20 Nov When Values Are Under Attack, Start Here (2 of 3)

In yesterday’s email I described how a world tilting toward tyranny requires something more from us than our usual forms of cocooning or dissent.

But what?

During such times, letters to your congress person won’t cut it. Nor will the usual march in the streets. In today’s email I’ll share some ideas about what can be done and how.

My aim, however, is not to peddle any particular response. Instead, I hope to prime the pump of your own creative genius. I truly believe that the only chance we have to break the current stranglehold on democracy is if we all rise to the occasion in our own unique ways.

To begin: RE-CLAIM

Consider DEI – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. Imperfect, yes, but profoundly beneficial. For decades DEI programs have opened doors long shut. But now the very idea that everyone deserves dignity, and access to a level playing field, is under siege.

Even prestigious universities like Cornell and Brown have agreed to dismantle their DEI initiatives in order not to lose federal funding.

To RE-CLAIM any set of values, such as DEI, means asserting its importance more than ever before.

It means finding ways to express that these values will continue to guide one’s own choices especially as hateful policies attempt to snuff them out.

Here’s a beautiful example:

Ann Thompson Cook is a long-time member of our community and a tireless advocate for trans and non-binary people, who have benefited greatly from DEI programs and now suffer yet again whenever those programs get rolled back and rights are denied.

But Ann’s not having it. Some years ago she co-authored and distributed, with Rev. Cedric Harmon, Made in God’s Image: A Fresh Perspective on Gender Difference.

This 20-page beginner’s guide has been widely heralded for its open, warm approach that targets people who haven’t yet seen the beauty of gender diversity and are therefore susceptible to misinformation, vitriol, and campaigns to take essential rights away.

Here’s its heartfelt invitation:

“In these pages, you most likely will encounter new information and new perspectives. You may find that some of what we say challenges what you’ve always held to be true.

“We encourage you to be open to new information, new perspectives, and people’s lived experiences. We’ve learned from them and been enriched by them, and we trust that you will be as well.”

Now, Ann’s RE-CLAIM is to work with Rev. Harmon to revise the guide and make it available for free to any individual or group that can benefit.  After many months of preparation, it’s finally ready.

Here’s some typical reader feedback about the new edition:

“I am humbled and embarrassed by how much I didn’t know. This guide is beautifully written in a nonthreatening, concise, calm and compelling way.”

Recognizing that this effort relies solely on word of mouth, my own RE-CLAIM is to share this opportunity with you.

To get your copy of the PDF, click the image or link below. On the link page, scroll down to locate. And please feel welcome to spread the handbook far and wide.

https://lincollective.org/resources

Now it’s your turn. What key values under threat do you feel drawn to
RE-CLAIM? How might you go about it?

Tomorrow, in the third and final email of this campaign I’ll share two more approaches to meet this perilous moment with profound, effective action.

Please look for that email.