Are You an Activist?

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for: Affecting positive change though activism in a rapidly changing world.

My kids have a board book, written by Innosanto Nagara, called “A is for Activist.” The second page asks, “Are you an activist?” My kids always smile and shrug, unsure what that really means. I laugh and tell them, “Of course you are!” I have always been an activist. For as long as I can remember I have known that to affect positive change, you have to take action yourself. Growing up in Northern California in the late 1980s and 1990s, I attended hundreds of live music shows festivals, and the large majority of those events would be benefitting a cause or at least featuring non-profits and volunteer organizations doing environmental and humanitarian work locally and globally. As a child, my understanding of activism centered concepts that made sense to me immediately: creek restoration, tree planting, beach cleanup, and general perseveration of the beautiful natural world that I loved so much. I was in awe of activist Julia Butterfly Hill, who lived for 738 days in a 180-foot-tall, 1500-year-old California redwood tree named Luna.  I planted oak trees when I was twelve that are beautiful shade trees today, sixteen years later. I helped plant willow trees along creek banks because their roots create a web that helps prevent erosion and keeps that water flowing clear and clean. As I got older, and my awareness of the world deepened and expanded, I never lost my dedication to the natural world around me, but I began to realize how many other causes deserve attention. And many of those causes require the fierce dedication and warrior strength.

WE can do it!

I was twelve years old the first time I wrote to the president and asked him about nuclear disarmament. The year was 1996 and President Bill Clinton was still in office. My aunt, with whom I am extremely close, had just finished explaining the devastating potential of nuclear weapons to me. I, utterly horrified, asked her what in the world we could do. She suggested I contact my elected representatives, ask them about their positions on issues that concerned me, and encourage them to hear the voice of one extremely concerned constituent who would be voting in a mere six years. She helped me type up the letter and we sent off copies to our two state senators and to the president. Within weeks, I received responses from all three, thanking me for me concern and assuring me they were doing all the right things. Even at that age I knew the letters weren’t actually written by people whose names and signatures adorned the bottom of the page, but it still felt like I had communicated what I needed to say directly to the person I wanted to communicate it to. This was before social media, before handheld devices that made reaching governing bodies as easy as a tap on your phone. We had to use phones that were plugged into walls and wait on hold for extended periods of time before reaching anyone on the other end, unlike today when activists set up call lines that connect you to party after party that needs to hear your message.

               I have marched for marriage equality rights. I have marched for reproductive and female rights. I have blocked traffic in San Francisco in protest of a war that was being launched in a country that had nothing to do with what the government was using to justify the war. In 2002 I attended my first peace march in protest of the war in Iraq. While I know and love many people who have served our country as warriors, I am entirely opposed to violence, destruction and devastation caused by war. So, I marched along with thousands of others who felt the same way. As an adult I worked briefly for a company that was creating high quality supplements from an herbal source that had yet to be legalized (if you get the idea). Luckily, I was home the morning the DEA kicked down the doors and raided the office, but I was there several days later protesting at the courthouse for our boss, the owner of the company, to be released, as there were no charges filed. My sign said, “Fight Crime, Not Care!” Regardless of the many things that might have been wrong with the business itself, I knew how many patients at varying degrees of health, that depended on that medicine to live. And I was willing to be another body standing up for their right to access the medicine they needed.

               But being another body on the line is not always easy, and sometimes it can be downright terrifying. Although I marched with my girlfriends and my family in the Bay Area several times in the last few years, for the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter, I cannot say I do so with the same bold nonchalance that used to characterize my participation in such events. Now I am constantly nervous that something will happen to me or to someone I love. Theoretically, I am trying to participate in civil dissent and express my first amendment rights and everyone should be OK with that, whether they agree with me or not. In every case, my opinions are rooted in diplomacy, civil and social justice, systemic equality, and compassion. I want everyone to live happy lives to their fullest potential, with the choice to safely do what they want with their bodies in healthy, clean environments. I want humans to be able survive contentedly on this planet for a long time, not just the 600 billionaires, but everyone else too. But clearly not everyone agrees with that or wants to work quickly enough to make sure that happens. But I refuse to let that discourage me. In 2020 and 2021 I made more phone calls to legislative bodies than I ever have before in my life. I became comfortable with making those calls and watched as murderers were arrested and convicted because myself and hundreds of thousands of others took time to make those calls. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve witnessed, to see so many people come together to affect positive change. It impressed upon me the power we have a as collective.

Aria and Ailey, 2016

               For now, my activism has siphoned down to my daily life. I try to show up and “be the change.” But it also comes down to what purchases I make, from whom and in how much packaging. Did I remember to bring my reusable shopping bags and refillable containers? How far is my produce travelling? Is it seasonal? Local? Organic? On sale? How many plant-based meals can I work into the roughly 21 meals our family eats per week and how many will have chicken? What appliances can I unplug or only run at certain times? How can I adjust our water use habits? Our focus in general on reducing our carbon footprint. But on a larger scale, there are many causes I believe in and want to put myself behind. The challenge is in choosing what to focus our energy on. Personally, I cannot decide because the three issues that matter to me the most, environmental justice, racial justice, and reproductive justice, are all interconnected. What is the cause that calls to you the most? And what can you do today to get involved in making a positive change in that area? I guarantee that whatever you care about, whatever calls to you, probably needs your help to get where they should be. Take action today.