We've all read muliple diaries and comments within the diaries about how we need to "take to the streets" to take our country back. I have happily contributed my share of comments to that effect. I am as angry as anyone about the direction this country has taken. I have lost friendships over this and have almost lost some relatives in my refusal to keep quiet. It was a bargain I didn't take lightly, but I willingly took the risks because I deeply believe our country is in a crisis.
Yet I don't know if I have the guts to lose my job/career. I do believe that our jobs are on the line if we really do what is needed to take our country back. I don't think we are at a point in time where we need to fear losing our lives to protect our democracy, but we are in peril of losing our jobs. And that is the elepant in the room.
Does anyone else struggle with this or am I the only one?
We are angry at our politicians who refuse to go too far out on a limb. We are angry at the reporters who play it safe. But aren't they just like us? Don't they tell themselves that if they just saw enough others standing up they would quickly help swell the ranks? If only there were so many others that "they" couldn't possibly fire us all! The reality is that most of us have family, mortgages and bills to pay. If we lose our income, we lose a lot! And if we even knew
with certainty that IF we lost our jobs we would have won the prize--our beloved Democracy--we would gladly make the sacrifice.
But there is no guarantee today that we WILL win back our country. And so, I continue to weigh the odds in my head and do the small things even though I don't believe in my heart that that will be enough.