The calls for aid have never been greater; Harvey in Texas, Irma in Florida, and impacted most significantly by several hurricanes, Puerto Rico. The wildfires in California rage throughout the state and are incredibly difficult to extinguish. 

The calls for aid have never been greater; Harvey in Texas, Irma in Florida, and impacted most significantly by several hurricanes, Puerto Rico. The wildfires in California rage throughout the state and are incredibly difficult to extinguish. 

We are not the Middle East nor are we North Africa. We don’t have gun waving lunatics running through our streets on the back of pick-up trucks shouting slogans on a daily basis. We do however have our own homegrown “lone-wolves” coming out of the wood work. They murder people at random and on a massive scale, with poorly regulated military grade automatic weapons. As these images juxtapose in our minds, America doesn’t appear to be as safe as we claim we have made it. 

Policy makers debate whether climate change is real or not. We question the religion of those who want to enter the land of the free and home of the brave. In this context, how can one remain even cautiously optimistic? The cynicism takes you over, and you feel as though that anything you can do will not bring any meaningful change. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All we have to do is talk to each other and take the first step to speak out. The spirit of America shall not be defeated and neither shall its defiance be compromised. 

The question is, “How do we talk to each other so that our conversations produce results?” We all have heard talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. The treatment of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico is the litmus test to determine the commitment of America to its citizens for their survival and safety. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have to little.” Before we criticize the government leaders and their ability to perform their duties, we must question ourselves. What have we done for our fellow Americans lately? We no longer can afford the dinner table conversations and local coffee shop chats without any measurable outcomes. When we speak up, we start preparing for the journey of bringing the change. When we organize, we become the change. We simply can no longer weather this storm; we must stand up and make our voices heard.