For the Record

The column that courage wrote

A bit of housekeeping to start. The very last day for me to submit this column for publication is Monday. I mention it because, on this particular week, it means I wrote and submitted this piece before Election Day, not knowing the outcome of the 2024 presidential race. It’s an important bit of context, not just now, but later when future generations of Perry residents or historians may choose to reference this paper, go “down memory lane,” wondering what it was like for those who lived in this place during this time in the United States of America.  

So much of what we know of actual life, even in centuries too far back for us to imagine, comes from what someone wrote — in a journal or a letter or even in a local paper. Their notes and stories get us beyond the headlines or major events and show us how those things affected individuals, how they made them feel. 

Everything really interesting and unique we know about our history traces back to story in some form. The work of storytellers, writers, artists and musicians certainly lights us up in the moment; but as time passes, the work they create provides texture for anyone coming after who may be tempted to paint any given time with much broader strokes.

“There was more to it,” they seem to whisper from the past.

In that spirit, this column is my way of going on the record in the moment; and in the interest of full transparency to anyone now or long after I’m gone, I will tell you it is a moment of fear. I’m a bit hesitant to submit this. I’m even more afraid not to, though, while I have the chance. 

Feelings of fear and anxiety are not unique to me. Many women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community — in short, many people who are not white, Christian, straight or male in this country are a bit worried that things could go in a direction that would substantially curtail the freedom we hold dear in this place once joyfully celebrated as a melting pot.

There are people in this town and throughout the country who won’t like that last paragraph. They may think it’s ridiculous, overdramatic, crap. They might call me a snowflake or a crybaby, a disappointment. There’s a chance they’ll question my intelligence, my morals, my sanity and some won’t hesitate to tell me to go somewhere else if I don’t like it.

Here’s the thing, though, pals. I like it here. I like it a lot. Perry is my home. I chose to come back here and not because of anyone’s politics.

This is a beautiful, caring community. Full stop. It has to be said that the people who make it that way are far more diverse now than they have ever been in my lifetime and the village is thriving in a way I have not seen before. 

Let me keep this simple: I want for other people what I want for myself. I want them to feel safe and cared for. I want them to be able to thrive in whatever way makes the most sense for them personally and express themselves without fear. I want our natural world and its creatures to be protected and I think everyone should have an equal shot at cultivating, and being empowered to cultivate, a healthy, peaceful existence. 

Additionally, I’d love to see the patriarchy dismantled, freeing society as a whole from its outdated and toxic tentacles that harm everyone; keeping us all stuck in a backwards and too often violent loop of inequality and oppression.

That’s pretty much it. And the fact that reading all of these words, in this day and age, is the equivalent of reading my ballot over my shoulder should tell you everything you need to know about where we are right now.

This column appeared in the November 7, 2024 edition of The Perry Herald in Perry, NY — two days after Election Day.