Thursday marked the fall equinox — when day and night are equally long — and the end of summer.
The change of seasons is a perfect time to take stock and see where you are. Are you doing what you want to do, are you eating right, are you getting enough exercise? Are your relationships positive and healthy?
As a community, we should do the same. Are we spending our energy on things that will benefit us? Are we taking care of ourselves, our seniors, our youth? Are we planning for our future? Are we taking care of our present?
In the past few weeks, the LGBT community has seen both progress and setbacks. On the progress side, a project for low-income LGBT seniors was announced (and funding applied for), numerous LGBT individuals and groups have been honored and some successful events (fundraisers and social) have been held.
On the setback side, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” hit a roadblock in the Senate, another transwoman was attacked in Center City and a woman was killed outside an LGBT party in North Philadelphia.
So what can the community do to ensure it is happy, well adjusted and getting its needs met?
The short answer is to get involved. Support — with time, energy and/or money —organizations that advocate for causes you support. Offer your time and expertise on a board. Bring problems to the attention of someone responsible for it or who can fix it. If it’s crime, reach out to the police or the liaison committee. If it’s nonprofit accountability, go to the board meetings. If you see a problem, identify it, vocalize it and offer a solution (or at least offer to look for one).
As a community, it’s important to recognize that we aren’t going to make progress on equality or discrimination by staying silent. Once we speak up, we can work toward effecting change; if we don’t take any actions, we only serve to perpetuate the status quo.
And then we need to build alliances. The community must look for those who have similar issues that we can collaborate to solve, who is affected by similar problems, who has found solutions to dilemmas we face. We must both learn from our forebears and teach our youth.
With fall upon us — and the November election looming — it’s a good time to take stock, and take action.