I watched the movie Hidden Figures this weekend and I was so inspired not only by the intelligence of the women portrayed in the movie, but also by their respectful demeanor in how they stood up for themselves in a way which ultimately benefited others. As we approach the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., his quotes seem to be so relevant now.
My quote for the week on my board at work is:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter.”
I wish this was a time when I could just go with the flow and blend in with the crowd, but it isn’t. For me, standing up and saying that I was going to diverge from the Republican crowd and vote for Hillary Clinton was the start of speaking up and speaking out. It was an easy decision for me not to vote for our President-elect, but it was a harder decision to tell it to my friends and to say why.
As January 20th comes closer, I feel the need to speak up when I don’t agree with something. I hope to be respectful. I hope not to be condescending. I will not go into the night and pull up my big girl panties and be silent because it is what it is. I will make phone calls, send emails, and shout from social media. I want to understand the whys, but at the same time, I think there are some things I might not ever fully understand.
I can’t say that Trump is not my President, because that is not my choice. As an American Citizen, I feel that I need to respect the office. However, I will exercise my first amendment rights to challenge the things I don’t agree with by using my freedom of speech.
Swimming Upstream 