(If you received this
blog by email, you might want to visit the actual site. The pictures work much
better there.
Just click on the
title “Yogi Berra was right”)
Have you ever
written a long email, took you hours (it seemed), only to lose it when you hit
some mystery key that snatched it into oblivion? I did something like that
yesterday with a blog post. As I was pulling it together, a formatting goblin
possessed it and refused to be exorcised no matter which of my clever editing
tricks I used. Finally, not enthusiastic about re-typing the whole thing from
scratch (I’m a slow and rotten typist), I took it as a sign that I wasn’t
supposed to post that particular blog. I was ambivalent about it anyhow. The
fact that I’m obsessed with post-election activism, I kept thinking, doesn’t
mean everyone wants to read my latest rant. At great length.
So I decided to do the
Cliff Notes version of that blog, and pass along some fun photos as insulation.
After all, it’s solstice, and we should celebrate the return of the light …
while doing our part to be sure it returns (I couldn’t resist that little hint
of the goblin-esque blog).
So here’s that blog post,
in brief:
Yogi Berra was
right. It ain’t over til it’s over.
We can’t let the complicated distraction of the holidays—or our activism fatigue from being hyper-energized
by this stuff for over a month—persuade us that it’s time to kick back and wait
for our next best shot at a different president. We have to be active, stay
active, protest, resist, organize … do what JFK called “the quiet work of centuries,”* keep building toward what MLK called “the beloved community.”
A bunch of articles in recent days have
heightened my awareness of how truly, deeply, genuinely scary this time is for
our communities and our country. Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York
Times columnist Paul Krugman described the moment like this: “If there is any
hope of redemption, it will have to begin with a clear recognition of how bad
things are. American democracy is very much on the brink.” Michelle Obama said
to Oprah, “Now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like.”
To me, those are heads up, wake-up calls to action. For hints of what
got me all riled up, read these articles:
So what should we
do?
“Shout from the rooftops,” despite the exhaustion that
comes from sustaining outrage (Charles Blow, NYT).
Stand up, speak up, protest, write letters, make phone
calls, write emails, sign petitions, lobby elected officials, demonstrate. And
then do it all again. (Paraphrased from comments by the ED of the Colorado ACLU at a recent community forum).
And from author Ken
Burns, asked by a student what she should do in the face of the threat posed by Trump:
What to do, you ask? A million things, of course. But
it begins with the first step of awareness and commitment, which you have
already made.
Just go forward. Engage. Don’t despair. Find
likeminded people—not from your social circle, but everywhere. Change the
opinions of others, not with ridicule, but reason.
Finally, remember too that Barack Obama himself has
said that the highest office in the land is not president, but citizen.
Be one.
He was talking to
me. Be a citizen, he said. Be a participant in this marvelous experiment in
Democracy—or share the responsibility if it crashes.
And remember, some
people don’t have the option of stepping back. People of color, religious
minorities, immigrants, people with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ (especially trans) people, women … all of the people
that this president elect and his nascent administration have targeted or promised to target—they/we are members of our
communities, too, and we/they can’t sit back and wait. The dangers are every day for them/us. Those
of us with great privilege need to spend it now, spend it toward the beloved
community.
If we’re in this
for the long haul—and we are, like it or not—we have to look beyond the cartoon image
of a mass of orange hair hovering above the inaugural bible. We have to stay
engaged when the ceremonies are over and the daily grind sets in.
P.S. If you’re looking for some ideas about just
how to get active, stay tuned for a
soon-to-be-announced (by Out Boulder County and A Queer Endeavor) “Community
100-Day Plan”—a people’s equivalent to the president’s “first 100-days” plan. I
can just about promise that something there will get you jazzed.
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* Aptly, the
phrase “the quiet work of centuries” became the title of Resonance Women’s Chorus’ recent post-election concert.
©
Janis Bohan, 2010-2015. Use of this content is welcome with attribution and a
link to the post.
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