It has been one year since I received a very interesting letter from my best friend while I was at camp. The letter was long, and she was gave me an update on what was happening in the world. It detailed different movies that came out, and her reviews on them, it discussed what she was doing at work, and she casually talked about Donald Trump running for president.
She wrote this letter to me on June 18, 2015. I just found it a few weeks ago when I was moving to come up north. I was astounded that it only takes one year for so many things to change. In politics, we have had what feels like 50 republican candidates fighting for the nomination, a feel-the-Bern movement that is shouting discontent with the current political system, and we have the possibility of a woman being president. That is a lot that happened in a very short amount of time.
If we can do so much, and watch it happen over the course of a year, how much good can we get done in one year? Like any good To-Do list this one never ends. So while you’re either celebrating the events of the year, or trying to figure out which country you’re moving to, let me kindly remind you what we have left to do. (This is by no means a complete list, because they never are.)
1. End sexism in the workplace.
Check out this video featuring an interview with #KerryWashington answering the question, “When do we think the country can see a woman of color being president?” If we can't imagine a woman of color being president, then how are any of our children, regardless of skin color and gender, going to believe it when we say, "You can be anything you want to be."
2. Stop contributing to climate change, and do our best to reverse it.
This will include using renewable energy sources like windmills and solar panels. I love living in pretty places. I also now love picking up trash, cutting my lights off when I don't need them, walking places when I can, and helping out to keep my footprint as small as possible. We can use all the suggestions we can get, and we've got the capability to do it, so we just need to get the dedication and support.
3. Stop xenophobia/ignorance 2K16.
This is why we can't have nice things. We cannot have nice things when people who are somehow in positions of power, use that power to incorrectly and wrongly turn their followings against groups of people without facts, reason, or any lick of intelligence. There are plenty of xenophobic people, but this is a quintessential example.
4. Fairly distribute funding to public education.
Fund public education in a fair manner that gives all children the opportunity to learn and grow into the leaders that we hope for them to be. This is an inexcusable problem that we should've fixed long ago. Currently, our education system is funded through local taxes, mainly. The more money the area has, the better education. This sets kids up for failure before they even begin kindergarten. If you want to start with this task first, read here.
5. Give teachers credit where credit is due.
Social media and technology are changing on a daily basis. We can use them for good, if we put a little effort and brainpower into it. We can use social media to spread positivity, rather than using it for bullying, or other general negativity. It's a choice we have to make and stand up for as a group, otherwise we can't eradicate it.
7. Get our violent act together.
Let's at least try to understand why our country has a gun/murder/mass shooting/violence problem (whatever label we want to put on it). There's a significant problem- no doubts about it. It's just something we have begin to fix, instead of sitting back and watching the same things happen over and over.
8. Change our tone of voice about mental health.
Let's refine our attitudes towards it. There are so many stereotypes surrounding mental health issues, and we really should try to understand what all is going on before we judge. Yes, I See Someone. No I'm not crazy, and neither is anyone else who happens to struggle with mental illness.
Every to-do list has add-ons, and this one is no exceptions. Let's put this on our fridges, and begin working on them. We cannot check off any boxes by ourselves, so this could take a while. If we put our dislikes, our discontent, and our anger into actionable items, we can begin to actually do something with the things we’re upset about. Let get something done this year. Take your pick, and get to work. We've got a lot to do.
