1
b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy
c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
3
a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government)
5
a : the total complex of relations between people living in society
<office politics> <school politics> <family politics> <church politics>
Definition of activism
: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue
Definition of tolerance
: willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own
Now then...
If I Was Brave Enough I Would...
If I was brave enough I would - say who cares what a political candidate or self-promoting celebrity says or does on any given day! We all have a responsibility to do whatever we can to make a difference in this world. We each have a circle of influence in our jobs, our communities, our lives that is unique to us alone.
If I was brave like Dorothy Day, I would - do something for women in abusive relationships and not just talk about it. I would open my home to hurting women and offer them friendship, care and support, like she opened her home to the hungry and homeless.
If I was brave like Dorothy Day, I would - gather a team and go to Washington to promote awareness of causes I believe in. I would risk being arrested and jailed for those that so desperately need to have their voices heard, and I would be that voice.
I would - publish a periodical as did Ms. Day with “The Catholic Worker” that could be a vehicle to spread a message of hope and compassion to the oppressed and powerless; and a message of conviction to a hardened society that pretends not to notice that which is “unpleasant” in our world.
If I were brave enough I would – offer my time and resources to bring about changes in the justice system like Alice Paul did when she personally held signs and picketed outside the White House numerous times in the early 20th century. She was motivated by her outrage at the fact that American women had been denied the right to vote. And the fight for women’s rights is sadly still going on today.
If I were brave enough I would – advocate for improvements in the way sexual assault victims and their cases were handled in the courts. Rape is not a crime about sex. It is a crime about power, intimidation and violence. It is about reducing another human being to that of an object – with absolutely no regard for pain and suffering. So why would we, as a society, even think of not only asking, but compelling a fragile victim who has already been traumatized in the most unimaginable way, to face her oppressor in public, open court?
If I were brave I would – request discourse with leaders of some churches and ask them why they continue to extol and protect abusive spouses and plead for forgiveness on their behalves, from their betrayed, brutalized wives and bully them into agreeing that “it’s the right thing to do.” Especially when the very vows that clergy propagate, witness and solemnize have been made a mockery of by the perpetrators of domestic abuse.
I would shout in frustration that victims of offenses, both large and small, are cajoled and sometimes downright bullied into making up, shaking hands, forgiving and my personal favorite – to get over it.
I would - ask the questions that beg to be asked.
Why are we not calling out the perpetrators?
Fear? Laziness? Apathy? Perhaps.
Why are we adding insult to injury by minimizing the original actions and invalidating the experience and feelings of the victim? Because it’s easier than standing up to the bully? Because they too have behaved in abusive ways towards tender hearts? Because they are in denial that such evil is possible?
I don’t know.
What is a victim?
: a person who has been attacked, injured, robbed, or killed by someone else
: a person who is cheated or fooled by someone else
: someone that is harmed by an unpleasant event
: one that is subjected to oppression, hardship, or mistreatment
: one that is tricked or duped
A victim suffers for no reason save the motive of the perpetrator. Greed, hatred, selfishness, amusement, among others.
If I were brave enough I would – write letters to my representatives asking them why administrative salaries are so top-heavy and yet there isn’t enough money to pay an adequate number of trained caregivers, and as a result patients are dying when life-sustaining medications run out, and staff are stretched so thin they don’t hear the alarms. Nor is there ever enough money to pay and retain qualified educators, and as a result the futures of our students are forever placed on a different trajectory – one where hope will be scarce.
And if I were brave enough I would ask – what do we really and truly value in this present culture? But sadly, I already know the answer. We value that which produces or whomever can produce, wealth.
And if I were brave I would admit - that I was not born with the gift of making money. My strengths are in language and art and music, but not so much that I will reach celebrity status in this life. I am not very good at business or selling anything. However, I still want to be valued for what I do possess. I want to be understood as an individual. I want to be tolerated, if not forgiven, when I screw up. And I want to be heard.
I am not brave enough to do all that I wish to do. But through the love of God and His spirit within me I will strive every day to be a light in this world, one choice, one word, one act of kindness at a time.
