Democrats: It’s time — well past time — to step up.

Who can take one more day of listening to Donald Trump calling on the angry angels of our nature? Who can take one more day of knowing that nurses and doctors and those working in the public don’t have the equipment they need to deal with COVID-19? The longer the delays we have in testing and prevention, the longer we will be in crisis. The longer we debate what our response should be, the longer we have to stay inside, separated. And the longer the world despairs.

If ever there were a time made for us to show who we are, it is now.

Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders. Stand up.

Here’s one idea. It’s a simple one and admittedly old-school: Host a telethon to raise money to buy masks and ventilators and test swabs. Hold it during Donald Trump’s press conference. Use the time to get out the facts about the coronavirus. Hell, invite celebrities. I would donate. Broadcast every day at 6pm. You can do this.

(I’m sure there are other ideas out there. I invite them.)

Inspire us. History is rich with circumstances in which we overcame adversity. Tell us those stories. Give us hope. Words matter. Dig deep into your hearts and tell us what matters in this life.

Work together and lift us up. Yes, we have to do our parts. But you need to remember that America’s best days — and by this I mean, its most selfless and generous days — were inspired by great leaders: Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, King.

You may be speaking now but we’re not hearing you. You must do something radically different, radically kind, to break out from the din.

We are not helpless. I know this is true. But we are flailing around, grasping for direction to come from someone who can speak to our goodness. Someone who can bring us together when we are literally separated. Someone who can say, “Let’s go.”

Originally posted on Medium.