What Radicalized You?

I imagine you have seen that question all over social media as it applies to people’s divergent socio-political views. The word ‘radical’ can be viewed in a positive or negative light. I consider being radical as thinking outside the box of what is considered standard or the norm in a particular culture. In the 60s, hippies were thought of as radical, since their dress, music and behavior broke the mold of the more sedate, staid and constrained 50s. It was used as pejorative by those who were shocked and shaken out of their entrenched beliefs.

The iconic tv show, All in the Family was considered radical for its time since it shone a bright light on bigotry, sexism, relationships, and role expectations as embodied by the character of Archie Bunker, who was portrayed by Liberal actor Caroll O’Connor. He must have had a blast giving voice to attitudes that were not his own. My family watched it together and I would roll my eyes in disgust at Archie’s statements. My father reminded me that it was comedy and meant to make people consider their views as the writers poked fun at Archie. We also watched M*A*S*H which was a decidedly anti-war show. Decades after the final episode I still watch it. I do note that some of the attitudes in the series are sexist and women are often viewed as objects to be pursued by the doctors rather than equal colleagues.

What else radicalized me? Reading Highlights Magazine with the characters of Goofus and Gallant, two little boys whose behavior was polar opposite, with Goofus being rude and self serving and Gallant being kind and caring about others. While they were extreme examples of ‘good and bad behavior,’ they provided a template in which to make choices.

Mr. Rogers taught kindness, inclusivity, compassion, emotional regulation, and how to be a good neighbor. Fred stood up to the Senate in 1969 in order to maintain funding for PBS. If he was alive today, I am certain he would do the same in the face of the atrocious cuts levied by the current administration.

Having parents who modeled the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World) and Tzedakkah (righteousness and charity), radicalized me. They volunteered in our community and taught my sister and me to do the same. They let us go to church with Christian friends and took us to The Worlds Fair in NY and an annual multi-cultural event in our town, so we could learn that people could look all sorts of ways, worship differently and live all over the planet and still get along. We were not permitted to use the word ‘hate,’ since their belief was that it compelled people to commit acts of violence.

I was radicalized by going to college and grad school in the 70s and 80s and earning Psychology and Social Work degrees. While I was in undergrad, I worked at a Crisis Intervention Center in Glassboro, NJ called Together, Inc. We serviced a 24 hour crisis, suicide prevention hotline, a women’s program, rape crisis program, a people’s store (today’s version of a thrift store) where folks could buy items for $1 or even bring home for free if they couldn’t afford to pay, as well as shelter for runaway and homeless youth. It’s where I cut my teeth on my craft and learned invaluable skills that serve me to this day. It is where I developed my social justice sensibilities.

Music radicalized me, as a tree hugging hippie, when I sang along in my 6th grade class to If I Had A Hammer, Blowing in the Wind, and Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, Carole King, James Taylor, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell were the troubadours who set my heart afire.

Joining the Ecology Club and volunteering at our local Recycling Center in my teens radicalized me and helped me to see the Earth as a fragile entity in need of care and feeding.

Star Trek, with its honoring of diversity and at least attempting to resolve conflict, radicalized me.

The books Stranger in a Strange Land, 2150 AD, Woman on the Edge of Time, The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You, Illusions and Way of the Peaceful Warrior radicalized me.

The examples of the suffragettes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Congressman John Lewis, Princess Di, and the Dalai Lama radicalized me and had me realize the power of courage in the face of danger.

Listening to people’s stories about surviving war, trauma, anti-Semitism, racism and sexism radicalized me.

All of the heroes and sheroes who dared speak truth to power, radicalized me. They inspire me to continue ‘getting into good trouble,’ stand up, show up and speak out.