Pat Sledge – “We need to start where we can make an impact; where we can start a ripple that begins a movement that gathers momentum.”

In a conversation earlier today with advocates in talking about “stand your ground” laws and recent gun violence, I asked as an elected official, that each person speak to their local leaders to push for changes to ordinances and policies on issues about which they are passionate. It may not be the change we want to see in our state or nation, but it is a start.

I am reminded of a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, replying to how we can measure the progress in human rights. She said in fact, “where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

We need to start where we can make an impact; where we can start a ripple that begins a movement that gathers momentum. If we can get one neighbor to stand with us and get that neighbor to bring one in, we can begin to see progress toward the end goal.

Pat Sledge