Why I Wear A Safety Pin

On Veteran’s Day, just a couple days ago, I listened in shock as I heard someone tell my husband he/she’d wished my husband had died in his military service.  Branden, a veteran of the United States Air Force, having received ten medals and ribbons and the ranking of Staff Sergeant, having been deployed and sacrificed his youth to serve our beloved country, was told by a bitter person full of hatred that instead of coming back home to his family, he should have died while he served abroad.

Have I mentioned this person is a church-going, white Christian?  Shocking, isn’t it?  Not who you expected me to say, right?

Unfortunately, not really.  Everyone is caught in the vise of antagonism, it seems.  In this past year, and even more fervently felt in the days following the election, I've seen too much animosity and division.  It utterly rends my heart.  Those readers who've been with me for some time know I advocated in 2013 against human trafficking (my book WATCHMEN FOR MORNING), and in 2014 for global orphan care and children's righs (my book FOLDED).  It's time I throw myself in the campaign for equality as well.  

Above political party, above religion, above those who use their positions of power to bully, harass, beat down and disenfranchise others, should be LOVE.  Want to inspire change and were disappointed by the election?  Love one another.  Want to live out the gospel you preach or the mantra you pray/chant?  Love one another, even those different than you. Want to show that you can be a decent human being even to those who have a different sexual orientation than you?  Love one another. 

We have to stop mistreating our veterans and police officers.  We have to stop mistreating women.  We have to stop turning a blind eye to those around us suffering.  We have to stop mistreating anyone of a different skin color.  We have to stop mistreating people just because their religion, political views, or stance on abortion is different than ours.  The surest way to show me and, I can safely guess, millions of other logically-minded adults that you are truly spiritual, religious and/or trying to be a good person is by showing LOVE, not spewing hate. It’s disgusting and I refuse to be a part of it.  I refuse to raise my children with the mindset of hate. 

I wear the safety pin not to hop on some bandwagon and not to claim one political party over the other.  I'm actually an Independent anyway, because I like doing research and using my brain when it comes to the issues that so ferociously divide our nation today.  As Henry David Thoreau stated: "The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning."

I wear it because I know what it feels like to be bullied, to be harassed, to be abused, to be made to feel as though because I was a woman I was inherently inferior.  I know what it feels like, and so I choose today love.  I choose to be a decent human being to whomever I cross paths.  I’ve seen enough hate, addiction, and sickness to last a lifetime, and I’m done with it.  I choose love. I want my children to choose love.  I want those I work with and teach to choose love.  As an author with a unique ability and privledge to reach out to people from all over the world, I want my readers to see that I choose love.  So, I beseech you to choose love today, too.

In all honestly, here's the reality: if we want to make a difference in people's lives, it's more than just checking a box on a ballot. If we truly want change and to make a difference, we need to step into people's lives, walk beside them, share in their lives' stories. So if we claim to care about abortion, then what are we doing to support unwed mothers? To fight the orphan crisis? To volunteer at a pregnancy crisis center? If we care about education reform, then what are doing to tutor kids after school and support our local teachers? To help children with challenges succeed? If we claim to care about military strategies, what are we doing to stand beside the families whose loved ones are away at war? To support soldiers suffering from PTSD? To honor those who have served? To make sure no veteran comes home and becomes homeless? If we claim to care about welfare regulation, what are we doing to walk beside families needing special assistance? To better government housing? To help people earn good jobs? If we claim to care about the refugee crisis, what are we doing to partner with these vulnerable communities? To learn another language and culture? To help them integrate into our society? A REAL CHANGE in our country comes on an individual, person-to-person level. THAT is where we will make the biggest impact and change our society... one person at a time.  And until that happens, I am here.  With my safety pin.

I will be a safe person for you, whoever you are.  #safetypin