Change is inevitable.

The pendulum effect holds that trends in culture, politics, etc., tend to swing back and forth between opposite extremes. Still, moving forward doesn’t happen by accident.

People resist change even if it will eventually be good for them. Change can be hard, but progress is made up of steps forward as we learn new things and steps backward as trying new things frightens us. Over time, though, society moves past fear and moves forward.

A year ago, I was sad that I’d lost friends over the course of the election. I’d found out that a lot of people wanted only what I could give them. They wanted good times. They didn’t care about me, my child, anyone who might be different than them, the People of the country. Hell, considering their decisions, they didn’t care much about their own kids, either.

A year later, I find I’ve lost a few more friends, maybe we’re just out of touch, but I guess that’s as it should be, considering. You see, I don’t get to almost exclusively post silly jokes on social media anymore. There used to be few urgent or poignant posts from me, serious issues usually disguised as jokes, about having a hard time recovering from the last recession, about being an aging woman in America (or being a woman at all), dealing with depression, or really anything serious. No, as a direct result of the 2016 election I am in a fight for my own life and part of the fight for the lives and futures of everyone in our country, not just the kids, but everyone, even the aging like me. Those friends only want me when I’m fun, but we’re contending with a hostile foreign power getting the final say in our government’s decisions, the rule of corporations and the selfish wealthy, and just about any other entity or club you can name working against the American people from our own Congress to churches to the Nazi party.

I was more fun when I wasn’t fighting for my life. And theirs.

So, are they stepping back because they really don’t care about me? about the country? Can they not see what is happening here? Or are they stepping back because I’m fighting, and they don’t want to? don’t want to be reminded what they should be doing? Are they feeling guilty for not joining the fight knowing it’s everyone’s job in a democracy to do the research, to speak up for what they want, to fight for what is right? Who will they blame if enough people don’t stand up and fix this problem?

Either way, whether it’s laziness or guilt or just plain stupidity, I will join with millions of Resisters and continue to fight for what is right, for our futures, for our children’s futures. And I’ll continue to fight on their behalf, too, even if they’re too lazy or stupid to do it for themselves. I don’t care if they appreciate it or not. As far as I’m concerned, the lazy, stupid, and guilty need to stay the hell out of our way.

“A man is what he thinks about all day.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You see the problems. You see the direction we’re headed in and what needs to change. Change doesn’t just happen.

Nobody else is going to stand up for us, for our kids, if we are too lazy or stupid to do it. It’s no use blaming one’s laziness or guilt on those of us in the fight. We’re doing the best we can, but we can’t do it alone. Whatever people are waiting for, they need to stop complaining and step up. You’re the hero you’ve been waiting for. If not you, who?

-End, Part One of Two. Happy New Year!

(When you share this meme or the one at the top of the post, please also include the link to this post. *hugs*)

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” ― Theodore Parker

We still have to do the work. If we don’t, who will? This post is the first of two parts.

Link: Work On That Pitch – by E. Brooks at Gray Matters. Don’t just tell me I’m not doing enough. Tell me what you want that I’m not already doing.

Link: Only Love – by E. Brooks at Gray Matters. Love, not hate, can get us back on track.

Link: Through – by E. Brooks at Gray Matters. The only way out is through.

#Resist #YouAreTheHero