Courage

A few months ago, I started to write about doing “right.”  I worked on it for weeks.  That’s very unusual for me.  Usually when I have something to say, I say it and then it’s done.  But writing about doing right was hard.  Because “right” is so subjective.  Is it right for you?  Is it right for me?  Is it right for all of us?  I never finished the “Right” piece because I didn’t know how to make it relevant to everyone.  It wasn’t until today that I knew the right way to make “right” relevant. 

So here it is.  Right is about courage.  Right is standing up to authority, even when you have no chance of winning.  Right is speaking on behalf of the voiceless.  Right is challenging the status quo.  Right is right.  And because I don’t have all of the words, I have compiled a photo montage about courage and doing right. 

Paul Revere:  The guy who told all the other guys that it was time to fight for what they believed in.  

Teddy Roosevelt:  The guy who said we can't risk losing our natural resources.  Subsequently, the National Park Service was born.  

These ladies, know as suffragettes, who fought to the death so they could have the right to vote.  They didn't even start asking for equal pay and equal opportunity until 50 years after they had the right to vote.  Voting is kind of a big deal.  Do it.  

These guys, without names, who built the ICON of the West Coast.  They did it for 12 hours a day, without health insurance, while walking an uphill tightrope.

Rosa Parks:  "Fuck you.  I'll sit where I want." At least that's how I envision it.  

  Jane Goodall:  Changed the way we view humanity.  Did it without any formal education on the subject.    

This fucking kid.  Stood in front of a tank.  A TANK!  Ok, three tanks.  Because he said "no need for tanks in the middle of Beijing."  He was right.

This.  Because this is right.  And the fact that it has to have a logo, a motto, or an emblem is wrong.  

Do you even know who this guy is?  He's the guy who made it public that your privacy isn't private anymore.  And because of that, he is safer in RUSSIA than he is in the United States.  

I know what you are thinking.  You’re thinking “Oh, Angela...You fucking hippie. When will you ever learn?” This is the thing, though.  I have learned.  I have learned A LOT.  I have learned that silence is golden.  Unless you have a conscious, then you have to have a voice.  I have learned that patience is virtue.   Until your patience has been exhausted, then you have to act.  I have learned that good things come to those who wait.  Oh...No.  No they don't.  Good things come to those who bust their fucking asses for it.  That's what courage is.  Courage is speaking up against what is wrong.  Courage is exercising your voice.  Courage is fighting the good fight.  Right now.  

Courage isn't easy.  It isn't popular.  But its right.  

-Inner Peas