“In 20 years when my grandchildren ask me what I did to change the election outcome in 2020, I don’t want to be in a position to say, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ “
I’ll never forget this conversation as long as I live. It was in late 2019, and a good friend was starting a new chapter in his life. Having made tremendous impact on the lives of poor and disadvantaged children throughout his career in Oklahoma, he was moving to Houston to be closer to his aging parents.
He called to wish me well in the Medicaid Expansion campaign, but he also called because he wanted to pick my brain about how to get involved at the grassroots level helping to change the outcome of the presidential election. He explained further that he was doing what he called “The Grandparent Test”. And when I asked him to elaborate, he eloquently told me how disturbed he was about what was happening in our country and how he had the luxury of time to work in a volunteer capacity to change the outcome of the presidential election. To him, it was a gut check moment in his own life. He didn’t want to get 20 years down the road and have his future grandchildren look him in the eye and ask him what he did to change the outcome of this election and have to tell them that he did nothing.
My friend’s “grandparent test” was his “why.” But just about everyone who gets involved in politics, either as an candidate who runs for office, a political professional who gets paid to work in this crazy business, or a grassroots volunteer, has their own “why.”
We’re 53 days out from one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, and I want to challenge each of you to take my friend’s grandparent test.
What will you do to change the outcome of a candidate or issue race that is important to you?
It doesn’t have to be the presidential race. Maybe it’s a ballot measure that is going to provide sick leave to families who don’t have it, or boost education funding in your home state. Maybe it’s the sentencing reform ballot measure in Oklahoma, or a county commissioner race in upstate New York that you care about.
If trying to figure out how to get involved in an issue you care about seems intimidating to you, you’re in luck. I recently discussed five simple steps to getting involved in an issue or candidate campaign with my friend Kerry Moll on her Podcast “Talk Bravely”. You can listen to that podcast below:
In the podcast, I not only share tips about how to get involved in politics at the grassroots level, I also share how I got involved in politics and how a failed campaign in 2016 led to transformative change in my own life.
If you don’t have time to listen to the entire podcast, Kerry was kind enough to create a fun and sharable graphic that sums up the tips I share on how to get involved in an issue you care about.
Enjoy, and hit me up with your personal results to “The Grandparent Test.” And let me know how it’s going out there!
-AE
