs were distributed, but volunteers remained. Too many people had shown up for democracy.

Which is, of course, not quite true. Democracy can never have too many people show up for it.

You might think this was an organizational issue. For shame not having enough work to give out when there’s plenty work to do.

But having done time in the bowels of politics and policy, I think this is actually a desire issue. What happened around those picnic tables was a surplus of desire to make things better.

It can sure feel like norms are crumbling, decency has been kicked to the curb, the center cannot hold. There’s a surplus of cold-heartedness.

But quietly, and with little acclaim, people in every corner of this country are gathering around picnic tables, knocking on doors, painting yard signs, reminding their neighbors where and when they can vote, driving candidates to doors, getting trained to be election observers, signing up to DJ at the polls.

It’s an unsung, unreported surplus of love for this world of ours and belief that it can be better than what it is right now.

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And here’s what I know: if you are reading this, you are part of that surplus. You might show it in the actions above, or show it in entirely different actions. Democracy asks for a full spectrum of participation.

So let me put this all another, more personal way: while there is much that’s wrong with the world, you are part of what’s right with it. And I count myself among the lucky to walk alongside you in the lifelong work of building the world we want to live in.