Day 2 of 100

It's day two of my Action Challenge and today I added a couple of things to my list.  I called or tried to call my Senators to ask them to vote against Betsy DeVos.  Personally I was hoping she would never make it out of committee but alas that didn't happen.  However, two Republican Senators who were on the committee are wavering so keep calling and writing.  I was only able to leave a message for one of my Senators after multiple calls and the other's line was busy (yep a real busy signal) or the mailbox was full.  I can only hope it was from people like me who were asking the Senator to vote no.   I will be continuing to call.

The second thing I did today was take a Fox News Poll.  Yes you read that right Fox News.  I think it is important that news organizations as well as our Congressmen and women hear all opinions.  However, if I never participate in polls and surveys conducted by organizations I don't follow or support how will they know what the other side thinks.  

If you listen to the mouth pieces of the administration you will hear them say things like "most people don't care about his tax returns".   I've heard it said so many times I almost didn't question it.  I started to blow it off as more alternative facts.  Then I started really looking at my Facebook feed and I realized how they could fool themselves into believing so many untruths.  It was the same way I believed there was no way Hillary could lose.  We have surrounded ourselves with people who only think like us, thus never truly hearing the other side.

It is also why I took this survey.  Fair warning it takes you to the Trump Pence website at the end it asks for an email -- I gave one I use for junk mail.  If we avoid the new sources that don't tell us what we want to hear they will also ignore our voices.   Think about it they have no reason not to.  

Day 1 of 100

Day One of my personal Action Challenge resulted in a donation to the American Civil Liberties Union.  This is an organization that both Liberals and Conservatives should get behind.  The ACLU has defended the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for nearly 100 years that is their sole purpose.

The first time I ever heard of the ACLU was in the 1995 movie "The American President" starring Annette Benning and Michael Douglas.  In the movie Michael Douglas' character defends the ACLU and free speech while defending himself in a re-election bid.  You can see his speech here:

I love this movie and this speech!  Perhaps instead of a Disney Cartoon this could be the next movie viewed at the White House...

I digress however.  My donation was made to be sure the lawyers fighting the immigration insanity that happened over the weekend could continue to fight.  They could fight not only for immigration rights but for women's rights and for free speech.  

I am not the only one who felt the need to support the ACLU the New York Times reports that the ACLU received record breaking donations this weekend.  Other organizations have also seen a dramatic rise in donations so if the ACLU is not for you maybe one of the others is where you can lend your support.

Part of my Action Challenge will be to find and support voices different than mine that can bring us together.  The ACLU is the start of that.  They are not tied to one party or another.  Their commitment  is to we the people and one of the few organizations that truly defends all of us.  Check out their website https://www.aclu.org and see if it is something you can get behind.  

Action Challenge 100 Days

Lately, as the news unfolds each day I find myself in a state of despair and simultaneously overwhelmed by fear and anger.  The people in our highest levels of state and national government do not represent me or the majority of the people I know.  If they do their voices are drowned out by those that don't.  There are so many things that I want to stand up and fight for --women's rights, immigrants, Flint water crisis, tearing down walls instead of building walls, minority rights, LGBTQ rights, continuation of the Affordable Care Act (just to name a few)-- that I don't know where to start and I am paralyzed by how huge and beyond me it feels.

Then I look at my amazing daughter.  She is so lucky in that she only knows a world where a black man has been President.  She is lucky that she has a family, a large extended family, made up of people from all walks of life that love her and she knows it.  She is blessed that every day she wakes up and has access to electricity, potable running water, three meals a day and clean clothes.  She is lucky because we shield her from as much of the hurt in the world as we can.  One day we won't be that shield and when that day comes I want her to stand up and fight for herself.  I want her to understand that when we see injustice that we can't sit by the sidelines and silently expect someone else to speak up.  I need her to know that there may be a time that we are the people that need someone to fight for us so we need to fight for others.

In four years, no in a month, I don't want to look back and think that I've failed my daughter and the millions of children less fortunate than her.  I want to know that I can look my neighbors in the eye and say that I fought for them and their families.  I want to know that I've done everything I am capable of to make my country and the world we live in a better place.

When I look at Facebook I see hundreds of friends feeling the same way.  Part of what is so distressful for me is that the issues seem so huge and my time and money seem so limited.  So today I am starting a 100 days of action challenge.  I am issuing the same challenge to my friends and their friends.  The actions may be small like a tweet or Facebook post that challenges bigotry.  The actions may be bigger like marching in a protest march or volunteering to escort women in to Planned Parenthood.  It is 100 days of letting our political leaders know we won't silently watch the bigotry and hatred that has grown in the days since the election continue.  There are other websites and organizations doing something similar check out 100 Days Action or Women's March.  Since I need this to be something that works for me I will be creating my own plan and since I need to get my Village involved I'm challenging all of you.

So here are a few of the things I will be doing over the next 100 days:
1.  Make a monetary donation to the ACLU.
2.  Call my representatives at the National level to express my concerns about a myriad of issues.
3.  Research what is happening politically at the state level.
4.  Research volunteer opportunities that have nothing to do with politics but make a difference in people's lives.
5.  Renew our New York Times subscription.
6.  Get a subscription to other reliable new sources so I can be well informed.
7.  Write the White House.
8.  Attend a brown bag lunch with the Harris County Democrats.
9.  Show up at work and make art.
10.  Question what I am reading and fact check.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and here  so I can update you on my progress.  Share your ideas for things to do.

Will you join me?

#ActionChallenge100