We’ve had about 10 days to recuperate from the election. For most of us, no more election calls or advertisements. I apologize to those of you experiencing recounts or run-offs. For those of us who prioritize policy advocacy, the real work begins again. Last year, I wrote a blog called “Stop Whining and Start Advocating.” If you missed it, it is worth reading. If you read it, it is worth re-reading.
Some of you are in shock from the election and others are jubilant. Both extremes should be tempered. We have different parties in control of different legislative branches. This creates a different set of opportunities and challenges. It is vitally important that we continue to keep our issues in front of elected officials. That includes those legislators you voted for and against and/or campaigned for or against. That includes those you do not like and those you love. Your district’s United States Representatives and your two United States Senators work for you. They need to hear from you what is important. They need to hear your stories. You can be certain that others are telling them what is important. You want to be their go-to constituent on disability-related policy.
Before I go on, I want to mention the topic of civility. I know it is ugly right now. That is one thing pretty much all of us agree on. I cannot stress how important it is to act with civility even when elected officials, social media stalkers, friends, and other advocates do not. Even if you feel unheard and hopeless, my impassioned plea is to remain civil in conversation and especially on social media. The latter seems to be harder for most of us. In regards to political philosophy, I have friends all over the place. Most of us manage to muddle through, express our opinions, and continue to be friends. Sometimes, I find that I see the landscape differently because I listened to a friend or another passionate citizen. I know I see the world differently because of Rachel and our experiences, both positive and negative. If you are one of my friends from the Down syndrome journey, you know how we really hate it when people generalize about individuals with Down syndrome. The same is true of broad generalizations about a political party. Each of us is shaped by our life experiences. Those experiences have helped to shape our philosophies and political leanings. We will all do well to remember what we are taught as children and teach our children: two wrongs don’t make a right. Maintain your dignity and protect your future ability to advocate by using your knowledge with controlled emotions.
Back to the topic at hand though: post-election advocacy. We need to continue to request members sign on to legislation such as the Empower Care Act and ABLE Age Adjustment Act. If your current legislator retired or was defeated, this is a last opportunity for them to support some of these policies. We might just get them pushed across the finished line. It is also a great opportunity for you to say thank you for their service. Service to our country should be respected. Some of these individuals will re-appear. They will be elected to a new office at home or in the next national election. They may turn up in another role. You never know when they might be in a position to support something important to your advocacy efforts. Besides, it is polite to say thank you. 😊
I cannot overstate the importance of this paragraph. IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. We have lots of new Members of Congress. We have lots of new members in the House and some in the Senate. Many of these people know almost nothing about disability related issues. It is important to start reaching out to these individuals as soon as possible. You can be sure paid lobbyists and other advocates will be working to schedule meetings and be heard. It does not matter what party they are in or whether you voted for them or not, we need to make it a priority to get our issues in front of their staffs as soon as possible. A meeting with the new member is icing on the cake. We are starting over, and it is important that they hear your story and why a policy is important. It is important for them to hear from you, meet you, and it is very important for them to meet individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. You want to become their constituent expert. You want them to call you when they want to understand something.
My incumbent Congressman was defeated in this election. On Rachel’s first trip to Capitol Hill, we met with Congressman Kevin Yoder. I don’t think it really registered with me at the time that he was new, but he was. So you have a displaced Southerner with a thick Southern accent and a12-year-old girl with Down syndrome visiting a Kansas Congressman and telling him about the ABLE Act and other issues important to people with Down syndrome. There was nothing special about our family. We had no political connections, and we certainly had no wealth or position. But – we had our voices and our stories, and we passionately told him why this was important to us and others with disabilities. We continued to tell him our stories over and over again. I have heard and seen Kevin Yoder tell about meeting us. He says he knew very little about Down syndrome and even less about this bill called the ABLE Act. But our story impacted him and he became a sponsor. From there we built a relationship with his staff and office. I always knew I could call and I would be heard and respected.
Like many of you, we now have a new Congresswoman. I know very little about Congresswoman-elect Sharice Davids. What I do know is that she needs to meet Rachel and me and hear our story. I have already started reaching out to find out to her. I am trying to learn about her. Once she gets staff in place, I will be scheduling a visit to meet her staff. We will try to get some face time with her so we can share our stories with her. Rachel will tell her about pink houses and college and boyfriends. She will tell her about her dreams. She will probably tell her about her friend Kevin Yoder.
Rachel is very loyal. Once you are her friend, regardless of how you got there, you are part of her circle. She was sad that her friend didn’t win re-election. She knows that they will always be friends though. She understands that now she’s going to try to make a new friend. She understands that it is important for her to share her dreams with leaders. She told me the day after the election last week that Congressman Yoder had inspired her, and she had decided she wanted to be a Congressman. My response was, “Sounds good to me but you will be a Congresswoman.” We both smiled.
