Dear Extra+Ordinary readers—
I hope you’ll forgive the long wait for episode 8! I decided to hold my interview with the woman who studies abortion in TV and Film for a minute so we could address the thing that I believe is on most people’s minds—or at least is most heavily on mine: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in “Nobody Wants This!”
Just kidding. It’s the election.
Like any good acolyte, I turned to the patron saint of Extra+Ordinary for guidance. That’s obviously Rebecca Solnit, author of Hope in the Dark and numerous other books.
She’s published some messages about this moment on Facebook and in a Google Doc, but her words from 2004 and 2016 are still equally good medicine. And in this episode, I read from all of the above to you. A taste:
“They want you to feel powerless and to surrender and to let them trample everything. And you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving.
You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what. And right now, good friends and good principles are worth gathering in.
— Rebecca Solnit
But maybe the best argument I can make today for hope is that so many positive policies won at the polls this November, including 7 out of 10 ballot measures to protect abortion access. (Just like Mary Ziegler said, in our last episode!)
We’ll be back in regular storytelling & interview mode in our next episode, which will wrap up the season.
Hold on to your joy—
Carolyn
All the sources I used & links I promised:
Rebecca Solnit:
Her election night message, as read by Laurie Anderson (?!)
Get her eBook for free: Hope in the Dark | HaymarketBooks.org
Buy a paperback copy of Hope in the Dark via indie bookstores
Nov. 5 Abortion Victories 🎉:
Amy Siskind:
The List, a week-by-week account of Trump’s term
John Oliver:
Trump’s Reelection: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [video]
John Oliver on the US election: ‘Despair doesn’t help anything’ [recap]
Mary Ziegler:
Abortion rights initiatives keep winning. It might not matter. [oped]
Voters expand or protect abortion rights in 7 states, but measures fail in 3 other states | PBS News [PBS segment + transcript]
The Comstock Act:
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