Values that Inspire Action

Guest Post by: 

Lindsay Dahl of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families

I was touched by Anne Brock’s article yesterday honoring the life of her mother. If I think about the lessons my mother taught me, the first one that comes to mind is that hard work can be tiresome, but is worth the effort.

This sense of hard work has inspired me to keep fighting for a toxic-free future.  

I recently talked with some friends about the importance of taking action on the things we care most deeply about. It is common in this day and age to receive dozens of alerts from organizations that work on various important issues.

So how do we decide which actions to take?

The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition is working to reform our antiquated laws governing toxic chemicals. The last time Congress passed a bill to protect Americans from toxic chemicals, Gerald Ford was President and the disco fever was in full swing.

It won’t be easy reforming these laws. We will need everyone to take action and participate in the process. It doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself political, or an activist.

This is bigger than that. This is about participating in democracy, a right that people are fighting for in countries across the world. It’s about letting those that represent you in Congress understand what you stand for and care about. It’s about sharing the important values we learned from our mothers with those that represent us in Washington.

For me, I can’t watch from the sidelines as people pass away from cancer and chronic disease. Especially when we can do something to prevent some of those deaths.

As a response, I am proud to coordinate our country’s first National Stroller Brigade. Next week, hundreds of people from across the country (including Anne from Flour Sack Mama.com) will attend to do what our founding fathers would have hoped for us to do: participate in democracy.

This will be a friendly rally that brings moms, cancer survivors and other people together to support the Safe Chemicals Act.

If you can’t join us in Washington, please either sign our petition here, or call your Senators and ask them to support the Safe Chemicals Act.

It is the actions we take that truly reflect our values. In honor of Mother’s Day, and for future generations, let us stand together for a healthy and safe future.