Making a Difference, Any Way We Can
by Mark Case
Each of us does what we can for others, each and every day. We have to schedule our time between work, family, rest and relaxation, and carrying on the fight for ourselves and others, and it’s a tight schedule. We wonder why we do it, why we don’t do like others and just make some money and enjoy it—and the heck with the rest.
We work for months, weeks, years trying to help others and in our eyes we see no return for our efforts: the union president trying to motivate his membership, the lawyer trying to win a case for a member in need, the community advocate trying to raise public awareness and encourage participation, the politician trying to win election in order to better serve and help his brothers and sisters, or the minister in the pulpit, trying to help people find their answers and just believe.
When we give of ourselves to the maximum, and then see others not doing the same, it makes us question what we do and why we do it. But we keep trying to do more, and more, and more, until we reach a burnout phase of our lives. Then we question ourselves, our friends, our co-workers: Are we on the side of right, are we prevailing, are we getting anything done with our work and our lives? The answer is different for all of us, and each of us will find the answer in a different place and time.
The problems are so complex, the need is so great, and we all want answers or recognition that our work is not in vain, that we are making a difference, in helping others and helping ourselves, that we are fulfilling a purpose, the right purpose. Especially now, we see the wrong in so many areas:
• Unions under attack like never before
• Politicians attacking worker issues and ending worker rights
• A Congress so biased that every issue is decided by a strict party vote
• Unemployment at unreal levels
• A war that has gone on forever
• The Attorney General cited for contempt of Congress
• Healthcare reform under attack by legislators
• State governments eliminating their workforces at an unprecedented level
• Workers and families hurting like never before losing their jobs, their homes, their lives
Are we making a difference? An answer came to me a week ago. I made the call for progressives, union members, and those fighting for working people to come to and be a part of a march in the July 4th parade in Hendersonville, NC. They would come and march with the Democratic Party, which is supporting our labor-friendly candidates. I knew it was a day when most people are taking a vacation day or spending time with their families. How many would come, how many would stand in support, and would it make a difference?
When parade day came, only one other union member answered the call, decked out in union colors and present with information for the public. Three others who were there for the Democratic Party were also retired union workers who could also be counted in the mix. Just us few, and we wondered, where is everyone? But we gave out stickers to “Bring Jobs Home,” we left signs supporting labor in car windshields, we talked with individuals present and on the parade route, and we marched proudly in support of labor and all working men and women!
We received cheers from some of the crowd, boos from some on the other side, and stares from those not wanting to commit. We got waves from children just enjoying the moment, we got recognition from the press for being there, and from one person on the parade route we were given the best answer and recognition that any union member, community activist, or labor-friendly person could receive
A mother sitting on the sidewalk with her young children looked up at me and the others and said, “Thank you for being here!” Her comment to us made it all worthwhile and fulfilling! It was the first time that the Democratic Party, unions, or community activists had ever marched in the parade! This mother didn’t care how many were there—she was just excited that there was someone else who shared her values and was promoting the needs of working families.
That was what mattered. In one moment all my fears, my doubts, my concerns, my questions were all answered. We are making a difference.
None of us can do it all or be at every event. But when there’s a chance to be there and be counted, take the time, get to what you can get to, speak to whoever is there, and stand up in support of working people. That is how we answer the call—by making a difference in the world in whatever way we can.
Mark Case is a U.S. Postal Service employee and president of the Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
