FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD PSA: voter registration season is upon us, and with the midterms just around the corner, please remember that Russian propaganda efforts have not stopped and will only intensify in the next couple of months. Question ANYTHING that tries to foment apathy or mistrust in you. Vet your sources. Follow the news (WaPo, NYT, Newsweek, whatever! Even if it’s just r/politics!). Remember MLK: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Vote, be engaged, tell your friends, be proud of one another for doing this.

apio:

I’ve already seen a few posts start circling that very casually and lightly tried to cast doubt about voting, implying that it would never really change anything, even saying “hey do go vote, but don’t blame people who don’t go”. This is absolutely wrong. This is propaganda. Remember: Russian influence thrives in shades of grey. What they want is to cause *doubt*. Doubt in your fellow Americans, doubt in democracy, doubt in your own value as a citizen. That doubt is what led us to where we are; it’s why we’ve been so effectively maneuvered and manipulated by a foreign power into living in this nightmare AU version of America.

I understand your desire to doubt, I FEEL YOUR MISTRUST OF CAPITALISM (BELIEVE ME), but remember what our country stood for, what it was meant to represent, and believe in it. Vote proudly, help your friends and family vote, drive people to polls, remind people to register. Let this be something that gives you hope.

We choose our leaders. We still choose our leaders. People in other parts of the world can’t do that. Take pride in our ability to cast the vote and go register, and then go vote.

And on a final note: as we press further and closer toward the conclusion of the Russia probe, question any source that foments mistrust, apathy, or anger toward the FBI. That is one thousand percent Russian and Republican propaganda attempting to discredit the only organization with the power to hold public officials accountable for corruption and/or treason. VET. YOUR. SOURCES.

As @queerlybeloveds says: It’s hard out here for a revolution-minded patriot.

I don’t have as much affection for our grand ol’ nation as my friend here does, but her call for vigilance and skepticism is both valid and hyper-relevant.

I have a lot of feelings about how our current political system is a scourge and needs to be dismantled, but I’m not about to throw open the doors and welcome Putin to come in and be the one at the wheel, either.