Let’s Make This Real
A Request for Your Stories from Trump 2.0
As the blur of horrors unfolds in Washington, I am just beginning to receive stories from people about real world impacts on real people’s lives. This reminded me of what happened in Minnesota when Republicans put an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment as a wedge issue in the 2012 election. Initially, polls showed that the amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman would pass. But during the campaign, opponents to that measure adopted a strategy in which people started telling their stories of how such an amendment would affect them and their families, their friends and loved ones, and people they knew in their communities. This campaign to tell these stories brought the issue down to a real world level from the abstract, and people’s minds began to shift. Eventually, the constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage was defeated, and in the following legislative year, a law was passed legalizing gay marriage in the state.
There is value in our stories.
And so, with this story, I want to encourage anyone who is experiencing a direct impact of the shenanigans in Washington to write me with your story. Did someone lose a job? Is your medical research affected? If you are a teacher or school administrator, what are you having to do for your kids in school? Have you experienced bullying? Whatever it may be, tell me the story. I’ll publish it here, on Medium, and in local newspapers. Just write to me at sigwrite@gmail.com. Send me something written, or if not written, we’ll set up a phone call and I will listen to your story so we can write it up for you.
If you don’t have any, perhaps you can forward this notice to someone you know who does. Just use the share button here:
I think we can make this real. Make it personal. Tell the stories of the damage being done to real lives. I look forward to hearing from you.
Anthony Signorelli