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Life is uncomfortable for many of us right now. Some are facing paralyzing medical debt, or the very real threat of losing access to medical care due to the extreme budget cut targets approved by Congress. As economic uncertainty due to the trade war continues, some are facing losing their businesses, farms, or jobs. Some don’t know how they will pay the bills next month. Some worry for their basic safety every time they go out in public, afraid they will be snatched off the street or taken into custody and deported without due process when appearing for an appointment.

I understand the desire to peace out of the news and not worry about problems because they don’t affect us personally yet. But I also understand that we can’t build anything better or begin to solve problems until we can take some steps closer together. The answers don’t lie in radical pendulum swinging. The answers lie with us, engaging with each other in real life, in real time. We can share our stories, and we can listen to the stories of others. We learn and we can grow. We can sit with discomfort, and we can use that to inspire us to do better. We can compromise and we can find common ground. We can fall down and we can get back up and we can try again. Democracy is worth participating in, and its worth protecting, on the front lines and in our own small ways.

No one is an island and no one is completely self made. Community is important. Working for the common good is important too. It’s so crucial that the founding fathers included it in the preamble to the Constitution. Research shows that most people, when asked to vote directly on issues rather than by party or platform, are fairly centrist and agree on quite a lot.

As such, I’d like to encourage and welcome everyone, regardless of background, voting history, or political affiliation, to stand with your neighbors and community members on Thursday, May 1, from 5-6 p.m. in front of Riverland Community College in Austin. We will be joining together locally and in solidarity with our country as once again, people peacefully take to the streets nationwide to promote the common good.

We don’t care who you voted for. We don’t have to agree on every issue. We don’t have to solve every problem. We just have to step closer together. Join us.

Karianne Bachmeier

Austin, MN