Community

Immediately after the election, as I was processing a lot of complicated emotions, I felt a need for community. This was speaking to my heart, and I could not ignore it.

It was a deep need to build a new community that expanded the network of friends and acquaintances I already had. It was a desire to create something that would strengthen the bonds with others and could help us through the coming challenges.

So, I put out a post. And you responded. Because you needed community too.

We all felt the need to connect and re-connect with others. Acknowledging that we can’t always affect change on a national level, but we can affect change in our communities – by building a strong community based on respect, on love and kindness.

We needed a safe space where people could grieve, be angry, cry, and wrestle with how to reconcile that people we love could have done something so hurtful to us and our children.

We also needed a space where we could take action – because it is not enough to just feel the pain and the fear. We need to do something. For it is in taking action that we have hope for the future.

These actions come in different forms. We need to determine how to build bridges to others with whom we disagree – to find common ground and new ways to communicate so we can win hearts and minds. We do not want to spread hatred, even to those who may hate us.

We need to be actively engaged as well. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We have to be on the playing field, working as a team, if we want to move the ball down the field towards the goal.

This means we have to take intentional actions to preserve our democracy. Holding our elected officials accountable – calling them, showing up at their offices, insisting that they fight to preserve their constitutional powers. Using your voice – in media and in person – to speak out against injustice. Going to protests and using your presence there to communicate to government authorities, and to your fellow citizens, that we do not consent to an authoritarian takeover of our country.

This is hard work. It demands courage. It requires us to step outside of our comfort zones. To stand up. Or, like Rosa Parks, to sit down. To speak the truth when faced with the onslaught of lies. To adhere to our principles when norms are being torn down. To notice the signs and symbols of hatred – and to interrupt and remove them.

We must set a good example for this moment and for future generations.

When our children and grandchildren ask us “what did you do when our democracy was threatened?” You need to be able to state, “I did everything I could to preserve our democracy for your future.”