When it comes to social justice and the fight for equality, there are dozens of aspects that come into play. No matter what the cause may be, picking one cause and only supporting that cause gets society nowhere.
Recently the largest protest in recent United States History was held all around the country, the Women’s March on Washington. Over 100 other sister-cities participated in this rally for equal rights following the inauguration of Donald Trump. Even some cities that were not in the United States got involved. I live in Indianapolis and here alone there were more than 4,000 people.
Now, the intent of this article is not to invalidate the Women’s March. It was a moving experience and is most certainly important to the fight for equality. My issue is when so many people will fight for a popular cause, such as women’s rights, and not do the same for other worthwhile causes.
What brought this to mind was a march that I attended just a few days ago. This march was intended to bring awareness to the issue of the construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. These are oil pipelines which are putting native land, clean drinking water and other environmental factors at risk.
At this protest, I was surprised upon my arrival to discover only a small group of perhaps 70 or so people. This attendance of this protest was by far dwarfed by that of the Women’s March that I attended just a few weeks prior.
My question is, where are all of the people from the Women’s March who claimed to be for equality and equal rights?
When lives of indigenous people, their sacred land and access to clean drinking water are being put at risk does it not raise question of if these people having their civil rights ripped from under them? The construction of these pipelines screams injustice. So where are all of these activists that claimed to stand for equality for all?
It is so important for those who are activists to use their voice, not just for causes that affect them, but for all causes. Point blank, people need to stop cherry-picking what they get behind and fight for. The point of advocating for equality is to work to obtain rights for every person, and that cannot be achieved without inclusion of all people.
Changing the world takes effort and time and the capacity to care about every single person on this planet. Trying to bring about a positive change by only supporting a few causes would be like trying to pass a class by devoting all of your time to just a few of the assignments, it just does not work and it does not make sense.
I greatly encourage anyone who wants to see a positive change in this world to get out there and support multiple causes. Get involved and get the ball rolling. After all, the people are the voice and the people are the revolution. The people hold the power and that is something so special and amazing. Why waste an opportunity to change the world for the better? If anyone can make it happen, it is those who rise up and use their voice.
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