Elbows linked!
Here in Canada where I live, the rallying cry of “Elbows up!”, drawn from hockey, is pulling together people across the country in spirit of solidarity and resistance to American aggression.
Imagine if our shared rallying cry, for people concerned about each other and the planet that is our shared home, was “Elbows linked.” To express that we are connected and interdependent as people who dream of a flourishing world for all, that we are people who stand up for each other as neighbours and strangers of good will around the world. We can be a web of solidarity through our relationships to each other, which we need to tend more than ever.
We know that hearing stories, real people’s experiences, the words from people we know and trust, can make all the difference in helping us to understand new perspectives and be moved to action. Family ties, former colleagues and classmates, old neighbours who moved away… what might it look like for all of us to reach out in care to each other right now, to check in, to ask each other what you’re hearing, to share how you’re affected, and what people around you are doing to cope. To say to each other our hopes and fears for this time in complex ways that don’t make easy sound bites or social media posts.
Let’s build and strengthen this web of connection, make visible the ties that have been invisible, and link our elbows together so that no one is left behind.
By Leah Reesor-Keller, Transitional Executive Director
