A Call To Action – Standing Up for What We Believe In

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
    • Find your House Representatives here
    • Find your Senators here
  • 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.

Freedom Over Fear. Fem is the Future. Tell me your stories.

 

Freedom Over Fear

January 21st, 2017, is a day that will go down in history as the “Rise of Women”. It was a day that I saw SO MANY strong women march in the “Women’s March” all over the world. From little girls with their mothers, to women of so many different backgrounds & cultures, to feminists and non-feminists alike, to faces of women on posters who have since past away like Maya Angelou. “And Still I Rise” is what she would say.

Even though this year 2017, our new leaders is a man (that I will not name in this post) who is disgusting, filthy and arrogant and we should have been led by an incredibly strong woman, Women of the world have risen up today and stood up for what they believe in. From Madonna, Alicia Keys, to Janelle Monae and Amy Schumer, who all spoke at the “Women’s March” event in Washington DC, they spoke up for women who couldn’t speak up for themselves. ‘Fem is the Future. Freedom over Fear’

This is why I created this blog to begin with. To empower and strengthen the voices of so many AMAZING women in this world!

Please comment and tell me why January 21st, 2017 – The beginning of women empowerment –  is an important day for you. I want to hear your stories.