New Civic Duty, Part Two.
Yesterday I didn’t mince words: We can’t wait for others to do the work for us in the next four years. (I'm not the only person who thinks there's too much at stake BTW). We can’t slide from shock to numbness to complacency. Even being highly knowledgeable about what’s happening everywhere does not compare to doing the work to improve just one thing.
Yesterday I suggested some questions to help you start your volunteer profile. Today let’s face the multitude of issues that warrant attention. Scan this (probably not complete) list and see which elicit from you an immediate, visceral response:
- Reproductive rights
- LGBTQ
- Religious freedom
- Racism
- Income inequality
- Corporate welfare / cronyism
- Local / state / national elections
- Civil rights
- Gun regulation
- Police brutality
- Black Lives Matter
- Climate change / environment
- Education reform
- Freedom of the press
- Citizen government
- Immigration
- Mass incarceration
- Voter suppression / registration / turnout
- Any other issue I missed that’s important to you
If you have cash to throw at any of these, please do so immediately, more, and again. Find your causes and set up recurring monthly donations. Even donating a small and regular amount to one cause of your choice will help. Just this week I've cancelled $23 in monthly memberships so that I can re-route those funds to social causes. Please donate if you can, and do it now.
If you’ve narrowed down the list to one issue that you know will be your focus as a citizen activist, I’m jealous. But that’s great — you have the second part of your volunteer profile done. IT IS A HUGE LIST and no one person can stay up to date on everything regarding every issue.
Let’s the rest of us isolate a few topics to sink our teeth into. Here are my choices, and why I chose them:
- Corporate cronyism. As a business person and consultant, I read business news regularly anyway. I’ve worked with clients on corporate culture and accountability, and I’m interested in and passionate about responsible corporate behavior.
- Police brutality and Black Lives Matter. Like your heart, mine is crushed by these brutal killings, some of which we have now witnessed on video. They happen with alarming frequency and regularity, with no viable solution in sight.
- Language. This is not on the list above, and probably seems too broad and vague, but the best quote I can offer came from the comments section of some news article (yes, I read comments sections and sometimes emerge unscathed): "Language is EVERYTHING. It is the first weapon of war and truth is its first casualty.” This word nerd is obsessed with how we can use language to hold the line in this next round of tug-of-war.
In summary, the first cause is highly convenient for me to stay up on, because it overlaps with my day job. The second probably makes my heart the heaviest. The third is one that I can’t stop thinking about, even in the middle of the night. I’m passionate about all of them, and committed to doing the work.
That’s the task today: Figure out for which specific causes you want to work.
xo
Antoinette
|
