It is true; together we can achieve greater results, break down barriers, and discover solutions. Together we can bring excitement to everyday and make an impact in the community. Together we can educate one another and help those in need. Together we can make a difference.
This quote by Aretta Loving is both an observation and a challenge. It certainly captures the successes of our work for justice and equality as it invites us to notice the challenges that sit on the horizon of what is yet to change.
As a community, we are stronger than our individual partsâ┚¬â€Âespecially when we commit all of who we are to a shared project. Take a moment and look back at the changes in your lifetime.
From the moment that first Stiletto was thrown to start the Stonewall riots, we said, â┚¬Å”enough is enoughâ┚¬â€Âwe’re not going to take it anymore.â┚¬Â These early gains in our fight for equality prepared us for the work of Act-Up and the creative approaches our community had to imagine and create to fight HIV/AIDS. These served as both momentum and encouragement to battle today’s work on adoption, marriage equality and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policies.
We have not always agreed on strategies and timing, but we have always been dedicated in some way to the work of justice and liberty for all and our efforts and dedication are changing the landscape of equality and privilege. We have been held captive by the unjust systems of inequality that impact our children and/or our relationships locally and nationally. But little by little, state by state, we are witnessing changes that are the result of decades of work, time, courage, money, imagination and perseverance to realize those changes. We live in a very exciting time as we witness the benefits of the hard work effecting change requires.
On television recently, you may have seen the popular advertisement a national chain uses to catch your attention and business for back to school supplies. This company uses the Christmas song, â┚¬Å”It the most wonderful time of the year,â┚¬Â to capture the attention of the viewer. With this song framing the scene, sad and embarrassed children watch their parents gleefully fill shopping carts with back to school supplies. This commercial helps all of us locate the time of the year, not by the music, but by the out of place song that in some strong way is most fitting, even if we do not have children about to go back to school. As I thought about the many directions I could take this column, I continued to be drawn back to the quote from Aretta Loving: â┚¬Å”Together we can make a difference.â┚¬ÂÂ
Imagine the difference we could make in the lives of children if we all used a fraction of our time, care, and a small investment and bought school supplies for a local school drive and neighborhood school. There are many places in our communities that have back to school drives. Our schools, and more specifically our teachers, are impacted by budget cuts and the trickle-down affect of this reality, which most certainly will impact the lives of children in our school system.
This is an opportunity to help children today and their readiness to be leaders for our future.
So let’s get busy and make a difference. Take some inventory of the places you spend time and ask yourself, â┚¬Å”Could this be the place where a little change could change the world?â┚¬Â If you own a business, invite your patrons to help your business change the world by joining you in a back to school drive. Maybe you are a member of a music group, drama club, sports team, book club or a regular at a bar or restaurant. Maybe you could adopt a classroom of a friend who happens to be a teacher. Years ago, I heard a sloganâ┚¬â€Âthere can be no â┚¬Å”weâ┚¬Â without â┚¬Å”you and me.â┚¬ÂÂ
It takes all of us to achieve great results, break down barriers, discover solutions, bring excitement to everyday, make an impact in the community, educate one another and help those in need. All we have to realize is that together we can make a difference and in the long run, our efforts may come back to bless us and make a difference in our own lives.
Thank you for the difference that you make.
