Hi, friends,

If you don't have regular contact with Gen Zers and you aren't on TikTok you might not be familiar with the expression "touch grass." It's an imperative, and it means "Get off your device that's keeping you in your head and all twisted up, and go outside to get some fresh air, experience nature, and touch some grass or trees or something to connect you with the natural world."

My husband goes for a walk every morning (he's of the "there's no bad weather, only bad clothing choices" school) and I grudgingly go with him sometimes (as a former and always New Yorker I see walking as a mode of transport, not a fun activity) but have stopped entirely since it got cold and icy. I was feeling so lousy in the middle of the night on Saturday night that I decided I needed to touch grass and would go along for his walk on Sunday morning. I did, and while I didn't enjoy the walk itself (other than spending 45 minutes with my sweet husband) I do think it served its touching grass purpose, or at least its touching snow purpose. I went again this morning and I do feel somewhat better, so maybe you'll feel better if you go outside more, too.

In addition to going outside, I've started my routine of calling my local politicians every day like I was doing in 2017 through 2020. When they're doing good things, they need to know people support them. When they're doing bad things, they need to know their constituents are watching and don't want them to sell us out.

I discovered that my two Senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, both of who I think are great usually, voted to confirm puppy-killer Kristi Noem for Head of Homeland Security (which we shouldn't even have as a department, since they haven't kept us safe from the people who are gutting the country right now). So I called both offices and let them know exactly how disappointed I am in both of them and begged them both to fight for their constituents and vote against all of Trump's appointees.

You can call, too! It's simple, even for those of us who hate the phone:

Look up your politicians: Senators (2 of them), Congressperson aka Representative, State Senator, State Representative, Mayor, City Councilperson. (Your officials may vary, but everyone has two Senators and a Congressperson if you live in one of the 50 states.) Go to their official websites and find the phone numbers for their offices.

When something happens that makes you want to tell them "Good job!" or "Horrible job!" or something's up for a vote and you want them to know how you want them to vote, call their office during business hours.

The script for what to say is:

"Hi, my name is [yourname] and I'm a constituent of [title] [lastname] in zip code [your zipcode]. I'm calling to tell the [title] how [proud/disappointed/concerned] I am about [how they voted or are about to vote, or whatever else they did]. It is very important to me that [issue you're passionate about] and that the [title] understands and responds to the constituents that put them into office. Thank you."

If you get a voicemail, just leave your message. If a staffer actually answers, greet them kindly (they're probably young and overworked) and then say the script. If they ask for you phone number or other info, give it, but they probably are only collecting zip codes. After you call five or six different times they might know you, which is funny to me.

Remember, one call isn't going to move the needle, but any sand you can throw into the gears of the bad actors is good, and any support you can give to the people who are helping us is good, too. They get tired and need to know that their work matters to their constituents. It's probably most useful to them for you to tell them specifically what you're proud that they did, but if you've got nothing specific and just warm fuzzies, call anyway.

You don't have to call every day! Just try to make sure you're calling at least someone at least once a week.

If you're in Michigan, please please call Slotkin 202-224-4822 and Peters 313-226-6020 and tell them how you feel about their vote for Kristi Noem.

No way out but through.

Love,

Magda

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