I Marched, What's Next?

What can we do? There has to be more than writing letters and posting on social media. This is a work in progress, but these are my thoughts...

1. Stay educated. If you think the media is misleading you, take charge. Know your sources. Do your research. You don't have to consume the 24-hour repetitive cycle of media. You can focus and keep it to the point. I like NPR, Popular Science, and the technical sources (department sites). If you're curious about education, go to the Dept of Education site! You want to know about the job rates? Go to the Department of Labor reports.
   
   
2. Educate each other. We are failing in this. We need to talk about the issues. Not just reposting articles, but face-to-face or virtually with a personal spin and follow up. We need to have meaningful discussions about the current state of affairs and what is happening. We can only act together if we work together. But serious discussion, not Facebook posts!
   
   
3. Know your representatives. Even if you didn't vote for the person in office and had limited choices, like many of us, you should still be familiar with your representation. You still need to know what the guys in office stand for. When voting time comes around, you can make a very informed decision on the matter. While I question how much a letter would impact a party-loyal politician, it doesn't hurt to send a reminder message to your representatives to let them know you're watching, remind them what issues matter, and encourage them to make choices that benefit the community. (10 Actions/100 Days is doing a post card writing push, check it out.)
   
   
4. VOTE. Support those who make informed decisions and those candidates who use critical-thinking skills. You don't have to love them. You don't have to agree with all of their current positions on the issues. These are not valid excuses to ignore your responsibility in the election process. We need educated, compassionate, rational representatives. They won't get in office without your general support and definitely won't without your vote. I think we'll have some fresh new candidates coming out of this chaos. Look for them and get behind them early on. Don't rule out running either. Maybe you're the change we need. Someone's gotta do it, why not you?
   
   
5. Be compassionate. This is a big one. We're all trying to do what's best for us and our communities. It's not time to hate on each other. Support those in your life who are trying to do something good, whether or not you agree. As long as they aren't trying to hurt anyone, just let them be. All issues can be important, and we need people with different focuses to cover it all. We can't do this alone. Lift them up and support them, don't feed the apathy with negative thoughts.
   
   
6. Think before you speak. Get back to those lessons your mamma taught you. Think before you speak. Don't say anything you wouldn't say in front of your grandma. Make sure what you're trying to get across actually contributes. Remember, opinions are like a certain body part...

Stay motivated. Stay engaged. Stay positive. 

Resources

This is just a start, I'll keep adding to it!

• NPR is a good source for a balanced take on the facts.
• Equal Rights Advocates is a go-to source for legislation related to women's rights. It's not limited to the Equal Rights Amendment (which still hasn't passed) and is keeping up with what our reps are doing in Washington and throughout the US.
• Thinx is not just for period panties, they keep a blog running with interesting articles related to women's health, women's rights, and even pop culture. The articles are light, but give you ideas for topics to look into.
• Women's March 10 Actions has some ideas for the next 100 days. I'm hoping they update it with some resources after that point to keep this moving!
• BBC covers news from around the globe. You can look up happenings in the US to see an outside take on it.
• Popular Science has information about medical and technical advances. We need this knowledge more than ever. Remember that hot article about how birth control makes women crazy? Well they wrote about it and put the research papers in context. They didn't just pull a line out and leave it at that.
• TED and TED Radio Hour are a great source of motivation if you have time. I listen on my commute. It helps you think of something else and enriches your mind.
• Article with some great tips: How to #StayOutraged Without Losing Your Mind by Mirah Curzer