Here at Daily Kos it’s been 20 years of working together, connecting with each other, and telling deep and personal stories about ourselves and our communities. We talk about the things that matter and we keep moving forward. Every day we work to make each other better and to improve the lives of our community.
A lot of us are reeling this week with the leaked opinion from the United States Supreme Court effectively overturning Roe v. Wade. As a result, many members of Daily Kos have stepped up and told personal, moving, compelling stories about their own experiences. While we see more of it now, Daily Kos community members have written about the impact of Roe v. Wade for years on their own personal lives and families. It is difficult to talk about the impact of choice on our bodily autonomy without understanding the limits of what we can be compelled to do. I am one of those individuals who has donated blood when I heard there was a shortage, knowing I am a universal donor, but the government has never forced me to give blood. I don’t know if my bone marrow or kidney would match anyone’s need to have them, and no one has forced me to check and find out—even if it meant saving someone else’s life. Just the thought of it seems incredibly laughable. You can’t force me at any point to yield any part of my bodily autonomy—unless, that is, I were a woman and you wanted to force me to have a child against my will. This week, I’m going to look back over some of the submissions from our community for This Is My Best, but I’m also going to ask: Do you have a story or a diary you have written about the need for reproductive rights that is your “this needs to be read right now” diary? If you’re ready, drop it in the comments!
Let’s dive right in. As noted last week, these stories are intimate and reflective, deeply researched, and political. And they mean a lot to the people who wrote them. So give ‘em a read!
And remember: If you don’t see your story below, we’ll be keeping the party going right up until our joyful 20th anniversary on May 26!
EdgedInBlue
I don’t know Jane.. But I know Bernie and I don’t think she should be calling him out (updated)
It was the great health care debate and we knew at this point we weren’t going to get single payer, but there was still hope for the public option on the ACA. Progressives were calling out progressives, but this one progressive called out the Senate’s one and only Socialist. I got a bee under my bonnet and wrote this on the road between Texas and Missouri, on the way for Christmas Eve.
David Michigan
Letting go of Brutus, Brutus letting go (2015)
This may not be my best, and it isn’t the one with the most likes, but it’s the one that meant and means the most to me. We had recently lost our little puppy of 17 years; I wasn’t quite in mourning and not quite not in mourning. I was dealing with the loss. This diary is what came out.
dryeyes
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, will states regulate abortion? Not necessarily (2018)
The article goes beyond the moment to discuss an underlying philosophical and constitutional issue that will remain relevant for some time to come. It’s original in that it covers an issue that has been largely overlooked and it questions a common basic assumption that many have about what will happen when Roe v. Wade is formally overturned. While not a highly recommended article, it had the virtue of generating a healthy discussion and debate.
randallt
Does Party Affiliation Matter in State Races? (2006)
This was an early contribution to Daily Kos after blogging on my own in 2004. What I like most is that it involved an actual investigative approach that included back and forth communication, both e-mail and phone calls, with the subjects of my piece.
Mage11an
White Privilege and the Stanford Marshmallow Study (2020)
The Stanford Marshmallow Study supposedly confirms the mythos that certain virtues such as being able to delay gratification, identified even in young children, are predictors of success later in life. In examining the results of this study, I claim that it is white privilege that underlies both the willingness to delay gratification and successful adulthood. If the system works for you, you will be willing to wait for a better situation to come along. If the system does not work for you, you do not have that confidence and will instead act for short-term results. That white privilege is so inextricably bound up with the American/capitalist mythos of “work hard and get ahead” makes it all the more invisible and all the more insidious.
