Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank, hiding from the Nazis with her family in an attic in Amsterdam, wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” When I first read her words, I remember being filled with admiration for this young girl — for her courage, her ability to find joy in life as her world grew smaller and her future more bleak.

We find ourselves almost speechless as we watch the news and hear the heartless response of our president to the deaths of children on an airplane; to the deportation of immigrants; to the dismantling of programs meant to combat centuries of inequality; and to the dissolution of international alliances that protect our worldwide community.

There is excitement in the air while a new figure takes center stage as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. The race seems very close right now, and the results may likely hinge on voter turnout – specifically, on the turnout of women and young people in battleground states.

Whatever our reaction to the current state of affairs, we can’t complain of boredom! Every day seems to bring more surprises, some frightening, some exciting. Many, as we’ve noted before, totally out of our control.

There are less than five months, 145 days, or about 3,480 hours, until Election Day 2024: November 5. What are we each going to do until then to try to make a difference? How many of us are feeling energized by the latest developments, domestic and international? How many of us are bone tired and discouraged?

The polls closed last night but it will be days before the final tallies are in. We know there are already some disappointments as well as a few encouraging results, but we need time to dissect and analyze the outcomes.

Leading Ladies refrains from endorsing particular candidates, but we do clearly support certain causes and positions. Indeed, our mission expresses our commitment to equal access for all to education, health care (including a woman’s right to choose), housing, food, jobs, and political representation, regardless of one’s ethnicity, race, religion, or sexual identity. We are also committed to common sense gun laws, humane immigration policies, and the sustainability of our planet.

Pew Research released its latest findings on the opinions of 5,074 American adults on several questions regarding how the government should support families.

It’s only the middle of spring, but not too early to be concerned about the midterm elections in November. We’ve written before about the importance of voting in our local elections for mayors and city council members, as well as school board members and state legislators, because those elected officials determine significant policies that affect our families and our everyday lives.

This week, we celebrated Martin Luther King Day. Some of us listened to his famous “I Have a Dream” speech; maybe we did an act of community service in his honor; or perhaps we did some shopping at the ubiquitous online sales dedicated to his name.

Before November’s Election Day, we wrote about the importance of voting in local elections. We stressed the important role that local officials such as mayors, school board members, sheriffs, and state representatives have in making decisions that affect everything from the curricula taught to our children to the way our criminal justice system works.

Election Day is next week, Tuesday, November 2, to be exact. We know it isn’t a presidential election year and only two gubernatorial positions will be decided (in New Jersey and Virginia), just two US House of Representatives seats will be determined in special elections (for vacancies in Ohio), and no US Senate races are on deck. Here in Massachusetts, there are only three ballot questions, all in Boston. So, unless we live in any of these places, why should we vote?

If passed, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, now before Congress, will combat the insidious voter suppression laws that are surging in many states and districts in our country, preventing citizens, particularly those of color and living in neighborhoods of poverty, from participating in the electoral process guaranteed by the US Constitution.

Pew Research released a study last week on the views of 5,109 Americans conducted April 5-11, 2021 regarding voting and election policies. While there were a few policies that both parties mostly agreed on, the majority of questions showed large partisan divisions. A few questions also displayed divisions within the party by race.

The swirl of feelings continues to envelop so many of us in the days following the election. We feel relief that we may soon enjoy an end to the divisive and harmful name-calling; hope that real progress borne of an expansive national plan may result in a reckoning with the Covid-19 pandemic; optimism that the country may heal and move forward in providing equity in access to jobs, housing, food, education, and health benefits under an administration that values all people.

We are hoping against hope that tomorrow night we will be able to revisit the 1960s mantra, “Today is the first day of the rest of our lives!” Alas, we need to face the fact that the results of the 2020 election may well remain unsettled. If, in fact, there is controversy about the results, we encourage you to consult ProtectTheResults.org to find where and when you can join with others…

With less than a week until Election Day, our message this week is simple. Be a pest. Remind everyone you know to vote for candidates who support positions they believe in. For us, this means voting for local, state, and national candidates who are committed to access for all to quality education, health care, food, and housing; to sensible gun control laws and humane immigration laws; to reproductive rights for women; and to protecting and restoring the environment…

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.

The last week has left us gobsmacked with a new startling development almost every day. First, we had to digest the unusual presidential debate unlike any in our nation’s history, with President Trump interrupting former Vice President Biden with what most viewers and analysts agree were below the belt accusations and falsehoods while moderator Chris Wallace was unable to control the proceedings…

Former President Barack Obama took to the airwaves last week to deliver a strong and compelling message to pass on.