It’s personal. It’s painful.

People Power United is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We're not going backIt's personal. It's painful.It happened and I moved on.I want better for "My Why," and I want her always to know that her rights matter, that her government is not corrupt, that her neighbors stood up for her, and that she will need to stand up for them one day.I want her to know that long before she came into my life, I was gang raped but moved on. I did not need an abortion, but I knew that it was my right and was there if I needed to make that choice.I want her to know that we are at this point in history because of greed and racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, transphobia, misogynoir, elitism, and bigotry but that we the people rose up and took back our power and advocated for a democracy with a freedom to have reproductive rights and abortion. And we advocated for so much more. I want her to know that people believed that progress was possible and moved mountains to make it happen.Lastly, I want My Why to understand the difference between saying you believe in "liberty and justice for all" and standing up for those values daily in your words and actions. It is harmful to all to be an imposter.Why this? Why now?I am sharing this to remind folks that regardless of what happens on Tuesday, we can never stop advocating for our rights, freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law. MAGA is not going to give up, and neither are we. I share this because even with the assault on our freedoms and rights in states all across the country, I believe with all of my heart that we are better than our worst days.Love never quits. We must advocate for those we love.It’s easy to feel hopeless at times with MAGA Republicans going radical, pushing an extreme white Christian nationalist agenda. But we won’t stop fiercely advocating for our lawmakers to step up and protect the most vulnerable in our community. Why? Because love never quits. We love this country, and we know you do too. We love our communities, and we know you do too. That’s why we must advocate for those we care about.As champions for progress, it’s on us to double down, to stay uncomfortable, and to push for real change. We need our leaders to do better, and we need ourselves to talk with friends, family, and neighbors about the issues and the importance of voting.America is brave because you are. And we need that bravery now more than ever.I have three special requests today: Please subscribe or upgrade to support our work, please comment on this post, and please give us a heart and share this post.What can I do? How can I make a difference?As someone who knew nothing about politics or organizing a few years ago, I can only share my limited insight. The most significant piece of advice I can give is to do something. It's ok to make mistakes. Find an issue, advocate fiercely to make people aware of it, and find ways to empower and inspire them to take action.I know I am preaching to the choir, but please go out and vote this weekend for early voting and jump in to volunteer for VP Kamala Harris or a critical race.And whatever happens on election day, we will be here advocating for our rights, freedoms, and democracy, holding our leaders accountable to the people's will, and inspiring voters to make a meaningful difference.Post-Election BriefingI hope you will join People Power United alongside Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the Working Families Party, MoveOn Civic Action, Indivisible, Public Citizen, the ACLU, and more than 100 progressive organizations as we move quickly to "Make Meaning of the Moment" after Election Day. RSVP for “Making Meaning of the Moment: Post-Election Movement Briefing” on Thursday, November 7, at 8:00pm EasternTogether we can champion Progress and Power to the PeoplePeople Power United members are committed to championing progress and power to the people. We don't just complain; we do the work to make change happen.Friends, this is a plea for help with our People Power United efforts. With our membership growing, we're building momentum, but we need your help to reach even more people—every bit of assistance counts. Together, we can make a difference!* Click here to Sign the Petition: Denounce Trump’s Racist Madison Square Garden Rally* Click here to Sign the Petition: Abolish the Electoral College* Click here to Sign the Petition: Tell Congress: We Must Restore Abortion Rights* Click here to take the Freedom over Fascism pledgeBONUS* Click here to signup for our next training: Stop Project 2025: Mobilize for Change* Click here to upgrade your subscription or become a paid subscriber* Give us a ❤️ heart and leave a comment on this post (pretty please🙏🏽)* Share this post on your social media channels (pretty please🙏🏽)* Stay connected, get People Power United on the Substack appThanks for taking action!People Power United UpdatesOur group is growing by leaps and bounds! Folks understand that with love in our hearts and hard work, we will reclaim our nation from cruelty, chaos, and confusion. We are having fun making impactful changes in our community! In case you missed it, this past week was busy:* People Power United became a best seller on Substack and we now number over 200,000 members! Power to the people! You did this!* We updated the home page of our Substack blog newsletter. Your feedback is always appreciated.* Updates can be found here.Join us to build People Power! Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people's will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry!People Power United is a group of community members that champions progressive values and power for the people.People Power United is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newsletter.peoplepowerunited.org/subscribe