I tuned in late to a daily NPR show this week. The speaker said, "Pick up the plastic bag, yes it matters." The message was that every action, no matter how small, helps our earth--an electric car, fewer airplane trips, recycling, solar panels, turning off lights in empty rooms, and reusable water bottles. The speaker ended the interview with: "If no one tries; if everyone says it doesn't matter; we will no longer have a home."
Ominous but true.
My philosophy has always been that doing one's share helps. Early on in my career as a Speech Therapist for a public school system, I knew I could not be successful with every child. My role changed over time, as the school system enrolled more seriously disabled children. I felt very good at the end of the school year, that I had made a difference in the lives of kids but never each and every one. Children come to school with complicating factors--English as a second language, learning problems, poverty, trauma, neglect, and various problems in their homelife--which negatively affect progress.
The same reasoning applies to social action. A friend of mine who recently passed away, when we spoke of buying on Amazon, said that our goal is to try our best not be perfect. I had been discussing workplace abuse of Amazon employees. Sometimes, buying from Amazon is the best option, as opposed to endless searching for an item in a local business that is made in the U.S.A. I try not to purchase items made in China, due to the abuse of the Uyghurs in that country. To be 100% successful is next to impossible, given the amount of goods imported from there.
It is a presidential election year--and a tumultous and historic one. No one has the right to sit this one out, since our democracy is at risk. We have heard this refrain for several years. Now is now; we are at the critical point. The specific action you choose is your privilege, whether it be donating money or time. And if you choose time, you have the right to decide what form that action will take. Will it be knocking on doors, leaving text messages, calling voters, standing on a street corner with a sign, volunteering at your party's headquarters, or writing postcards and letters?
Americans are so lucky to live in a country where we vote, speak out, and are exposed to different viewpoints. However, warning lights are blinking on and off highlighting our weaknesses--attempts to alter votes, omitting people from voter lists, and discouraging voters of color. Arguments are ongoing regarding the limits of free speech. Along the same lines, the inherent meaning of the second ammendment of the Constitution is constantly being altered. The "right to bear arms" now includes the use of automatic weapons by ordinary citizens. Hatred exposed in online groups and expressed in graffiti is increasing. Since we have the good fortune to live here, we cannot sit by and watch. Dangerous men and women, including the Republican candidate for President, are attempting to abrogate rights that were established in the last fifty years (or further back). They want to change the very nature of our republic.
People in the United States often remark that their vote does not make a difference. That is false given the close races in recent years. Please vote. It is your voice, your power to prevent what is dangerous, maintain what improves the lives of all of us, and change what is detrimental.
Therefore, it is important that you contribute and demonstrate your concern. According to Mahatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
©Karen Levi 2024
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