ONE YEAR

One year, and what a year it has been. The national tumult created a new dialogue about what our country means. Every gathering I attended brimmed with discussions about what we needed to do to resolve issues that we have ignored or thought we had resolved. I, like many people, had been too complacent for too long. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period
 of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, 

but the appalling silence of the good people."*

I have grappled all year with what I could do to speak out and support my beliefs. I marched in the Women's March last January, I sent postcards of our National Parks to our leaders in Congress to remind them that people of another era with strong ideals created our park system to safeguard the beauty of many parts of our unique country. I emailed and wrote my own representatives whenever I felt strongly about new Congressional actions. I used Countable* and the AAUW Two-Minute Activist* to further express my voice. I could have done more, but with reflection, I realized that I am not comfortable as a vociferous activist or willing to step up to run for an office. But I can do my small part to support what I believe in and those whom I see as holders of American values of freedom of expression, honesty, and diversity.

As an artist, I looked for another way to be heard.  I found a poster exhibit, Get With the Action at SF MOMA until Spring 2018, which showcases political posters since the 1960s to the present. One of my favorite posters from that era still hangs in our house.

I received the postcard, This Is Your Assignment, from Holstee* as part of their monthly mailings. The card, a design by Courtney E. Martin and Wendy MacNaughton, came during Holstee's month dedicated to Resilience. Martin, a writer, and MacNaughton, an illustrator, designed the postcard to remind us in this turbulent year that we can find answers to our fears.

Produced by Holstee, Designed by Courtney Martin and Wendy McNaughton

In preparation for the next Women's March in Oakland in January, the Oakland group has designed a new logo to fit the messages that the Women's March conveys.

from Women's March Oakland

What's the best way for me to stand for what I believe in?
Be creative.

Check out these websites for creative ideas:
HOLSTEE:  https://www.holstee.com/collections/shop-themed-kits/products/resilience-moving-through

other postcard sites:

https://www.andersondesigngroupstore.com/blogs/news/art-soul-of-america-collection

https://www.syracuseculturalworkers.com

http://wendymacnaughton.com

http://www.courtneyemartin.com

WOMEN'S MARCH OAKLAND:  https://www.bonfire.com/womens-march-oakland-oak-tree/ https://womensmarchoakland.org

COUNTABLE:  https://www.countable.us
AAUW TWO-MINUTE ACTIVIST:  https://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/public-policy/two-minute-activist/


*More of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be found at https://paradoxologies.org/2010/08/28/martin-luther-king-jr-on-complacency-mlk/

Warning: beware of the website, martinlutherking.org. It is a front for Stormfront, a racist, extremist group.