by Mary Westwood, proud Democrat, YCDCC Secretary
Not the best news this morning. But the next election begins today and more importantly, you, as an American and a Montanan CAN AND SHOULD WORK every day to build a coalition of people who will return to the true values of Montana …. helping our neighbors, being open and accepting of the differences between people and finding the right path forward for our nation and our world.
The first thing you need to do is listen and talk to your neighbors. If they are voting Republican, they have some reason for doing so. Even if you don’t accept or understand their reasoning, you can be a good neighbor and help them find the peace of mind that comes with belonging to a community of accepting and caring people.
As someone who went through a similar experience in 2000, I can tell you that there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. Our first task is to become very involved citizens by communicating with our new elected officials and finding out all we can about how they will conduct government. We also need to be prepared to hold them accountable in person, in the press, in social media and with their constituents.
And if you think you might want to run for office in the future, you can begin to build your career by civic engagement at the local and county level. That is ow you build a reputation you can run on.
And never be discouraged. The arc of human history bends toward justice and fairness and it happens because of people like you. We are all in this together and we will find that special path. I am honored and proud to know you all.