"I AM Somebody!"

"There comes a time, when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one..." Those lyrics are from "We Are The World" a song that was composed and sung by a famous group of musicians in 1985 to raise money for starving people in Africa. I still get inspiration from that song, especially at times like these. 

The Friday before last, I was meeting with a client who I will refer to as Ashley. Ashley was shaken up very badly about political events going on that week. She said she was having trouble sleeping and couldn't concentrate at work. I didn't understand the intensity of her anxiety. She wasn't an undocumented immigrant or the member of a minority group. She wasn't disabled or a federal employee. I hadn't watched the news for a few days. Had I missed something? I wanted to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about, but it somehow didn't seem right to console someone with that type of logic. "Don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. It's only going to happen to others."

I asked her what she was afraid would happen but she couldn't quite pin it down. She talked about being a woman and working for an organization that receives federal funding. She went on to say that what frightened her the most was that no one seemed to be doing anything about the negative political things that were happening. I recalled hearing that people were sending the message through social media to their Democratic leaders, "DO SOMETHING." But the leaders themselves seemed to feel helpless. They didn't seem to know what to do, or think that it would make any difference.  

The feelings of being unsafe did not come for me until Sunday night when I was watching a news story about the anticipated increase in costs for the average person related to the tariffs being imposed on Mexico, Canada and China. My anxiety rose to the level at which my heart rate was increasing. My blood pressure was elevating. So was my level of anger. It was a breaking point. I knew at that moment that I had to do something, but what? The first thing to do when you don't know what to do is to ask. A short time later, I googled "Schuylkill Democrats" and sent them a message. "This isn't fair. People voted for him to lower their bills, not make them bigger! Please tell us how we can FIGHT BACK." The action was good but the timing left a lot to be desired. As much as I disliked the policies of the new administration and what they were doing to others, I waited to actually do something about it until they threatened to affect me personally. 

"He did WHAT?" I exclaimed on Tuesday when one of my clients told me that he cancelled Martin Luther King Day and every holiday or remembrance day that was not part of the traditional "White/Christian" culture. I started watching news stations at every free moment. For the first time ever, something was on my TV more than "Little House on the Prairie". On Tuesday or Wednesday, he discussed his plan to take over the Gaza Strip, forcing the Palestinians to migrate into Egypt or the Jordan, while simultaneously forbidding people from migrating into the United States. I recalled the comments I made in my last blog - about how our ancestors not only crossed into this country uninvited, but judged themselves to be more worthy than the people already here and just took over. I talked about how that process would have been forbidden according to our current immigration policies. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that we would ever be talking about doing the same thing again! The most grievous plan was the one on Thursday to cut foreign aid to people who will die without it. It seemed that we had all suddenly become characters in a Lifetime movie called "PSYCHO PRESIDENT". 

I keep thinking of quotes from the past that are suddenly becoming relevant again. 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke. 

"There is no more neutrality in the world. You will either have to be part of the solution, or you are going to be part of the problem." Eldridge Cleaver.

"First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade Unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out." Martin Niemoller. 

"I said 'Somebody should do something about that.' Then I realized, I AM somebody." Lily Tomlin

"I am only one but I am one, I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." Edward Everett Hale 

The last quote has become my new mantra. As a new member of the Schuylkill Democrats, there will be letters to write, petitions to sign and protests to attend. I don't know if anything will happen as a result of us doing this, but I do know what will happen if we don't. 

                     "We can't go on, pretending day by day, that someone, somewhere will soon make a change. 

                      We are all a part of God's great big family, and it's true, you know love is all we need!" 

                                                      We Are the World - USA for Africa (1985)