OpEd: How to “Be the Change” After the Campaign…

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trish-causey-glasses-hatI’m still recuperating from the end of the campaign (i.e., catching up on rest).  I’ve been staying up late on Facebook and Twitter as things wind down and going to bed around 6 a.m., then waking up around 9 a.m., facebooking and tweeting almost immediately.  The outpouring of support is as amazing now as it was during the campaign.

I just posted here on AW my last blog post from my campaign blog, since I will not be renewing that blog when the time comes.  I think it is important for people to know what it is like to run a political campaign and why it is so hard for “the little guy” to win.

I’m still processing everything, and getting back to my own projects of Musical Theatre Magazine and doing the interviews for my upcoming AW project.  And being a single mom.  And filling out my new FASFA for school in the Fall.

Locals have been stopping me about town, telling me they voted for me, and asking will there be a next time.  So here are a few tips I’d like to share with voters who say they want things to change:

  1. Your vote matters.  People need to understand just how important their vote is and not succumb to “why bother” syndrome.
  2. You are not alone.  You’re not the only one who is desperate for things to change, so don’t be afraid to speak up.  You KNOW the RWNJ’s will speak up. You have that right as well.
  3. Change starts from within.  Until more people change on the microcosmic level of humanity we won’t have change on the macrocosmic level of government.  Period.

Gandhi’s advice, “Be the change”, really is the key.  You have to be the change in your own life before you can change your family.  You and your family have to be the change before you can change your neighborhood.  Your neighborhood has to change before you can change your community.  When your community has the strength to speak up and demand change, then we can have the change we need on the larger scales of society and government.

And not until then.

If you’re a woman, this is especially important.  Women were not “given” the right to vote.  Women FOUGHT for the right to vote in this country.  Women protested, organized, marched, and fought for the right to have a voice in our government.  These women were also harassed, beaten, set on by police dogs, imprisoned, and some died for the right to be a part of this governmental process.  Do not disrespect these women and their struggle because you have succumbed to the right-wing saturating our local and national psyche with their propaganda.

We CAN win elections.  We put a black guy in the White House, yes?  But we have to care enough in our local areas to get off our ass and actually get to the polls to vote for change.

Until then, we have to be mindful that change is not a big swooping phenomenon that will — *KAZAM!* — make everything better.  That is the mentality that evangelicals have about Jesus’ second coming.  Change is the little things we can do individually on a daily basis that will add up to major shifts in the collective consciousness.  Remember, a pebble thrown into a body of water causes a ripple that can become a wave.

So throw that pebble each day by making a list of 3 to 5 things you can do to create change in your own life, family, neighborhood, and community.

Example:

  • I will not watch the news before bed (so I can get restful sleep).
  • I will take the spare change out of my pocket at the end of each day, put it in a jar, and at the end of the month donate it to a local shelter.
  • I will say hello to everyone I pass today and wish them a great day, especially people I don’t know.
  • I will be grateful for what I have rather than be resentful for what I don’t have.
  • I will go to my city council meeting and explain why it would be good to have a community garden that grows vegetables for local residents.
  • I will water the plants for the elderly lady next door.
  • I can volunteer 2 hours at the local animal shelter.
  • I can donate $10 for a local kids’ group to buy some art supplies.

You will start to change your thinking, which will change your body chemistry, which will change how you feel and approach the world.  Imagine, then, how this ripple effect will help change others and ultimately change society for the better.

Start small.  Be the change.  Surf the wave to awakening.

trish

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2 Comments

  2. We will not have true change in politics until we have more awakening amongst the people. Right now, the people are too divided, thanks in large part to the divisive nature and bullshit propaganda of the right-wing faction.