January 20, 2017
I hereby declare my intention to resist the oppressive, authoritarian, demagogic regime that, with help from a hostile foreign power, has taken over my federal government. My resistance will manifest as follows:
As a citizen I vow to maintain political action and awareness. No longer will I remain a passive participant in our democracy; turning up to vote every two or four years, but engaging in little else. I will write, speak and physically gather. I will not turn away, but stay attentive and alert to political and social movements. Regardless of my disgust and outrage, I pledge to stay informed so that I may know my positions as well as those that oppose them. This is the necessary first step to any resistance, to know precisely that which we resist. Additionally, I vow to accept and to take seriously every claim and statement made by this occupying administration. No matter how outlandish or unlikely, I will understand statements made by our President, Representatives and Senators as honest and intentional. I will accept that if our leaders voice an intent, that they will follow through with like actions. I refuse to consider that what they say does not represent what they intend to do. I refuse to accept that their actions may differ from their statements. I refuse to wait and see what happens, and instead to hold those in power accountable for their words.
In turn, I vow to support publicly and passionately any and all movements measures and arguments that uphold a fair, equitable, progressive, environmentally conscious, socially responsible and economically balanced position. In this vein, I pledge to maintain a tone of positivity. I will attempt, as much as is possible, to validate and support that which I believe in, so that my voice may be heard as one of positivity and progressive affirmation, not one of bitter criticism and cynicism. However, despite this particular goal, I also vow to resist, criticize and call out any and all acts - large and, especially small - that go against aforementioned ideals. When I perceive racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, xenophobia, anti-environmental, hateful or otherwise bigoted or oppressive behaviors or speech, I pledge to use my voice, position and influence, however meek and inconsequential, to interrupt, correct and criticize said speech or behavior.
I pledge to work and support an inclusive community. I will urge my city and my smaller communities to be sanctuaries, to protect any and all people who reside here. I will act as an ally as much as I can. Whether this means standing in solidarity with people less privileged than I, or whether this means providing safety and physical support to those who may be under threat, I vow to use my privilege and relative safety to support those who may come under real threats to safety and basic humanity. As a straight, white, male citizen who firmly believes that our species and world will never reach its potential until we have equality and collaboration, not oppression and competition, I name my heroic models: German citizens of the Third Reich who harbored and hid Jewish refugees; Antebellum white southerners who harbored and aided fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad; men of power who worked for the suffrage of women; white Civil Rights activists who worked to expose and oppose the evils of segregation. It will be these shoes I look to fill and honor.
As a professional public educator I pledge to use my position of power and authority to explicitly teach acceptance and equality. I will ceaselessly work to teach a realistic history of our nation that includes silenced voices and swept aside versions of our national story. I will, first and foremost, maintain a safe and inclusive classroom. I will continue to make myself known as an ally to any and all youth who feel afraid, threatened or unwelcome. I will strive to educate my students on the power of their own privilege and expose them to pathways through with they may channel that power for good. I vow to help my students who do not enjoy such privilege find the skills and knowledge necessary to gain status in their lives, to move past the hurdles that have been set before them and claim their voices as powerful. I pledge to support and affirm all of my students and colleagues as valid, even when I may view their opinions as harmful or in opposition to my own. However, I also pledge to correct and, with only love and compassion, disagree with such ideals.
I pledge to resist and disregard harmful and unconstitutional actions by the leadership which governs my profession. With the strong conviction that our public schools represent the last bastion of true diversity and democracy, I promise from the bottom of my soul to do everything in my power to protect the only remaining institution that brings people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences together with the simple aim of intellectual growth. I pledge to work for the improvement and betterment of this system, while also resisting those who seek to disrupt or destroy it. Our public schools must remain hallowed halls full of diverse people who can learn to interpret, understand, evaluate, argue and, ultimately, collaborate for a future that provides for the success, freedom and happiness of all people.
As a human being I pledge to perpetuate positivity and love. For too long our human history has been defined by conflict and war, by division. I will work to promote and demand a world that recognizes all people as equal participants in a global network of collaboration. I will work to promote a vision of humanity that does not hold itself higher than any other being or system, one that does not see itself as masters of the environment, but as participants in vast ecosystems of interdependent aspects that are of equal import. Through my words, actions and attitude I pledge to remain positive, to work for that which I believe, not simply against that which I oppose.
I pledge to listen. As a child of relative privilege, I vow to first consider and ponder new positions before speaking. I vow to hold as valid the experiences and perspectives of peoples who may have lived under oppression and marginalization, even if I may not understand these positions. In this way, I pledge to support and back those who are claiming their voices, to accept criticism of my own words and actions if they are misguided or interpreted in harmful ways I did not foresee.
Finally, to those that I may come to disagree with, call out or otherwise conflict with, know that everything I do is done in the spirit of patriotism. I am proud to live in this country. I am honored to hold citizenship here. I solemnly promise to work and live not out of spite or competition, but out of deep conviction and belief in a shared future and vision. Do not confuse my criticisms or convictions as altruism, arrogance, condescension or elitism. I vow to return that sense of open mindedness. While I fundamentally disagree with almost every single ideology represented by our incoming administration, I also hold the hope that this division and chaos has the potential to lead us to real growth and improvement. It may just be the waking jolt that pushes us toward a more modern and progressive reckoning.
With Peace, Love, Solidarity and Togetherness I encourage and welcome you to join me in this mission, and to hold me accountable to these promises.
To which I respond ...
I love that you are someone who "puts your money where your mouth is." That you're not JUST about the rhetoric, but more importantly the action - that you actually DO what so many people simply talk and talk and talk about. I'm honored to witness how you've used your voice in journalism and especially in education. You are a lighthouse to ALL your students, including the ones from families boasting ideologies much different from your own. Our Bean is so lucky to have a wild feminist of a father, and you've proven to be a great choice for partnership. xoxo as long as I am able ... 😘
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