I love this and will read all of the linked articles! I've been a "happy warrior" (I guess - now there's a word for it!) for many years, and I've been trying to articulate (through organizing, creating activist groups, running for office, supporting other campaigns) the central truth of this (much less miserable, more gratifying) way of being: it's self-perpetuating. A happy warrior has heartening conversations with people at the doors. A happy warrior is even thanked by supporters of her opponents, because she's human and self-evidently cares about people in general, not just her own policies and beliefs. She's curious, and she keeps learning, and has real experiences in real places (that she'd otherwise never see!) that enrich her life immeasurably.
Being a happy warrior is like being a rechargeable battery. You don't sit at home, being sapped and exploited by media designed to engender apathy and despair. You're in the real world, with real people, doing what humanity is intended to do: engage and collaborate. Work.
Two more things: as I wrote in this piece in 2022 https://allisongustavson.substack.com/p/we-cant-save-democracy, "saving democracy" is a mirage. It's not a thing, just like "saving your teeth" isn't a thing you do once a year at the dentist. If we actually internalized the idea that democracy (and just to remove the abstraction - the "administration of society") is something that we're all responsible for, then it wouldn't be such a stop-and-go exercise (vote, then watch four seasons of Great British Baking Show until it's time to vote again) that makes us feel like we're laboring to get off the couch and check a box. It's just part of life.
I'm actually off to an event this morning for a huge Deep Canvassing effort we're launching in Colorado, in the service of retaining one of the swingiest swing seats in the nation, yes, but also in the service of minting new voters who otherwise couldn't see the point. I know for a FACT that when I get home, I'll feel filled with hope and energy for the work. Not just a "yes we can" abstraction, but a clear list of things to do that will be threaded through all of my post-its, just like taking kids to the dentist and meetings and deadlines and everything else. Happy warriors don't just do this and nothing else - they weave it in, and doing so keeps up both the "happiness" and the passion-fueled "warrior-ness."
Thank you for your work, which is (in so many ways!) what I've been looking for!
I love this and will read all of the linked articles! I've been a "happy warrior" (I guess - now there's a word for it!) for many years, and I've been trying to articulate (through organizing, creating activist groups, running for office, supporting other campaigns) the central truth of this (much less miserable, more gratifying) way of being: it's self-perpetuating. A happy warrior has heartening conversations with people at the doors. A happy warrior is even thanked by supporters of her opponents, because she's human and self-evidently cares about people in general, not just her own policies and beliefs. She's curious, and she keeps learning, and has real experiences in real places (that she'd otherwise never see!) that enrich her life immeasurably.
Being a happy warrior is like being a rechargeable battery. You don't sit at home, being sapped and exploited by media designed to engender apathy and despair. You're in the real world, with real people, doing what humanity is intended to do: engage and collaborate. Work.
Two more things: as I wrote in this piece in 2022 https://allisongustavson.substack.com/p/we-cant-save-democracy, "saving democracy" is a mirage. It's not a thing, just like "saving your teeth" isn't a thing you do once a year at the dentist. If we actually internalized the idea that democracy (and just to remove the abstraction - the "administration of society") is something that we're all responsible for, then it wouldn't be such a stop-and-go exercise (vote, then watch four seasons of Great British Baking Show until it's time to vote again) that makes us feel like we're laboring to get off the couch and check a box. It's just part of life.
I'm actually off to an event this morning for a huge Deep Canvassing effort we're launching in Colorado, in the service of retaining one of the swingiest swing seats in the nation, yes, but also in the service of minting new voters who otherwise couldn't see the point. I know for a FACT that when I get home, I'll feel filled with hope and energy for the work. Not just a "yes we can" abstraction, but a clear list of things to do that will be threaded through all of my post-its, just like taking kids to the dentist and meetings and deadlines and everything else. Happy warriors don't just do this and nothing else - they weave it in, and doing so keeps up both the "happiness" and the passion-fueled "warrior-ness."
Thank you for your work, which is (in so many ways!) what I've been looking for!