Carole Levine June 21, 2026
We have many options for taking positions on issues these days. We can voice our opinion on a current issue by posting it on our Facebook page or sharing it via other forms of social media. We can write a “letter to the editor” of our local newspaper, or to the opinion page of a well-red website. We can show up at a rally and be part of the crowd that “speaks” with their presence. We can offer to speak to groups and organizations to share just how we came to the positions we now hold. We can make donations to causes that support our views. We can talk to our friends and families. We can be the ones who work quietly in the background, painting signs and banners for others to hold. We can offer to provide needed childcare so young parents can participate in actions.
I am sure, if we “group-think” we can come up with a huge list of options that anyone could do that could have an impact (even a small one) on the news of the day. But I am frustrated by the growing number of smart, well-educated, savvy people I know and respect who are saying to me: “I don’t listen to the news these days… it’s too depressing.” Or “I don’t want to hear about what government is doing because it will just make me either angry or sad.” It is almost as if these folks think that earplugs and sleep masks will shield them from the realities of our government that is flailing and failing. It is as if they believe what they see, read, or hear won’t affect them.
I beg to differ.
I believe that we all have a responsibility to be aware of the state of things in our neighborhood, in our city, in our community, state, nation and world. And I believe that by building that awareness, we see how we can help to guide the actions of those who lead us. We have power, perhaps even superpowers that we undervalue. This is the time to grasp those powers and move them to actions that will demonstrate our values and guide our leaders. Among those powers are that we belong to networks and organizations. The concept of “power in numbers” is often undervalued when we can all sign on to statements and stand in unity with others in support (or opposition) to actions. We are powerful (with or without capes!) when we attend meetings and rallies and follow up with calls to our elected officials to tell them, not just what we think, but what we want them to do. We exercise our superpowers when we reach out to family members and others that we know may disagree with us and gently offer them ways that they can see our perspective.
There are many options. I keep a framed statement on my desk that speaks to this and comes from Pirke Avot 5:27 (Wisdom of the Patriarchs – part of Jewish liturgy). It says:
Effort is its own reward.
We are here to do.
And through doing to learn;
And through learning to know;
And through knowing to experience wonder…
And through wonder to attain wisdom;
And through wisdom to find simplicity;
And through simplicity to give attention;
And through attention to see
What needs to be done…
I believe that there is much to be done and much that each of us can do. There are many groups and organizations that are making the effort and need all the help they can get. As we reflect and find fault for the situations we dislike, perhaps it behooves us to also do something about them. Doing nothing gets us nothing. Complaining does not move us toward solutions. But joining with others to push for change might make a difference.
We can sit on the sidelines and bemoan the state of things, or we can be part of the solution. When we were protesting in the 60’s, I wore a button with a quote from social activist Eldridge Cleaver that said: “If You Are Not Part of the Solution, You Are Part of the Problem.” Perhaps it is time to find that button and start wearing it again.
