In a way, I feel like we are reliving the 1960s-era of activism that became so iconic and in some ways distorted, in its constant retelling. Protests (i.e. Post-Election protest, Executive Order – protests at the airports), civil rights marches (Women’s March), black power (i.e. Black Lives Matters), and feminist struggles all have been resurrected once again in 2017. Haven’t we learned from our mistakes. We are just going around in circles, repeating the same things all because of one person.
The 1960s was a time that young people actually believed that they could change the world and were actually changing the world. Today, with all our contemporary efforts at social change, with all its complexities, it’s easy to feel like failure is inevitable. It’s about understanding the nature of failure. Using the experience of failure is necessary in order to move toward one’s true calling. Its really about continuing to dream big at a large enough scale while tackling small, radical acts strategically everyday with our hands.
“We must wake up wondering how we might fail at changing absolutely everything in such a way that we manage to change a little something.”
-Courtney E. Martin, Do It Anyways
A Call to Action:
So what can you do to actually change the world and show your support during these dark times in the United States. Here are a few examples of what you can do
- Immigrant ribbon making event to show your support
- Donate money for the cause
- Protest peacefully
- Be heard and be seen
- Reach out to local Muslim communities
- Let them know you stand with them and support them. Ask what they need in this time of national crisis
- Educate yourself on immigration and refugee laws
- Donate to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
- Pro-bono lawyers are fighting for those people immediately effect by the executive order by obtaining an emergency stay that blocks the deportation of all people stranded in U.S. airports.
- Donate to refugee organizations
- i.e RefugeeOne – a resettlement organization in Chicago
- Attend an interfaith vigil
- Call your legislators
- Use your professional skills
- Educators, Lawyers, etc.
- Don’t lose faith and hope
“We each have the opportunity to live our lives consciously in spite of all the soporific influences, to act even when we know how complex the prospect of doing so truly is. Our charge is not to “save the world,” after all; it is to truly live in it, flawed and fierce, loving and humble. The bureaucracy we face, the scale of our challenges, the intractable nature of so many of our most unjust international institutions and systems – all of these add up to colossal potential for disappointment. No matter. We must strive to make the world better anyway. We must struggle to make our friendships, our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nation more dignified, knowing that it might not work and struggling anyway. We must dedicate ourselves each and every morning to being the most kind, thoughtful, courageous human beings who ever walked the earth, and know that it still won’t be enough. We must do it anyway.”
– Courtney E. Martin
I would love to hear how each and everyone of you are doing to show your support in your local area. Please comment below.
