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When there are big, visible, social movements—people banding together, marching in the streets, demonstrating, protests—they are trying to change what will unfold in the future by making themselves seen and heard. They know, for example, that a democracy is not simply something that happens in exclusion of them, but that democracy is a participatory event. A working democracy means that we the people have to be a part of the process.
Today, I rode the rail to Los Angeles, and at each stop, dozens more people with signs got on. The guy next to me had two small kids in tow, and explained that he could only go to the rall for a short time because his oldest son had a little league game and they were hoping to get back to see the last few innings. Their sign had a big picture of a snail with the words “why is change so slow?”
Activism is something you can fit into your life. People often think that “being an activist” needs to be a full on part of their identity. That it is akin to volunteering, that you have to commit to hours every week to make it happen.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can all be more conscious of systemic abuses that cause harm to people. Often to people who are unlike us. Those abuses need to change. They shouldn’t be a part of the fabric of our lives.
If you haven’t yet heard Emma Gonzalez’s speech in Washington about the effect that a single act of abuse can have in 6 minutes and 20 seconds, I urge you to listen to it here.
***
Activism can be a part of the fabric of your life. In everyday conversations, what you share, in how you show up.
I like to think of activism as three action phrases: Stand up. Speak out. Show up.
Stand up for what you believe in. Take a stand. Understand the issues. Which side of the issue does the most good, the least amount of harm, and is fair and equal to all?
Speak out. Use your words. Articulate the issue in your own way. Say it, write it, create art. It may take practice. Then, practice. You don’t have to get the perfect words all the time. But just taking a stand in your own mind doesn’t do any real good and is part of why people get overwhelmed.
Show up. You don’t have to be a leader. Or an organizer. Or a rebel. Or a radical. Just show up when it matters. At the marches. At your Congressperson’s doorstep. At the voting booth.
It takes a huge co-ordinated effort to help bend that moral arc towards justice. But we can do it. Be a part of history.
This is what democracy looks like.
#MarchForOurLives
Something I haven’t seen headlines mention enough is that #MarchForOurLives was the largest demonstration for gun reform in HISTORY. What has long been a divisive, touchy, immovable topic in this country has hit a remarkable tipping point. Sorry @NRA, there’s no going back.
— Rob Sheridan (@rob_sheridan) March 25, 2018
***
Started at Pershing Square, Los Angeles
Finished at LA City Hall
A six-year-old just handed this to me. pic.twitter.com/9osX7LNpFj
— Laura Koenig (@2nickels) March 24, 2018
Now that is what I call a great start to the Marathon we have ahead. #JustTheBeginning
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2018
Parkland students are wearing a $1.05 “price tag” which represents the total NRA money that went to Marco Rubio divided by the number of Florida students.
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) March 24, 2018
Michelle and I are so inspired by all the young people who made today’s marches happen. Keep at it. You’re leading us forward. Nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 24, 2018
Photos by author
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Very well said Lisa. If every one simply takes a small action, change will happen. So hard to understand why more parents are not becoming involved.
Thanks for commenting Dave. Sometimes people need to see others involved first. When we think of the Civil Rights Movement, or the protests against the Vietnam war, it took many protests over many years. I’m hoping this becomes a model for future activism.