With the recent passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I couldn’t help...
With the recent passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I couldn’t help but find myself thinking, “Yeah, it fits.”
Please don’t misunderstand, I mean no disrespect. I as much as anyone else am devastated by her death. Her life made an incredible difference. Hers was a life of service to help bring about positive change in the lives of others. It was a life any one of us would be proud to have lived.
But it fits because it’s another event amongst the many this year that seem to be following a script. A script where we’re confronted with an incredible challenge and the response that follows is far less than what one would hope for. I for one believe humanity is capable of so much more.First, came the challenge to our beliefs about our health and our healthcare system, as we face the Covid-19 pandemic, which when looked at with a discerning eye makes it very apparent that our overall health is only as secure as the lowest common denominator in society. In other words, it is in the poorest regions of the world where people live without the basic necessities for life; good food, clean water, and adequate healthcare, that diseases are going to be born. So, until we begin to tackle healthcare and quality of life on a global scale, future challenges such as Covid-19 are likely to become our new normal.
The response to the virus itself was for leadership to engage in political posturing and debate over the merits of masks or no masks while people began dying by the thousands. States were pitted against states to compete against each other for the precious commodities of PPE, beds, and respirators, as opposed to responding as the “united” states that we are.The front-line healthcare heroes did step up and take the lead risking and sacrificing their own lives to save the lives of others. The response from many in the general public was a slap in their face. People began socializing and spreading the virus even more rapidly with total disregard to the pleas from medical personnel to wear masks and social distance. Personal needs and desires outweighed the need to be considerate of others.
Next, we’ve been challenged on our beliefs about discrimination and equality. I for one blindly believed that as a society we had made significant progress towards a greater understanding and appreciation for the rights of all peoples, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality orientation, or gender identity.
That apparently is not the case. We witnessed a summer of senseless murdering of people of color by those that we’ve entrusted to serve and protect us. The response has been more of the same.
There are people who are actually anxious to take advantage of Ruth’s passing to shift the tables of power in the Supreme Court away from the values RBG had dedicated her life to; decency, fairness, justice, and equality for all citizens. That’s what they feel an urgency to shift away from? Really? I feel there is a different urgency. I personally sense that we are coming to a very critical point in our existence. Our survival not only as a nation, but as a species lay in the balance of our decisions moving forward. I believe our fate will be determined by the answer to one question.
“What do you stand for?”
To answer that, you first must believe in the importance of standing for something. To stand for something is far different than to believe in something. To believe can be personal and private, to stand for something implies action.
Standing is silent but visible. It is not forcing another to stand, but nor is it sitting down, views unknown, controversy avoided.It feels good, to think that we could stand for something. Not just exist, or search for your own happiness or identity, but decide what you actually STAND for. What significance can you have, beyond your own life, because you stand for something more than yourself?
To stand for something is to acknowledge the significance and importance of the power of one among many, to believe in the power of grassroots movements, to know that each of us must try our best to be part of what is right and that the difference we make in doing so is far from insignificant. It might be far from enough, too, but that magnifies rather than negates its importance.
What do I stand for?
I stand for living my life with purpose and doing as much as I can each day to be in service to others and live the best life I can, causing as little harm to the environment and others in the process.I stand for love, compassion, kindness, and for doing good for goodness’ sake, not because I fear being judged later for what I do, but because I want to do what is right within my heart.
I stand for ending racism, bullying, and abuse.I stand for living in gratitude, and for restoring hope in the hopeless.
I stand for nonviolence, education, and good citizenship.I stand for the respect of all living things.
It makes me feel good to know what I stand for. As I said, I think we are living in a time that knowing what you stand for is vitally important. But I also think the question is incomplete. I think the real question is:
What do you stand for, and what are you going to do about it?
A great place to start is, VOTE.
