People's Action shows up, stands up, and speaks out.
I am so proud of you, every member of People’s Action and People’s Action Institute, for showing up together so powerfully this week in Washington, DC. Together, we stood on the steps of the Capitol and told lawmakers and the big corporations who think they own our government we will not let them take food and health care away from families to line the pockets of billionaires. Thank you!
You stood up, and we showed up, together. You came to DC from Washington State, Nevada, Texas and Maine - 27 states and 60 congressional districts in all - to defend our democracy and demand our government work for us, not the greedy few.
You inspire me, because you are powerful, with a strength no one can take away: the power to organize, and to stand together for what is right. Even in a moment like this, when it feels like our democracy and basic norms of dignity are under attack, you rise to the occasion.
You are what gets us through: this is why I have faith in you. And since you are organizers, you know what to do: Talk with your neighbors, build connections, and find common ground. Speak out when something is not right. Defend the vulnerable from injustice, and find solutions. Together.
As organizers, we know we have this power in ordinary times, yet this is even more important to tap in to in times of crisis. We have the power to connect with each other in a way that helps us discover and grow in our shared strength. This is something no one can take away.
This week’s events make me think of the first time I met Shel Trapp, one of the founders of our organization, twenty-five years ago. Shel showed up on my doorstep in Kansas one day with a simple question: “Why do you want to be an organizer?”
Trapp did not play games. This was the first time we’d ever met, yet he had me write a two-page response, and told me he’d be back in the evening.
I was taken aback. At the time, I was thirty, homeschooling three daughters - one in kindergarten, one in third grade, and a baby. I wasn’t even sure I knew what Shel’s question meant. But Laura Dungan, the local organizer who encouraged me to meet him, felt confident I had what it takes.
As I put pen to paper, I thought through many things: my experiences building churches in Wichita, and what I’d witnessed as a child in El Salvador, when I was forced to flee a civil war that ripped communities and families apart with unspeakable violence and divisions that became facts of daily life.
I realized that because I had survived these things, not only could I do something, I must do something to help my neighbors, and those I had not yet met, to improve our lives together. I knew all too well the feeling of powerlessness that comes from standing on the sidelines when bad things happen. Through organizing, I discovered I had the power to do something about it. That’s what I told Shel.
Right now, there are a lot of things that make us feel powerless, or that feel beyond our control. Yet we must not feel paralyzed: we must speak out, and fix what we can. There are urgent needs, and the power to address them is in our hands.
You have the power to talk with people, to call your representatives, or simply to cross the street and talk with your neighbor. These are ordinary acts of power, yet if we do enough of them, one by one, they are the ones that will hold us all together.
This looks different in different states, and in different communities - I hear so many stories about how you are all working to identify and answer what is most needed where you live. And together, we point to the structural problems that need shared solutions, as we just did in DC. We’ll share more about all of this in coming weeks.
For now, I just want to thank each and every one of you, and let you know how confident you make me feel that we do have the power to meet this moment. How you showed up, together, in DC proves this to me. And we’ve only just begun.
