Silence is not an option

“Every act of kindness, every act of goodness, now matters more than you ever thought it mattered before. You turn yourself into an active agent of change, because now it matters.” – Carolyn Myss
 

This is a message that cannot be divorced from this moment in time when we are mourning what Lee Pelton, President of Emerson College, calls “the legalized lynching” of George Floyd. 

This moment is about complicity in systemIc racism that we have always been aware of and haven’t done enough about.

“We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope.”  – James Baldwin

The term “upstander” (as opposed to bystander), was coined in 2002 by Samantha Power, who was at the time a human rights advocate and scholar before assuming a role as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, in speaking out against genocide.

Respected primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall is an upstander. She has committed to (via replanting or restoration) 5 million trees this year as part of the 1 Trillion Tree Campaign of UNEP.  At age 85, she is not slowing down because she knows, and has always known, that there is power in every single person doing their part to make the planet a better place.

Although thankfully most of us have probably never even been close to being a victim or perpetrator of genocide, we don’t need the atrocity of genocide to weigh in on whether we can or should help others. 

“An upstander is a person who recognizes injustice, knows their personal strengths,  and uses those strengths to create change.”                                                                   – Canadian Museum for Human Rights

An upstander may speak out publicly against bigotry and injustice.

elson Mandala Exhibit – Canadian Humans Rights Museum

An upstander may help or rescue others through secret or overt actions.

Window washers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary

An upstander may provide immediate aid to victims of bigotry and injustice through physical rescue or other help.

1969, when black Americans were still prevented from swimming alongside white Americans.  – Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

An upstander may be a whistle-blower who exposes wrongdoing.

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Honolulu, Hawaii

An upstander may resist the temptations of silence and passivity by expressing and offering support directly to victims of bigotry and injustice.

National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee

Discernment is key to every wisdom tradition.  The ability to discern is about sorting out the stuff of life — our experiences, the people we spend time with, and as Toni Morrison writes, eliminating a vacuum where curiosity ought to lodge.  We can ask ourselves: Is this my problem or does it belong to someone else?Is this life-giving for me and those around me or is it death-dealing in ways small or large?Is this something to which I can give myself or must I let it go?

Either do something or do something.  Theodore Roosevelt said that in any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe and put your feelers out. Trust. Let go. And see what happens.

You can’t do it all,  but you can do all that you can do.

We don’t need special gifts or start a mini-revolution to make a difference. It doesn’t have to be great big huge – it can be very small. Just a little bit every day.

Even if it’s something like praying for someone every day.  That is good enough.  Leaving a  pie left on a front porch. That is good enough.  Even the smallest act can make a real difference in somebody’s life.There are many lanes. Are we too busy to cheer a weary soul, give some words of reassurance, or the gift of our welcoming ear? Sr. Simone Campbell, lawyer, nun, poet, and a bit of a religious rock star as the face of the “Nuns on the Bus”, calls this “the walking willing.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  – Martin Luther King

If we say we don’t have time for things that matter, then we need to stop doing things that don’t. Actions are always louder than words. And so are non-actions. Because if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

“We cannot talk about change, we have to be about change.” – L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez

The most important question now is: What are you going to do?