Sources of Inspiration When National Politics Sucks
I'm finding light by starting new ventures and joining new groups
As I sit down to the computer this morning to write my weekly newsletter, my brain is warring between “what I should write about” and “what I want to write about.”
I should write about the upcoming presidential election, because people always click on election horse-race newsletters and because it’s important. But I can’t summon the energy to write on the depressing Trump-Biden election today. There’s not too much to say: we know that turnout will be huge, but nobody will vote with enthusiasm or joy. It will be the bleakest Election Day ever. And whoever wins will probably leave the White House in a hearse.
With inevitability and nihilism swirling around national politics, I have been turtling — avoiding national issues and putting all my efforts into new entrepreneurial efforts and local activities. This morning, I choose to write about the happy stuff, and put the awful stuff on the back burner for another day. So, what’s sparking joy in my life at the moment?
Last year, I spent about six months engrossed in a heated local battle for the school board. I lost, but that experience spun me in new directions.
It gave me the kick in the ass to walk away from freelance writing, which wasn't fun any more. I'll still write, but on my own terms. Presently, I am honing a 3,000 word article on local elections and doing semi-regular newsletters.
In addition, I’m creating a venture that informs parents about post-high school options for young people with autism. It’s called the Autism College Connection. This week, I created a website, Facebook page, newsletter, and organized webinars. I’m giving the first talk in a couple of weeks. I’ll monitize everything soon.
My webinar will be about my experiences finding a place for my son with high functioning autism after high school.
By the end of high school, most parents have shaped up plans for their kids. Maybe they’ll get a job. Maybe college is their future. Maybe it’s the military. But most parents have some sort of plan in place. Now, kids don’t often do what we expect them to do, and things spin off in random directions. But parents create plans, are supported by guidance counselors, and have a larger community to provide information. But if your kid doesn’t fit into a box, then parents are on their own.
When my son graduated three years ago, I had no idea what he would do next. So, I spent three years learning the ropes — I attended dozens of webinars, visited colleges and programs, hired consultants, and networked with parents. I kept track of my learning curve in a newsletter. I’m going to share my story as part of my company’s first webinar in February. After that, I’ll bring in experts to provide more concrete options for parents.
When I wasn’t making websites and creating content this month, I attended local meetings. The week after the election, all sorts of local groups reached out. One local official told me that I was “valuable,” because now I learned how to run a campaign, met a lot of people, and demonstrated my deep knowledge of certain topics. So, now my calendar is booked with meetings.
As a member of these under-the-radar groups, I feel like I’m actually getting stuff done. Yesterday, I met with local autism groups at the YMCA to help them launch a flagship autism program with specialized social groups and swim lessons. I’m in another group that helps parents with little kids with sensory needs go to local restaurants once a month. It’s all stuff that’s near and dear to my heart, so I’m happy to be part of these organizations.
I’m also thrilled to be around people, who are energized about making our community better, who genuinely love politics. It’s an anecdote to despair on CNN. These unique individuals keep our town afloat. And it’s fun for me to watch them; their enthusiastic is contagious.
I’m a political scientist, so I will talk about the national election. Eventually. Right now, my focus is local, because that’s the place of greatest joy.
LINKS
With a not-quite-launched twenty-something in the house, I am forever giving out life advice. He loves it. Not. I wrote about it on the blog this week.
I wrote about the problems with special education in my autism newsletter.
The Museum of Natural History — one of my favorite places in NYC — is going to close two halls due to new federal regulations that require museums to obtain consent from tribes before displaying or performing research on cultural items. Truthfully, this is a big loss for native Americans, because this museum exposed millions of young people to a part of our history that isn’t found anywhere else. The end result is will be great ignorance. Bad move.
“For Some Young People, a College Degree Is Not Worth the Debt” (NYT) - I’m going to come back to this article.
Photo dump from a quiet week.
Travel: Made plans to take the autistic kid to Cancun in March. Planning a low key trip to Spain — Barcelona to Santiago de Compostela — for July, when Ian goes to an autism college for a month. This will be the first vacation that Steve and I have taken without kids in 24 years.
Picture: Read more about this book here.
Depressed politically, as well...but super excited to share your Autism College Connection with readers of my e-newsletter. Congratulations and thanks for all you do to help families and kids, Laura.
Good luck with your new venture! It's so needed.
Thanks for the link to the Times coverage of the Museum of Natural History's closure of those halls - I'd missed that.
Did you notice the holes in the article? The MNH is closing down halls NOW - while the law gives them five years to return "human remains and related funerary objects" and engage with the tribes on a process. The reporter says "The officials who drew up the new regulations have said that institutions can get extensions to their deadlines as long as the tribes that they are consulting with agree."
It sounds like they'll be fine as long as they make a good faith effort to engage with tribes and comply. But they are closing halls instead! Either there's something that was left out of the article or the museum is throwing a big hissy fit.
If the halls stay closed, so be it. Presenting a white perspective rather than engaging with an existing culture, suggesting that native tribes have no worthwhile perspective on their own history, or that they no longer exist - all of those are worse than no display at all!