Tag Archives: politics

How I’m trying to save the world, or at least the separated families

How I'm trying to save the world, or at least the separated families

I was in tears this week. Stories about the separated families at the border made me so very upset. There are so many issues that make my blood boil these days – topics around school shootings, and defunding of women’s health centers, and the prospects of trade wars and alienating our allies. But truly, nothing could be more devastating than hearing about children being ripped from their parents’ arms and put in cages. CAGES!

The worst part was, I felt totally powerless. It’s not like I could go to the detention centers and just hand the kids back to their parents. What could I DO to fix the problem? It wasn’t enough to get upset, there had to be more that I could do. So I called my senators and congresswoman. I signed petitions. And then I broke down in tears, telling Dean that I wished I could DO something to help these families. He reminded me that I WAS doing something. So here are some ways that I’m trying to help, and how you can help, too. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

Comment Rambling, USA

How to be an active citizen

active citizen

Citizenship has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve been worrying about Harley’s South African citizenship, her American citizenship, wondering about emigrating despite Trump becoming president, and a whole host of other things. On the one hand, I’ve thought of citizenship as a privilege – I’m privileged to have an American passport that allows me to travel easily, something I notice more with a South African husband. However, with today being inauguration day, I want to talk a little bit about citizenship as a responsibility, and how each of us can be an active citizen.

Whenever election day rolls around, either here in South Africa or in the States, I make a pretty big deal of it. I make sure Dean votes (not that he needs me to do so, but still), and I’m sure to vote as well. Voting is important. It’s the most obvious statement of your opinion in the democratic system, and it’s vital to a state being legitimate and focused on the needs of the people. I actually really like countries that make voting easy for citizens, whether with a public holiday or plenty of advanced voting, along with some sort of mandatory voting system. If you are a citizen, you should be required to take part in the governance of your country. But there is so much more that goes into being an active citizen. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

Comment Rambling, South Africa, USA