This was a true “diary” — in the sense of “dear diary” — and captured some realizations I had while reflecting on my own life and many of the sub-optimal decisions I have made.
anastasia p
Here’s your “moderate” John Kasich, people (2016)
Written in 2016 just before the radicalization of the entire GOP, it reminds us that Republicans who were often praised by some on the left for standing against Donald Trump were a danger to us prior to Trump. And, as I have warned often here, we should be wary of a media, desperate for Republicans who aren’t open traitors to American democracy, selling these people to us as decent, highly moral heroes. Kasich was/is comfortable with extremely radical policy ideas & he’s never been a decent, honest person.
drummergirl
A tale of two yard signs: Why I keep going (2012)
I've only written a couple diaries, but I was pretty proud of this one at the time. Writing isn't really my thing unless it is for research, but I felt compelled to write this one about the 2012 election. I remember my Mom being really proud of it when I sent her the link. I had never been involved in campaigns before 2008, and she hadn't since she worked on Jay Rockefeller's campaign for Governor so we shared an excitement during the Obama campaigns. We lost her a couple years after that, but it still makes me smile thinking of her sharing it with all her friends like I was still a kid.
MT Spaces
Black and white 'Space TV' B.S.—Before Sputnik (2017)
Reasons: The links are still good, my intros have wistful vibes, yet are informative about this transitional era of modern Mass Media.
Ranting: The rubbishy “anti-science fiction” programming that floods today’s airwaves with “reality shows” that aren’t real, and “news shows” that are like varying amounts of leaded gasoline in our water, make that oft-kitschy old “greasy kid’s stuff“ look a lot better.
neuro guy
Dr. Ben Carson is not smart (2015)
This the first story I posted on Daily Kos. Being in medicine, and specifically neurology, I have known many neurosurgeons; some smart, a few brilliant, and many average to just not smart. At the time I wrote this story, most of the media was making a big deal about how accomplished and smart Carson was because he is a neurosurgeon!!
His public statements made it crystal clear that he was not smart. In fact, he was/is quite stupid. I couldn't hold back and had to tell the world, as it were, that the guy was an intellectual joke.
It took 3-4 days to write counting the proof reading and cleaning up the grammar and syntax.
I was shocked at the response.
arabian
Why I'm Still Grieving... I Don't Think I'm Alone (2016)
This is my best diary. It’s also my most-read and recced and the title says it all. I didn’t think I was alone and I wasn’t. I wrote this on December 08, 2016. The month after Hillary Clinton had lost the general election, but not the popular vote and there were some of us who were still cooking up wild schemes that the Electoral voters would decide to give it to her after all in a few weeks. Others said we were crazy. Some just moped. Others blamed Bernie. Some said it was all Hillary’s fault. Some blamed the DNC. Others blamed this person or that organization. Members left in drove. Those that stayed, well, quite a few were not pleasant to one another.
Daily Kos was not the happiest place on Earth, to put it mildly. We were angry. And some of us were sad. To the point of grief. And those that were angry couldn’t understand. They felt like we were giving up. But that wasn’t it. We were just… we needed to grieve. And it had all bottled up inside of me and I needed to let it out; I needed to lay it all out, articulate where I was, why I was, where this overwhelming sadness was coming from and WHY it was still there so strongly over a month after the election. And I didn’t think I was was alone.
And so I did. And I wasn’t alone. And many others shared their thoughts, their feelings, and yes, their grief as well. This is my best diary because it wasn’t just about me, it was about the community of Daily Kos coming together as a community sharing in our love. True it was over the loss of what we loved on that awful November night, but in this space we united in our desire to keep fighting even in our grief.
Ed Tracey
CPAC, sex and the single girl (2012)
I’ve written over 1,000 …. and many that I am proud of, so it’s hard to choose.
Yet this one (from ten years ago. for Top Comments) was the one I had the most fun writing about. It was an internal right-wing debate about the CPAC conference: and the supposed sexuality going/not going on.
As we approach the 20th anniversary on May 26, I love going through diaries and remembering what it was like to read them the first time, and what it means to read them again. I’m also reminded of something else: There are 20 days left before May 26, and even though Daily Kos turns 20, and even if you have written thousands of diaries, your absolute best diary may happen between now and May 26! You best diary could happen today, tomorrow, or a week from now. What I really love about our community is that every day we find new stories that resonate with us in a powerful way and help give us a new appreciation for each other and our lived experiences.
Thinking back to my introduction, as I ponder the recent leaked ruling, I know that the next few weeks will be full of gut-wrenching, difficult content to deliver. It is that content—the ability to be vulnerable—that expresses true bravery. It’s the reason I’m still in awe of our community’s willingness to participate.