Action # 36: More SoSS

There are so many causes and so little time.

U. asked me if I want to take Jane Goodall's Conservation Masterclass.  I do. I also have a change in teaching position this year that will require my attention, personal goals for more meditation, am about to complete my new special education endorsement and a hope next summer to become a child's yoga teacher. All these things are for the benefit of the world and are thus a form of activism. It's all too much though. Doing 100 notable actions is really not easy.

Sometimes it's steady commitment that is the most important.

Yesterday was our fifth meeting of the local SoSS. There are times I feel I just show up. That would be good enough, but yesterday I hosted and I think some things I said were particularly important yesterday. Doesn't feel like a huge deal, but it does matter. So chalk up another action.

Regrouping

I'm on vacation now, sitting in an airport before flying from a road trip alone with U to meet up with ND and my parents back home in Portland, OR. I just now wrote a posting from my last piece of activism and am reflecting on what a year it's been.

Last summer ND and I planned to go to Portland to regroup as we do every summer. This times are critical for me, not just to relax, but to regroup, to come back to myself after a school year in frenetic Jewish Bergen County. This last year was different than usual.
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Acton #35: HIAS event

Exodus: I See Myself In You

A few months back the chesed committee at our shul held a HIAS volunteer event. Kids bagged packages for refugees while the adults heard a speaker talk about the organization. I was unable to attend, but ND and U went. U was really struck by the presentation, told me about it later, and we made a donation.

As a result we were invited to a special gallery event with artist Siona Benjamin. We attended and were reminded of the importance of HIAS's organization.

It was a nice night out, a reminder of how serious the refugee issues still are. The night we went was the same day the court gave it's decision on the travel ban. Mark Hetfield spoke about how the decision was actually good. That because the ban only stopped a very small number of people from entering the US it was a relative victory. Hearing this reminded me of just how nuanced many of these issues are... the things I read quickly in the news have so much more behind them than I usually know.

Action #34: Passing Moment

This is more of a "waging peace" moment than more blatant activism, but I think it worth sharing anyway.

On Friday I was leaving Target and saw a Muslim family. I had left work (in a Jewish day school) so the way ND and I were dressed probably made it seem pretty obvious we were Jewish. This family we saw had a mother, father and two kids. The mother had a hijab -- hence my deduction they were Muslim.

Now I pass Muslim families frequently, and often feel this pull where I want to say, "Don't worry! I'm cool with you!" But there are so many things wrong with that... first, I personally find it really uncomfortable when someone figures out I'm Jewish and wants to point it out, or to make friendly by saying, "Shalom." I'm me and I happen to be Jewish, and don't necessarily want to discuss my faith or my beliefs or associations or any of that. I'm sure the same is true for them as a regular every day family that happens to be from a background that is very loaded right now.

So I considered saying nothing at all, but the truth is, we were kind of eyeing one another, and it was at least possible they were thinking, "Oh crap, here comes another Jew who thinks we're terrorists." I just wanted for our moment passing each other to be one that was calm and had good feeling.

The man was wearing a shirt that said, "Exercise? I thought you said 'extra fries.' " Aha! Personality rather than group identification! So as I passed I smiled and said,

"That's a really funny shirt."

We smiled at each other, and that was it. It probably looked like just a regular every day casual moment, but it was planned, it was deliberate, and I think I achieved a worthwhile goal.

Sometimes small talk is a real pain, but in this case I feel I accomplished a moment of peace with it.

Actions #31-33: Fund EPA

Made a donation and wrote two hard copy letters to representatives asking them to continue to fund EPA.

Actions #29-30 Earth Day

And for Actions #29-30, in honor of Earth Day, I gave two separate presentations at school to multiple grades about waste, where garbage goes, and the importance of reduce, reuse and recycle in that order.

Actions #27-28: Continued work

I'm starting to revise a little what I mean by actions. Petitions still don't count, but some repeated actions do.

For example, I told you I am now a co-leader for Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. Actions 27 and 28 are additional meetings we've held.

Action #26: Email about Sudan

Emailed my senators about the famine in the Sudan. Apparently there is a vote this week about giving them support.

