I need to take a break from sex talk. I’m a firm believer that talking about sex in all forms is important to create changes in society around sexuality. But I’m reminded on Twitter that silence makes you complicit. So I need to take a break from sex talk.
Women are under attack. Minorities are under attack. Even the national parks are under attack.This is not an over exaggeration for the sake of page views, this is reality. POTUS is a danger to society and we have to do something to stop him. If you’re anything like me, you’ve sat at your computer watching Twitter thinking what can I possibly do about this? I’m one person.
You can do a lot of things.
Get Loud
Talk about the injustices happening across the country. Tweet it, livestream it, blog about it, have conversations. It’s imperative that we don’t remain silent and normalize the behavior coming from the White House. This is not normal. This is not acceptable. There are hashtags out the wazoo about everything. #MuslimBan, #WomensMarch, #ScienceMarch, take your pick. Get involved in the conversation. Read information from multiple sources, domestic and international, and have discussions about what you’ve read. (But if you’re on the job hunt, it’s okay to keep your conversations offline. Some employers will look through social media during the hiring process for “red flags” about politics, especially in the private sector if your comments aren’t about a protected class like gender or race.)
Take Action
DailyAction.org is a great way to take one step every day to influence change. You’ll get a text message and a reminder to call your representative with your opinion on the issue of the day. And remember, it’s important to call, not email your representatives. Emails can be easy to ignore. Calls are not. If your rep’s phone lines get shut down for whatever reason, you can also fax them for free.
Protect Yourself
I’m a very all-or-nothing person. When I want to lose weight, I cut out all sweets and work out for an hour six days a week. When I want to learn a new language, I buy books in that language far beyond my comprehension level. And as much as I want to get involved in every single cause out there, it’s not possible to maintain that level of involvement consistently for four years. Focus your energy on two or three causes that are the most important to you and yours. Remember that it’s okay to take an afternoon to watch Netflix or have a nap or go to the beach. It’s necessary for your self-preservation. It’s going to be a long four years.
The way for this resistance to have the biggest impact is to come together and resist. Talk. Get involved. Donate. Volunteer. Do something, anything, to prevent the normalization of the actions out of the White House.