Last week the Democrats finished their convention, which despite early concerns about its virtual platform, wildly surpassed expectations. While nothing was notably gay, it’s important that all queer Americans give their attention to the Democrats this year more than ever. A Biden administration would be the most liberal one in modern history, and after 4 years of Trump taking a shit on us all, from packing the courts with anti-choice radicals to letting hundreds of thousands of us die from COVID, we need a decisive win.

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Republicans are trying to fill the airwaves with their own convention of lies, propaganda and truly unhinged villainy this week, so here are some key moments to hold onto as we weather the storm and march toward November:

The most sobering moment was President Obama’s full speech, which I highly recommend watching. Not only did he finally criticize Trump, he did what he does best - he inspired us. Obama reminded the nation that the most important thing we can do right now is band together, put our differences aside, and ensure we do as much as we can to ensure a Biden win. The most powerful moment of the speech was about legendary civil rights icon John Lewis.

“Some years ago, I sat down with John and the few remaining leaders of the early civil rights movement. One of them told me he never imagined he’d walk into the White House and see a president who looked like his grandson. Then he told me that he’d looked it up, and it turned out that on the very day that I was born, he was marching into a jail cell, trying to end Jim Crow segregation in the South.
What we do echoes through the generations.
Whatever our backgrounds, we’re all the children of Americans who fought the good fight. Great-grandparents working in firetraps and sweatshops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams to dust. Irish and Italians and Asians and Latinos told to go back where they came from. Jews and Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs, made to feel suspect for the way they worshiped. Black Americans chained and whipped and hanged. Spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters. Beaten for trying to vote.
If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work, and could not work, it was those Americans. Our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of America strayed from the myth. And yet, instead of giving up, they joined together and said somehow, some way, we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words, in our founding documents, to life.”

It does us all well to remember the millions of people who suffered tirelessly for our right to vote. We need to exercise it and not throw our hands up in exasperation. No one is coming to save us! So before you stream Obama’s totally bitchin’, deliciously sassy summer Playlist, do your civic duty and listen to this even sassier address.

Rhode Island and its calamari nominate Joe Biden

2. The roll call, a routine part of conventions that is typically skippable, reminded us that ordinary Americans are all part of the same cultural fabric. It showed us that it’s actually important to give a shit about each other, because this is who we really are. We aren’t politicians or billionaires, we’re the weird guy making calamari in Rhode Island. The virtual roll call was a smashing success, exemplifying why each state has something at stake in this election. At a time when so many of us are confined, we got to see out into the country and remember that it’s actually pretty amazing. I highly suggest watching this if you’re feeling bummed and tired of your same ol’ same ol’.

Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian Woman to be nominated for Vice President

3. Kamala Harris asked us “where were you when the stakes were so high?” Americans are notoriously bad at showing up to vote. We all joke about describing 2020 to our grandkids, but what will you really say? Kamala dared us to consider our future citizens -- namely, our children -- and what we would say to them.

“Years from now, this moment will have passed. Our children, and our grandchildren, will look in our eyes and ask us ‘Where were you when the stakes were so high?’ They will ask us ‘What was it like?’ And we will tell them. We will tell them not just how we felt, we will tell them what we did.’”

4. Jill Biden made the case for Joe Biden’s character in a really humanizing way. She revealed how tough it was to be a 26 year old that fell in love with a widower and his two young children, and spoke to Joe’s spirit of empathy and kindness. At a time when Americans are lonelier than ever, Jill took us in for a cup of tea.

Joe Biden gave his strongest speech to date

5. Man of the hour Joe Biden was not just functional, but galvanizing. Top Republican cronies at Fox declared the speech as “a home run,” and we all know how hard it is for Republicans to say anything nice. Even Senior Advisor to the Bush Administration,Karl Rove, gave praise! As someone who was never excited by Biden, it gave me comfort to know he is as responsive and capable as we need him to be to help heal America and bridge division. I know beyond any doubt that Joe and Kamala are the only candidates worth your time this election season. So buckle up for this frightfully turbulent, bafflingly controversial, totally disturbing path to Election Day. It’s time to take action, to exercise your right to vote, and to recognize that America won’t change without your active participation in this election. It’s time to rally your friends and family and talk to them about the stakes of another 4 years under the Discrimination Administration. It’s time to fasten your seatbelts, rev your engine and declare yourself Ridin’ with Biden. It’s kind of a silly tagline, but whatever is going to get us to the finish line, am I right?

Register to Vote

Are you an American citizen over the age of 18? Visit Vote.org to get information on registering deadlines, polling places and other critical information. It’s up to us to claim America. No one is coming to save us.