I grew up participating in civil rights vigils and peace marches as a child in the ‘60s. To me, that was what democracy looked like. From a very early age, I believed that people had a responsibility to help bring about positive change and that, as Americans, it was part of our civic duty to be informed and speak out. With civil rights laws being enacted and the Vietnam War ending, I dared to believe that human society, while still having a long way to go, was trending in a healing direction.
For most of my life, my focus has been on the human condition. I became an elementary school teacher to help catalyze non-violent conflict resolution, community building, and a generation of educated citizens. As a feminist, I have always believed that the personal is political and I took that to heart in trying to “be the change, I wished to see in the world,” as Gandhi advised. So, I have spent the majority of my adult life attempting to effect change through my livelihood and my personal life, including raising my children.
For most of my life, my focus has been on the human condition. I became an elementary school teacher to help catalyze non-violent conflict resolution, community building, and a generation of educated citizens. As a feminist, I have always believed that the personal is political and I took that to heart in trying to “be the change, I wished to see in the world,” as Gandhi advised. So, I have spent the majority of my adult life attempting to effect change through my livelihood and my personal life, including raising my children.
With another unjust war impending in spring of 2003, my husband and I took to the streets again, this time with our own children, marching to protest Bush’s “preemptive” war. I grew increasingly outraged as the country grew more conservative and I saw wealth and power increasingly in the hands of the few while resources were depriving children and the poor of programs they sorely needed. My despair grew by witnessing the choices those in power were making that was raping my mother, the Earth. I was increasingly feeling like I needed to do something, take action in a public way – to put myself on the line. As I have grown spiritually and experientially, my focus on the human condition has expanded. I have come to see the interconnectedness of all beings on our planet and our intrinsic connection with the planet as well. I credit my son for helping me see this in the most profound way. So, in the summer of 2011, when he, having just turned 18, suggested that we both get arrested doing civil disobedience at the Tar Sands Action in Washington, DC, I searched my soul and then readily agreed. It was an empowering moment –one of the proudest of my life.
As an elder, I still believe in effecting change through my life’s work, which has led me to seek another graduate degree, this time in social work. But, I also feel like it is important to continue to speak out and to take action. Being part of a community of activists, of all ages, gives me hope.
As an elder, I still believe in effecting change through my life’s work, which has led me to seek another graduate degree, this time in social work. But, I also feel like it is important to continue to speak out and to take action. Being part of a community of activists, of all ages, gives me hope.
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