By Jodi Szarko

Wow. This month has just been … wow. The running joke is that there will have to be a history textbook entitled “American History,  June 2024 - July 2024.” In a nutshell, there was a bad debate, a shooting, and a resignation. These three events created one of the wildest political rides in history. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you know the details. We don’t need to go over them anymore. Now I find myself reflecting on how we handled ourselves as Democrats and Democrats Abroad members.

The moments after the debate between Biden and Trump would set the course to define the Democratic Party. It was clear immediately that things were going to get “messy.” There was no playbook to handle the situation. I don’t think any two people were 100% in agreement as to how we should have handled the situation. So, what was the best thing to do? As Democrats Abroad, we focused hard on having conversations with people and respecting opposing views. Our chat sites were owing with new information, lively debates, and sentiments of support and motivation. Our leadership provided more formal virtual meetings to help discuss the path forward and let people “vent” responsibly when needed. We did not take our eye off of the ball when we realized how few people knew about the dystopian future that Project 2025 and their “Mandate for Leadership” poses to our society.  We got out our highlighters and our spreadsheets and did the work to show people how bad these policies would be. We also will continue to speak the truth on a variety of issues such as the judicial system and the economy.

We also reminded ourselves to be, well, ourselves! It’s okay to take a break or to have events that maybe aren’t 100% politically themed. At our Independence Day celebration, we invited both members and nonmembers to join us, and it was very uplifting (even though Germany lost to Spain in  overtime in the Euro Cup!). Between conversations of soccer and traditional American food, we found comfort in the fact that we were experiencing  these times together. We also celebrated the first “official” dual citizenship of one of our members. Amongst all the merriment, we signed up new members and helped others make the decision to vote in November. At our tabling event this month, we were more focused on voting rights and logistics, but we still had fun!

I think some of us were worried that the Democratic Party would start to fracture under the pressure coming from pundits, Republicans, and ourselves regarding what we should do at the DNC. When Biden finally made the decision to pass the torch to Harris for the campaign, there was a huge range of emotions. Once again, we allowed ourselves to feel them, leaned on each other, and got to work. The press was very interested in our opinion of events, and we put together statements and set up interviews. We got the word out globally that we are ready for this campaign, and people are listening. Our numbers are growing. Within 48 hours, the overwhelming majority of the Democratic party was behind Harris. I don’t see any sign of weakness or fracture. I see a party that went through a messy democratic process and came out stronger. I witnessed a wealth of talent and enthusiasm in the Democrats Abroad members I have interacted with. Our range of skills and knowledge along with our collective efforts have made this a truly outstanding community. Go team!

Moving forward, I would like to go back to the concept of joy. When it became clear Harris would be the presumptive nominee for the DNC, the first “insult” the GOP came up with is that she laughs a lot. As someone who has also been told her whole life that she laughs too much, I soundly disagree that laughter indicates the behavior of someone who is unproductive or crazy. I think it’s a sign you are invested enough in your own happiness and the happiness of others that you are willing to fight to preserve that happiness. Poet Toi Derricotte coined the phrase “joy is an act of resistance.” The next few months, I plan on being part of many “acts of resistance.” We have not one but three CSD events we will be part of in our chapter. Our “First Friday Stammtisch” in Bremen will also take place next Friday. I know we have our work cut out for us, but I am ready and willing to put in the time and effort to get Harris into her new role with, toil AND laughter. Who’s with me?