| Stand UP Speak OUT Challenge
Become a Wind Changer
Through a rainbow of diverse people,
WE can bridge the polarization, by
engaging hearts and minds,
creating authentic connections, and
dissolving differences that separate us.
I am only one; but still I am ONE.
I cannot do everything; but Still I can do Something.
I will not refuse to do the Something I can do!
Helen Keller
A Call to Action - Ten Empowering Principles
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Honor the POWER of ONE that Helen Keller encouraged, allowing it to propel you toward interconnectedness with others so that you can access and impact the POWER in ALL of US! Recognize and accept that you, as one person, can change the world with your actions. Seek to emulate those who have exhibited the Power of ONE throughout history.
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Stand UP & Speak OUT…remaining silent is just as dangerous as overt discrimination. Claim the power of your voice, while using love and compassion. Polarization paralyzes us. Engage the media, and political and religious organizations. People, men and women, run all. Find out who they are and tell them how you feel about the images they project and the stories they write/share that are not accurate portrayals of individuals and/or groups. Recall Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words, "None of us are free until all of us are free." We each have our gifts, whether it be writing, speaking, creating music or art, organizing a group, standing vigil. Discover your gift and use it to make a difference, eradicating hate and celebrating one another. Just do it…Take Action!
click here for resources, including "Talk about It: HRC's guide about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues."
click here for Responding to Hate at School: A Guide for Teachers, Counselors, and Administrators, published by Teaching Tolerance.
click here for Speak UP! booklet from Teaching Tolerance
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Be BOLD & BRAVE! Exhibit a willingness to examine your thinking. Take a daily action that scares you enough to take you outside your ordinary boxes and comfort zones. Be determined to thrive in life, not just "survive" life. Seek ways to transform yourself on a daily basis. Make a commitment to evaluate one aspect of your belief system each week and be open to where that journey takes you. Acknowledge when it is time to SHIFT.
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Create authentic connections and initiate deeper conversations on a daily basis, especially with those who are closest to you and with persons with whom you differ in any way. Both of these present the most difficult, but potentially most rewarding, situations. They are challening because you are often attached to a specific outcome, leading to fear and disappointment. They are rewarding because when you give up attachment to a specific outcome, choosing to meet fear with love, the potential for self transformation is enourmous. Our wedding vow was "I come to you with an open heart, and I vow to change the world through the expression of our love." Release attachment to outcome, and commit to loving action rather than fear. Observe how differences dissolve that separate you when you connect on a human level. You can't hate someone whose story you know.
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LEAN IN, rather than defend, with people whose rhetoric is antagonistic. Notice your own behavior and how, when operating from the level of fear, you contribute to toxic attitudes in society. The fear of others is a call for your loving action and behavior. Seek to listen before speaking. Seek to understand before being understood. Seek to inquire rather than defend. Leaning in transforms you, first, and them second.
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Reframe your thinking! Avoid blaming and complaining about them, and reclaim YOU! Many people hold up their finger to see which way the wind is blowing before they decide "who they are" or "what they think." They test the wind of others and society. If you want to shift your world, become a WIND CHANGER for those who are holding up their finger. Question...question...question.
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Elevate your awareness about your own potential biases. Non-violently confront discrimination and social injustice through actions that match your words.
Go to www.HiddenBias.org.
Recent scientific research has demonstrated that biases thought to be absent or extinguished remain as "mental residue" in most of us.
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Take responsibility and CLEAN UP YOUR MESS! When you discover you have been mistaken regarding your views/beliefs and/or the manner in which you have approached a person or a situation, it isn't time to stonewall responsibility. If you spill milk as you take it out of the refrigerator, whether you intended to or not, you clean up your mess. Why? You recognize that leaving it there for a week will not make the smell go away; it only makes it worse. Take responsibiility sooner, not later.
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CLAIM YOUR VOICE...Be Visible...Empower your Life!
We hope our rainbow wristbands, a never-ending circle of colors, lead to engaging one another in more meaningful conversations, creating a tipping point as we reaffirm the potential for change in our world and the power of intelligent action. We believe there are things we can achieve together that we can’t achieve separately, signifying our interconnectedness.
When you wear our rainbow wristband you make a commitment to creating authentic connections and having deeper conversations, however that works for you.
Together, we can change our world for the better!
Isn’t it time to Stand UP and Speak OUT?
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