You are an Equality Activist Because You Are Somebody.

Over the last week, one striking thing I heard people say is that they could never do that as if they are not a true activist.  Somehow they decided that it elevates the work of Get Equal to say they could never do that.  They love it, admire, it, are grateful for it but could never do it.  I hear(d) it even more often about fasting for the ERA in Illinois in 1982.  But here’s the deal, that idea is actually disempowering and, ultimately, ends the reverberation of the action.  The most courageous action is only as powerful as the distance it reaches through observation, attention and conversation.  You have to keep it alive and send it forward.

From your computer, your desk, your phone; you are now the principle activist.  You give life and gravitas to the action.  Rosa Parks, Mother Jones, Sonia Johnson, Alice Paul all needed cascading participants to make their actions effective.  You are both the witness and the developer of the action’s reach.  MLK, Cesar Chavez, Larry Kramer, Harvey Milk all depended on activists at all levels of involvement.  The Quit India Campaign only made real progress the West made Gandhi et al. their daily conversation. 

Activists at the center of an issue are just the mallet hitting a gong; announcing that an issue deserves, needs, demands attention.  Done properly the point person is practically anonymous ~ the issue is the star.   Hopefully the circulating reverberations take over as media, organizations, communities, electeds, families keeping the ringing alive, expanding the circles.  In the actions of last week, Get Equal rang the gong several times with full intention of making it louder, long lasting and urgent.  It is now up to every activist on every level to contribute to the reverberation. 

Maybe Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell isn’t YOUR issue, frankly as a pacifist I would prefer to not have a military at all (yes – that is another thing all together)  but DADT, along with Marriage Equality, are the available issues on which we say as a people that no one is equal until everyone is equal.  Just the briefest of research makes it clear that this is not about the troops not wanting to serve with homosexuals, they already do.  Our Allies, the Secret Service, the CIA have no regulation barring homosexuals.  For me this is about abandoned widows, sexual harassment, fear mongering, and division of constituents.  Marriage Equality is not about churches or the bible; it is about 1139 civil rights that are so integral to American well-being that Liz Taylor is marrying for the ninth time to assure them for herself.

One truly frustrating point is that the country enthusiastically elected a President who both promised and represented EQUALITY.  Those who want to dismiss it all under the rubric of too much on his plate, such as finance and health care; there are grave inequities in both Health Care and Finance Reform. Women and LGBT are not granted full access to the benefits of the new Health Care Reform Bill.  The Fair Paycheck Act has not been passed which is needed for women to benefit from the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; without it, the Fair Pay Act was just a photo op.  And we all heard this candidate say he could do more than one thing at a time.  Some people on the left are saying that this is not time to pressure Congress or President Obama.  Actually, this is the only time.  I hope it is not too late.  The current Congress is about to recess and begin the campaign season and we have no idea what the 112^th Congress is going to look like. 

For me this is not just about campaign promises or Congressional role change but rather about the global movement in regards to women and gender.  We are watching hate crimes rise, bigotry dig in its heels and fear pour over earth as demonstrated by some African countries considering executing people for their gender orientation and/or support of non-heterosexuality.  I believe it is because the whole of humanity is standing on a razor's edge about to embrace diversity and the equality of every human being.  The question is how long is it going to take and what sacrifices will it require. 

You are the activist of your beliefs.  You can make a call, send an email, sign a petition, ask your local news agency for more coverage, holy crap – should I say, “Keep Hope Alive?” I have heard that somewhere.  But don’t elevate or remove yourself from any action by saying you could not do it – you are doing it everyday in the life you live.  You are essential to the Equality Movement because, You Are Somebody.