Elvis Knew, “It’s Now Or Never!”

Dear Leading Ladies,

With fewer than two weeks until Election Day, we hope you have all made your plans to vote in person or by mail. If you can, vote early. If you are voting by mail, send your ballot back as soon as possible by USPS or bring it to a drop-off destination. Most city and town halls are accepting mail-in ballots. Information about Massachusetts voting is available here. For information regarding voting in other states, click here.

Before we pass on another volunteer opportunity to those of you particularly concerned about climate change and the environment, we want to share a poem written by the American poet Jane Hirshfield, who often writes about nature and the fragility of the environment. “On the Fifth Day” was written shortly after the 2016 election.

On the Fifth Day

On the fifth day
the scientists who studied the rivers
were forbidden to speak
or to study the rivers.

The scientists who studied the air
were told not to speak of the air,
and the ones who worked for the farmers
were silenced,
and the ones who worked for the bees.

Someone, from deep in the Badlands,
began posting facts.

The facts were told not to speak
and were taken away.
The facts, surprised to be taken, were silent.

Now it was only the rivers
that spoke of the rivers,
and only the wind that spoke of its bees,

while the unpausing factual buds of the fruit trees
continued to move toward their fruit.

The silence spoke loudly of silence,
and the rivers kept speaking
of rivers, of boulders and air.

Bound to gravity, earless and tongueless,
the untested rivers kept speaking.

Bus drivers, shelf stockers,
code writers, machinists, accountants,
lab techs, cellists kept speaking.

They spoke, the fifth day,
of silence.

It may be surprising to learn that citizens concerned about the environment do not always turn out in large numbers at the voting booths. The Environmental Voter Project hopes to change that this year, according to the project’s founder and executive director, Nathaniel Stinnett. The EVP has identified two million environmentalists in 12 states as potential first-time voters and has gathered 5,000 volunteers to make calls and send texts encouraging these people to vote for climate-friendly candidates in the upcoming local, state, and federal elections. It’s not too late to join the work of this nonpartisan group by attending a short Zoom training session and then joining EVP’s efforts.  As Scott Lehighnoted in a recent article in the Boston Globe, “Minority voters of more modest means are often those who bear the brunt of dirty water or live near polluting industries.”

We would like to again thank those who joined the Executive Team in underwriting our Facebook ad campaign in battleground states. Our heartfelt appreciation to:

Debra Ellis
Marcia Gagliardi
John and Nancy McKenna
Diane and David Oxton
Laura Pardee
Lecia Turcotte
Kathy Taylor
and to two anonymous donors.

Let’s all repeat this mantra to everyone we encounter over the next 13 days:Your vote counts!

Be well, stay safe, have hope.

Therese
Judy
Mary
Kim

Leading Ladies Executive Team
LeadingLadiesVote.com