Action #25: Science March... sort of

I was going to go to the Science March, bags packed and everything. Then I realized I would have to leave work earlier than originally planned for a fighting chance to arrive before Shabbat started. Unfortunately, I had to bag out, but U went instead.

Action #24: Sent money

I'm told this is a cause that will never win, but I won't give up. Sent money to Everytown USA.

Action #23: Oppose Neil Gorsuch

Followed Daily Kos directions to call Robert Menendez and ask him to filibuster appointment of Neil Gorsuch.

Action #22: Libaries

Not giving up yet, even though I've been absent.

Emailed to support libraries.

Action #21: Waging Peace

Remember when I said I was getting involved with an interfaith group? Well, today I hosted the first meeting for one of the new chapters in my county of Sisterhood Salaam Shalom. I'm currently a co-leader. Oh yeah!

Action #20: Thank you to McCain

I was going to do this anyway. Right now Republicans are entirely in power, so there is not much to be gained by reaching out to Democrats. Rather, we need rogue Republicans who can stand for a sane version of the Republican party. So U and I discussed just yesterday that my next action was going to be to thank him, but after the speech he gave last night, I wrote him a thank you note even before starting my morning yoga. You please do it too.

Action #19: Stop Gorusch

Sent some money to People For The American Way to counter pro-Gorusch ads.

Action #18: More on Day Without Immigrants

So then I emailed an administrator who I also suspect is on a different political side than me. I suggested the team deserved recognition for having come in on Day Without Immigrants. I cc'd someone else on the team who might be able to help with any recognition that is given to them (and who I know would have appreciated the email.) I did not hear back. It could be that an announcement was made later that day and I just didn't hear it, or it could be my comment was just ignored in which case the person I wrote to can leave it to his conscience to process.

Action #17: Day Without Immigrants

Last Thursday was Day Without Immigrants when thousands of immigrants stayed home from work to show the country just how much they contribute.

Our custodian's team has the most extraordinary work ethic of anyone I've ever met. They are there before I come to work and after I leave and have frequently come in the middle of the night to handle things like pipe bursts or to salt after icy weather. Only the head of the team speaks English comfortably enough for us to have a conversation, but I stopped him in the hall to thank him for coming in that day. I thought he might just say "you're welcome" and keep walking, but he stopped to talk to me for a minute and said he had really wanted to join the protest but knew that too many people counted on him to do that. I reiterated that I know how much his team's work can go under appreciated and he went on his way.

I'm proud I spoke up to him, but even prouder that I said it in front of someone else. This someone else is a person with whom I work closely and have developed a friendship, but with whom I don't talk politics because I know she was anti-Clinton. I don't really know how she feels about anything else that is happening in the world but I have gotten the sense that there are many areas in which we might painfully disagree with each other, especially racially, and I don't want to go there.

She heard my conversation with our custodian and looked genuinely touched by it. I hope I planted a seed.

Action #16: No on Scott Pruitt

Got a text asking me to call my senator to ask him to oppose Scott Pruitt. The text included a phone number to call my senator right away.

I did. The aide said my senator has already released a statement saying he would vote against him, so I asked if I could talk to him a minute:

Me: I've been very diligent about making these calls, but I know that my senator and I are on the same side. Is this helpful that I'm calling?

Staffer: Yes, but it might be even more helpful if you called Pennsylvania.

Me: But am I allowed to do that? I thought I was just supposed to call in my own state.

Staffer: I get calls all day and I hear from all over the country.

So there you have it... it's not unheard of to call out of state, even if they won't listen.

Action #15: Some other Republican senator -- fail, kinda

I tried calling another random Republican senator (can't remember which) to say the same thing. This time someone actually answered. I tried to give the same message, but then he asked where I was calling from. I had planned on saying "U.S." or lying, but he specifically asked the county, so I choked and said I was calling from NJ. Guess that message is going in the trash. Oh well. At least I wasted 2 minutes of this staffer's time.

Action #14: Called Rand Paul

And left him a message saying that he needs to be responsible about investigating Trump's ties with Russia. I tried to make it sound like I had the utmost faith in our president and that I'm looking forward to an investigation being done to prove his innocence.