Why Indivisible
In late November of ’24, after we had all recovered somewhat from the debacle we had all witnessed in Washington, we started talking with a number of friends and acquaintances about what we could do to educate and support our fellow citizens in Garrett County about what was about to happen to our community and, indeed, our country. Starting a group like this was not going to be easy in these uncertain times.
Mike Bello, a leader of Garrett Forward, has followed the Indivisible group since its creation in 2016. He knew that they were formed by a married couple (Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg) who were former congressional staffers that recognized the need for a well-run national group of activists to navigate and resist that first debacle. Indeed, in the ensuing years since, Indivisible has become a respected, well organized and non-partisan coalition of local chapters from all states in all geo-political locations. They have also developed a huge trove of resources that are available to local affiliates free of charge. But the real beauty of the organization is that it allows local affiliates to structure their group the way they want without interference from state or national entities.
Garrett Forward Is Launched
On an early winter evening in December 2024 about a dozen like-minded Garrett Countians met at a couple’s house to discuss possibilities, positives, negatives and a way forward for how we thought we could benefit ourselves and our fellow citizens. We decided to only accept truth and facts in all we do, that we would be non-partisan and that all voices would be welcome and that we would work locally to help and benefit the hard working community of Garrett County while at the same time promoting awareness about what we could do to support issues of national importance. We decided to adopt the name Garrett Forward and in a couple of weeks we had a logo a mission statement and we were a registered Indivisible group. We had our first general meeting in March and from the great turnout, we knew we were on the right track.
Our Relationship with Indivisible
Recognizing that we live in an extremely red county in an extremely blue state, we decided that our best path forward was to work locally to influence the politics in the county that have a direct effect on our fellow citizens. The question about how we can best use our affiliation with Indivisible to achieve that goal is simple. Indivisible affords us access to a wide range of resources we can employ in our mission. From legal advice to financial assistance through direct reimbursement, organizer training, cyber security information and training, access to a vast library of printed materials and information and as we mentioned before, most of it is free.
There are also sub-groups with group specific information and resources such as The Rural Caucus and The Truth Brigade. For more information on these and other resources available, please visit Indivisible.org and take a tour. As a result of Garrett Forwards representation at the first Maryland convening of Indivisible groups statewide on July 25,26 and 27 we are now part of a coalition that we can rely on for collaboration, support and a shared sense of purpose. At the end of the day, Garrett Forward can rely on our relationship with Indivisible to be a valuable resource and partner in our work to find common ground!
A Proviso
It’s worth noting that an agreement with the platform, program and activities of Indivisible is not a requirement to join Garrett Forward.
Our goal is citizen engagement to better our community and defend essential programs from federal budget cuts. Healthy, constructive dialogue over our differences will help achieve our goal.