“Call to Action!”
When those three words
pop up in an email or a Facebook post, I am ready to devour the message and see
what I can do. Taking action means I am doing something positive to help reduce
or erase a problem or situation. Taking action means I am not helpless or
powerless.
Last weekend, I
got up from my computer and took action, marching with Inaugurate Compassion, a
group that was organized and galvanized on Facebook. Our march was a “Peaceful action of
compassionate solidarity with the causes and communities under duress in the
emerging political climate.”
It took place in
downtown Bakersfield from a parking lot on L Street to the Liberty Bell in front
of the courthouse. Approximately two hundred folks took part, all of us
concerned about the welfare of our community and the impending forecast for the
direction our nation is heading. Because of the solidarity shown and the speeches
by spokespersons of compassionate community organizations, my heart was
lightened and my spirits buoyed. I’d become filled with ideas of additional
ways to take action.
Sometimes we
forget it is still our country. WE, the people. As last Saturday’s rally crowd
chanted, “The people, united, can never be divided.” We’ve believed that
before. That’s how we got to be the United States of America.
It’s still true
today. Activists, patriots, have never forgotten this even though many of the
rest of us got comfy and sat back, rested on our own laurels and enjoyed the
privileges others fought for on the front lines. I sure did.
Taking action is
a good thing, an invigorating thing. We feel less helpless if we can DO
something. So much is happening in our country and world we can’t sit still and
complain or stick our heads in the sand. It’s our job as citizens to act.
What can I do,
you ask? Help out with seniors, foster youth, homeless people, or your family
members who may be struggling. Support businesses and products that reflect
your values. Resist tyranny, the unrestrained exercise or abuse of power. Call and write your government representatives and officials -- local, state, and national –- and tell them
what you, their constituent, want them to do. Voice your opinion in letters to
the editor of your newspaper. Be a good neighbor.
Get involved in
your neighborhood school. Your kids are
grown or don’t live in your city? No matter; you will be living in the society
run by those kids who are now in school. It’s in your best interest to help
insure their academic success. Volunteer to read with kids, tutor in math, or
share your life experience in a classroom.
Many things are out
of our control. But we do have control over what we will do to help preserve
our democracy and make our country and world places where every person has a chance
to live and thrive.
“It falls to each of us to be those anxious,
jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given
to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all
our outward differences, we all share the same proud title: Citizen.”
Barack Obama, in his farewell address to the American people, January 10, 2017.
~ xoA ~
