Critical Issues & Interests

Getting Involved

Where Action in Beliefs Gives Peace to the Soul

Any of sections in this area could be chosen as an interest. And RISE participants could switch from one to the other, as desired. Over time, however, each of these important topics can be addressed.

Signposts, as noted earlier, can be us. The sign, the direction others are looking for. To give others a ‘sense’ of what is possible. A guide for how they can get involved and feel a true sense of belonging. Look at these following subjects and see which one you would like to shine a light on. If we are to RISE, we need to do all we can help build awareness of these concerns and be leaders in action.

Note: There might be other areas you don’t see here but would like to follow and give the group updates on. Let us know what that would be. RISE is flexible, valuing your contributions and ideas. This is community that works together, supports and learns.

Tip O’Neill, Jr., the Speaker of the US House of Representatives from 1977 1987, is famous for his quote: “All Politics is local.” And, to a large degree, it is! It is where we, as a local populace are most affected and can have the greatest influence. It is where democracy’s ‘rubber meets the road.’ Yet, the last number of years have seen us turn away from its importance as media tends to overwhelm us with the splashier news from the National and International scene. But at what cost?

What would it mean to help influence affordable housing policies, to improve community relations/engagement, bring a new light to crime, policing and approaches like restorative justice? What if we could lend our voice — your voice — to help hold local officials more accountable? To challenge leadership to adjust to inevitable changes that are coming? Enhance community mental health treatment, infrastructure that would address future AI developments?

All these and more are waiting for someone to follow, suggest steps for the group to take and make an impact. Could that be your area?

“The most important political office is that of the private citizen.”– Louis D. Brandeis. This quote has resonated for many decades. It is both poignant for those involved and a bit uncomfortable for those who haven’t quite ‘gotten around to doing something.’ 

Civic duty is one of those things that is bigger than just showing up to vote every few years. It is about being informed and sharing one’s thoughts with each other and our legislators. State governance affects such a large part of our community and has a significant impact on Federalism.

So, why are so many not paying more attention to this? This is an excellent area to follow and give us ideas on how to offer collective citizen influence. Just helping each group member be clear on who their individual state representative and senator is, how to reach them via regular mail, email and phone and when is the best time (i.e. the times congress is in session) would be a valuable service. And not take much time!

State legislation greatly impacts areas like voting rights, Civil rights, technology development, education policies, environmental decisions, and allocation of funds cannot be denied. Yet, the power should come from the people, not highly paid influence peddlers. You could help us and know you are making a difference.

Thomas Jefferson said, “An elective despotism is not the government we fought for.” And, yet, how easily can that happen! It is up to us to push back and become the steady, powerful force ‘the people’ can be. The best antidote to feeling  overwhelmed and feeling woefully minimized? Take action. Now, tomorrow. Again, and again — Identify those you can support and those who can support you.

There are numerous rallies now. Groups we could collaborate with, campaigns of influence we could join or start up. There are many, many areas to choose from in this area. From mental health and too little regard for the vulnerable to how fair funds are allocated. How rights are being affected. Keep in mind this is a process, a long one that requires compassion, drive and intentionally working together.

If you choose this area each month, how can you help us become a ‘regular player’ in the process? In the goal so many have; that is, how to have our democracy reflect itself in a land of freedom and fairness? Just as vital as pushing back is supporting those already doing smart, courageous things. You could guide us in this. Together we’d be stronger, monthly we’d be re-engaged and ‘doing something.’

“I believe in international justice. I believe it is important that you don’t just turn the page without people being held to account.”—Amal Clooney, International Lawyer for Justice. The international courts and policy making bodies are too often ignored by the average person. Yet, if we don’t follow their actions and give input, who will?

This could be a fascinating area. From offering our support to worldwide advocates, to directing energy protesting ‘bad actors.’ Collaboration, once more, will be critical. As we will see how the network spreads far and wide, offering tremendous opportunity for involvement. Wars, rights, environmental leadership, tackling the whole Artificial Intelligence (AI) development over the next 25 50 yeas. Remember, in its own way, each voice can have an impact. Greta Thunberg is an excellent example.

Jane Goodall says, “I do have reasons for hope: Our clever brains, the resilience of nature, the indomitable human spirit, and above all, the commitment of young people when they’re empowered to take action.” I agree with this great animal and environmental activist. However, it will take far more  than the younger generation to be a steady partner with this beautiful planet of ours. It will need all us—dedicated and passionate, ready to embrace and offer solutions for this existential issue of climate change.

Is this important to you? Could you keep us up to speed in the areas it is being addressed. What could our actions be? Our mission to help this wonderful globe we call ‘home? From the personal to the collective, we are ready to do ‘something.’ We are just unsure what that should be. Maybe this is an area you would want to follow each month and give guidance.

Unprotected species, forever plastics in water, renewable energy, new ways to generate adequate food sources, protecting our natural resources and our national parks. These and so many more concerns cast a shadow over the near term. Can we grab on to possibilities? Be a few of the ‘light chasers,’ hugging our world? You could be one of the leaders.

