What does The Power of We mean to me? Many things….
The power of teachers who show up everyday and work their very hardest to help children, with anything they need– a tied shoe, a hug, learning to read, to love, to share, anything. I see them living love everyday. Living kindness. Standing up for kids. Trying to get what they need. Partnering with parents. Trying new strategies. Thinking out of the box. And doing this again and again, day in and day out, in the face of worsening conditions.
I’ve seen them, each day. Their work, our work, makes a difference. We show up. We help kids. And in small ways, big ways, and in some ways we will never know, we make a difference.
That to me is the Power of We.
How about the power of parents? Incredible. Parents show love by giving selfless care, day in, and day out. Cooking, reading. playing, cleaning, bathing, cuddling, and in this care, children thrive. My heart fills when I think of parents everywhere, caring for children. We have the mighty power and privilege to raise caring, empathetic, creative, motivated and engaged citizens. But we can’t do it alone.
We need to help each other, not cut each other down. We need help from our leaders to help us be better parents– having paid sick days, parental leave, safer products, and equal pay.
That to me is the Power of We.
The Power of We is the power of activism–online and on the street. It has been the online community that has moved mountains in protecting our families. BPA, safer toys, safer cosmetics, more corporate accountability, clean air legislation–it is all happening because of a collaborative effort from parents, activists, and non-profit organizations.
It’s the mother of an asthmatic child speaking out for clean air standards.
It’s the mom of children who have been poisoned by lead making a documentary film about lead poisoning.
It’s moms, during naptime, emailing their senators.
Our voice, our sharing, our emails, they matter. They can make change for the better. We have to continue to work together to protect families, in the face of greedy corporations and big business.
That to me is the Power of We.
The Power of We is on the power on the street. It’s showing up at your city council or school board meetings. Offering a hand, a perspective, an ear. There is power in that. Power in going to protests, events, showing up, demanding change. Slow and steady. In loud and quiet ways.
The Power of We is the power to improve the lives of people, our world, our education, our communities.
That to me is the Power of We.
What does the Power of We mean to you?
This post was submitted for Blog Action Day.