My word for 2017

I promise this blog isn’t going to become all political. Really. But. It’s always been about what’s going on in my life and these are the things I’m thinking about right now, so that’s what I’m going to share. To that end, I’m feeling a little scattered right now…a number of thoughts competing for space. I’m just going to go with what I know and make a list, lol…(please recognize that the order of these doesn’t reflect any sort of weight…I’m just trying to get them out of my head).

(Also, please recognize that I'm not 100% endorsing any of the articles linked here. I've simply found them useful in some way in challenging or honing my own thoughts and felt them worthy of sharing.)

1. To those saying that people should stop whining and move on…on the one hand, yes, I agree. This article and this one and this one do a decent job of putting that into words (though I could do without the religious aspects or the profanity). Plus, I feel strongly that the system of government should be respected. On the other hand, I’d remind you that whining isn’t new. The losing party generally does that for the full term; it hasn’t even been a full week. You can’t seriously argue to me that the Republican party hasn’t been whining in some form or another for eight years (or that Democrats weren’t doing the same before that).

Aside from all that, though, this isn’t actually the same as other years. People aren’t bemoaning politics. They’re honest-to-goodness afraid of what a Trump presidency may mean for civil liberties. If you haven’t already seen it, check out this link. That’s just a small sample of the individual stories I’m hearing (some directly from people I know) about atrocities being committed by people who now think that this behavior has been endorsed.

This, THIS, is exactly what a number of Hillary supporters were voting against. If you haven’t already, read this plea. So far, the fact that the first response from the president-elect was a tweet calling those protesting against him “Very unfair!” is not encouraging (and one has to note that when people protested on his behalf during the campaign he was all for it). I have yet to see any sort of call for moving forward together or denouncing the hate crimes happening across the country from this man or his team. Also, read this and this.

To those who think this still might just be an over-reaction, I’ll ask whether you, personally, have had to stop and worry about your own safety. I had a conversation this week with another non-white, female friend. We both acknowledged that this week we’ve actually had to stop and think about how we would react if something like this happened to us…because it could.

2. To those who are bad-mouthing student protesters, especially, I ask you to stop. (To clarify, I am not in any way endorsing or applauding any of the violent protests in the country. I think that definitely works against the very thing people are fighting for.)

Back to my request. Before you continue in your complaints about why the schools aren’t teaching these kids better and why we’re wasting tax payer money on this when they should be in class and why they’re even bothering when they can’t vote…Have you actually read the First Amendment? Do you value your right to speak your mind here? Do you remember the Civil Rights Movement? Do you think that the laws and leadership of this country don’t affect people who can’t vote?

Yes, I’m sure there are some among the students who are simply taking advantage of the opportunity to ditch class. But. Most of them are genuinely concerned about what they see happening around them. (Sadly, many of the stories I’m seeing are coming from schools…from students who are being bullied more openly because of the color of their skin or because they’re gay. Children are sincerely afraid to go to school. Children of people I know.) They have no vote, as you’ve said. This, then, is how they’re choosing to try to make themselves heard. Actively participating in our country seems like something to be applauded and encouraged and is arguably more valuable than an hour of English class.

3. To those on my Facebook feed who continually post things asking people to share if they agree that we need to put God back in government (and variations on that theme)…I’m respectfully telling you that I will not do that. Contrary to what you seem to believe, this country was actually founded on principles to guarantee religious freedom, principles that sought to ensure a separation of church and state. The Europeans who came here were generally trying to escape religious persecution…to escape governments trying to tell them how and what they should believe. To argue now that we must put God “back” in government is to discount what they fought and suffered for and shows a willful ignorance of history.

4. To those who are trying to make sense of this all by trying to figure out who is to blame…I understand. When faced with something this big and confusing, it seems natural to want an explanation. I’ve seen many different theories. Perhaps it’s the fault of white, female voters. Relatedly, perhaps it’s actually wealthy white men going back centuries. Perhaps it’s one-sided media and false equivalency and Facebook. Perhaps it’s the neglect of all those living in rural areas. Perhaps it’s the decades of negative PR against Hillary Clinton.

Personally, I think it’s a combination of all these things along with a failing from Hillary’s campaign to adequately address some of these more straight on. Mostly, I think it’s a failure to get outside our personal “bubbles”…a failure to experience different view points and learn that the world is not black and white but, instead, is many shades of grey. To that end, here’s what I’m going to do:

I realize that 2017 hasn’t started yet but I feel compelled to announce my word of the year now. I hadn’t been actively thinking about it, but this is what’s strongly coming through as the right word. That word is PUSH. I want to push myself to expand my bubble and that of my sons. I will do that by challenging myself each week to push myself beyond my comfort zone at least once. Here are some specific ways I will try to do that:

• I will not unfriend people on Facebook but will continue to use it as an opportunity to see more sides of each story. I will try to offer my view point where appropriate to broaden the discussion.
• I will do my best not to avoid conflict because I assume I can't change the other person's mind. Doing so is denying them the benefit of the doubt and missing an opportunity to help them see something outside of their own bubble as well as missing the opportunity to learn something outside of my own bubble.
• I will continue teaching my kids the value of critical thinking and questioning sources.
• I will wear a safety pin.
• I will do a better job of educating myself on the issues and hold the media to higher standards by not blindly following single sources.
• I will try to start up actual conversations with people, which is asking a lot of this introvert, lol. 
• I will work to expose my sons to more cultures.
• I will support organizations that promote tolerance and inclusion.
• I will volunteer. As a start, I plan to contact Habitat for Humanity tomorrow (because I've just always wanted to help there but have never taken the next step, not because I necessarily think that's a better place than anywhere else to volunteer).

I invite/challenge you to join me in pushing yourself outside of your bubble in whatever way works best for you.

Comments

[carrieH]

Well said. After a sad several days, I am beginning to feel that I can move forward a bit. I keep repeating to myself, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." My mantra for the next four years. Make a difference, be kind, speak up, say hello, be good. Thank you for your well thought out thoughts.