Vote Every Day

Vote with your dollars. But where to spend them? Spice up your life!

Think you have to wait through an eternity until Election Day gets here? You can vote every day—a dozen times a day if you want to.

Going on an errand to buy widgets for home repair? Drive past Home Depot—a major enabler of ICE—and vote for Lowe’s instead. Need a blender, or a blouse, or a banana? Skip Target. Consider Costco. Need a hair dryer, a hat or a hammer? Don’t vote for Amazon, owned by Jeff Bezos, murderer of the Washington Post and Trump crony. Vote for your local business instead.

Well, okay, I want to do my bit and help save the world, but this business of boycotting can drive you crazy. Seems like there’s nowhere to go that’s politically correct. Oh, no, my favorite Chinese take-out place uses plastic forks. Honestly, life is complicated enough without having to fuss over every latte we buy—oh, wait, isn’t Starbuck’s on strike?

So my advice to the anxious activist: focus. Pick one. Focus your energy on one business, and boycott it, protest it, write a letter or post about it. Every action makes a difference.

For me it’s Home Depot, and I used to love Home Depot—low-cost houseplants, plus all the cool paints and tools and widgets. But billionaire Home Depot cofounder Bernard Marcus donated millions to Trump and other Republicans. Home Depot’s official line is that they don’t coordinate with ICE, but they do nothing to speak out or oppose the raids taking place in their parking lots that have led to so many poor souls being detained.

So Lowe’s gets my vote. Or better yet, my locally owned hardware store. That one change can mean a lot, in terms of Home Depot’s bottom line.

Boycotts work. We saw it in action last year, with all those Tesla takedowns. It seemed silly, standing on a streetcorner with a cardboard sign in front of a Tesla dealership, us little guys against the billionaire—but it worked. Elon Musk stopped chainsawing the government and pretended he wasn’t interested in politics anymore, when Tesla’s profits dropped 61% in a quarter. (Remember DOGE? A year ago it was headlines everywhere, and now it’s just a horrible footnote to history.)

Stewart’s, my local ice cream chain (outstanding mint chocolate chip) halted donations to Elise Stefanik after customers protested, mostly on social media. More and more, businesses are depending on social media to reach their clientele, and therefore social media is a powerful tool, allowing us to let them know what we think. I was so glad Stewart’s gave in, because Stewart’s ice cream is extremely hard to give up.

Instead of floundering in a morass of negativity—this business is bad, that one is worse—I’m trying to find more businesses that I can vote FOR instead of AGAINST. For example, CostCo, whose owners have stood staunchly for DEI.

My absolute favorite is a chain called Penzey’s. They sell spices, at their stores across the US, and also on-line. Cumin, coriander, cloves. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. It’s poetry to just walk around and read the labels. It’s also a sensory feast. Breathe in the cinnamon and tarragon, sweet marjoram and rosemary.

The CEOs of Penzey’s have decided to take a clear stand on the deadly topic of politics. They recognize that getting involved in “politics” isn’t a sideline or a hobby, like Tai Chi or watercolor painting, a luxury that a few eccentrics can indulge in. What we call politics is the air we breathe, the everyday fabric of our lives—it determines how we’ll live, in some cases if we’ll live.

And Penzey’s stand isn’t just a quiet refusal to back down on DEI. They’re talking up loud. I’m sure it’s cost them money. They have a link on their home page “About Republicans” and it’s fun reading.

“The Republican departure from conservative values and embrace of what, from a distance, looks a whole lot like insanity didn’t happen by chance. All of it has been intelligently crafted with the goal of preserving the position of those who profit from the inhumanity that is at the very roots of pretty much every problem we are facing.”

It’s refreshing to read such flat-out truth-telling. I can’t find any other business that says it right out:

“We would still be glad to have you as customers, but we’re done pretending the Republican Party’s embrace of cruelty, racism, Covid lies, climate change denial, and threats to democracy are anything other than the risks they legitimately are. If you need us to pretend you are not creating the hurt you are creating in order for you to continue to be our customer, I’m sad to say you might be happier elsewhere.”

So Penzey’s gets my vote. I’m planning on upping my non-existent cooking skills. I’ll use more cumin, ginger, turmeric, and paprika, and support a business whose politics I wholeheartedly support, at the same time. Win-win.

Dear Friends,

Are you furious about the state of the world and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.

Every now and then I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.

Together, I think, we can really make a difference.

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.”

--Noam Chomsky

Anitasanchez.com