This is where my new career as a CEO of the world’s most awesome pop song powered community building charity comes up against my stand up comedian instincts. See, a part of me mostly wants to make sarcastic semi-jokes from the sideline while the world burns around me (I didn’t say it was a good instinct). The other is way more genuine, super earnest and loads more positive about the future (while still being a little terrified).
Instead of retweeting GIFs, being snarky and scared here are some suggestions of things you can do to make things a lot better.
- Smile at someone in the street. They probably want to know they’re in a world of love and kindness.
- Don’t hate people who have different opinions. They’re just humans who want the best in a complicated world.
- Create connections outside of your tribe. Tribalism enflamed the passions we’re feeling now.
- Hearing people that agree with you is great but more important to listen to those that don’t.
- Remainers, if you’re feeling pain after the vote, remember this is the pain that many of the Leavers felt before.
- Leavers, the result has shocked a lot of Remainers, don’t kick them when they’re down (and out).
- If there’s going to be a ‘culture war’ it is better to find peaceful solutions than to take up arms.
- Be grateful: you live in one of the richest, most peaceful, most advanced countries the world has ever known.
- Be positive: we got through two World Wars, the Suez Crisis and losing Eurovision. We will get through this too.
- Sure, get politically active but you can be apolitically active too. The new knitting group can be more powerful than the sword.
- Find spaces where you can be with difference, live with difference and listen to difference without judging. #JudgyMcJudgeFace
- In every borough, county and street in the country there are people who disagreed with you. Make their world better however you can.
- Come up with a new cultural, social and economic vision for Britain that everyone can get behind (this last one’s a biggie).
One comfort that all the staff at Sunday Assembly have had in this confusing time is this: our movement is dedicated to creating a world where everyone lives life as fully as possible. A world where hate filled times like this do not happen. We are here to connect and unite people, and we love that there are so many people who want to do that too.
Sanderson x