There are few things that we hold closer to our hearts than the need for fairness, the recognition that every person has an inherent dignity that must be recognized and honored. Choices are made, lives need to be lived in the way that best aligns with who we are and what we strive to do. As Aldous Huxley once wrote, “When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.” Not the shade, but the all-embracing sun. Can this world — this country — be as embracing?

There are so many areas to explore and work to improve in this area. Yes, it is all part of the greater network of concerns. But not many subjects hit closer to the heart. Could you be a leader for the group in this area? Could you help to establish awareness and action. Tom Jefferson, the complicated writer of our Declaration of Independence, insisted, “Equal rights for all, privilege for none.”

 If there is a subject crying out for attention, it is this. Refugees that have spent years in settlement camps waiting for their opportunity for a better life, have found their world turned upside down. Immigrants, who are mostly trying to build a productive life without fear, are now force to ‘look over their shoulder’ far too often. When the words of Emma Lazarus were inscribed  on the noble Statue of Liberty in 1883, it was with great pride we heard exclaimed, “Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world wide welcome.” America, after all, is made of immigrants and the generations that followed them. Are today’s ‘poor huddled masses, yearning to be free’ so different from our forefathers of old?

There are so many ways we could stand up and make a difference in this area. It might be to support a family, to challenge a policy, to simply be a personal or collective friend of one still adjusting to our culture. We know this– that person or their children could become a dynamic future force in this country. Can we help find a path to give them that ‘chance?”

This could be your choice or a way for you to join in as a collective advocate. These ‘sisters of the soul, these brothers of the heart’ deserve the dignity we can offer.

What is Fair? What is right? When does the Capitalist system seem broken? Many have heard Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.” And that is true. Now, no one  is looking to undermine capitalism. But reaching for a  little more fairness seems reasonable enough.

Businesses and legislators are required to make many choices regarding the allocation of funds. How wise are they related to the broader community? How effectively are we dealing with graft, fraud and opportunity for jobs, affordable housing?

Wages affect everyone throughout society. How funds are allocated makes a difference. Are communities being listened to? Are there investments to strengthen the neighborhood? To encourage  businesses to grow, versus leave? When are tax policies unfair? There are items, here, for a person to follow and report on each month. Responses that can be organized, whether that is in support or opposition.

Could this be your interest?

Why art, you say? Why not? Art has long had a dramatic influence on our public and
private lives. The David, by the famous Italian artist Michelangelo, was one of more famous art protests of its time—resisting the power filled Medici patronage in Italy’s most well renaissance city, Florence. In our time Ai Weiwei, possibly the world’s most famous Art Activist, has leveled his artistic spirit at all kinds of unfair governments and policies.

Whether it is music, dance, contemporary visual works, or any other in a wide range of determined creativity, art has a way of reaching us in a way that ordinary words might not. The agony and horror of Picasso’s Guernica may have had a far greater effect than any number of speeches and homilies. And art speaks to us—both on a personal and collective level. It has a way of transcending the moment. Moments that can draw us together.

If this interest speaks to you, come join us and discover artists that could inspire us. Everyone would be lifted with a sense of renewal and transformative beauty.

“A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom” –Robert Frost. Wisdom…. Isn’t that what we continue to seek? Poetry, essays and suggested books can help guide us. Songs? The same way. Each can touch our hearts and open unexpected doors. They can find a way into our personal lives, just as in our collective efforts. But someone has to look for them. Be a creative archivist, so to speak.

So, it might be poetry someone has just written, a particularly compelling blog post or a historical piece that resonates in our world of today. One that can walk with us on this journey, this process. Amusing stories and jokes are also welcomed. The fresh air of humor lightens the moment, invites fun and keeps the broader ‘challenge’ in perspective. Truthfully, it is hoped that everyone will feel free to add to this section, as we hope is the case with the other areas. Still, could you be the leader?

We see the light of what is possible by how the ‘stars have shined’ in the past—by those who stood up and cared. Who embraced bold words, took action for themselves and. others. It is easy to be indifferent or to ‘go with the flow and not upset the apple cart.- But as the great writer and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, said— “…..indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor — never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.” Yes, it is easy—but, for many, not comforting to sit it out on the side. 

Bystanders are not what we need—in a personal or collective manner. Rather, as Karen Murphy at Facing History and Ourselves.com urges, we need to be ‘upstanders.’ Ready to connect and nudge the better forward. And, we find confidence in those who went before us, resolute in what they believed. Thomas Beckett—Gandhi Dorothy Day—or maybe even your friend, grandpa or mother? That spirit is still there, waiting to be recognized. But we have to look for it.

Perhaps you would find joy in bringing known and unknown stories to light. Models we can look up to and in whom we find daily inspiration.

Resilience

Imagination

Strength

Empathy

Rising to Make a Difference For the Greater Good as Well as Each Person’s Well-Being.