January 21 saw a great deal of protesters. Cities across America and across the globe blocked off their streets for huge crowds to march in peaceful protest. People from all walks of life, with countless different views, joined together to seek equality and justice for women, and for the world.
A march such as this one should cause us to take a step back and examine ourselves. It should help us to look at the people protesting, and listen to the voices that speak peacefully, but insistently. We should ask ourselves why so many thousands of people feel the need to leave their homes and participate in a peaceful protest. Rather than immediate dismissal of the march as a whole, we should listen with open minds that seek to understand the messages being conveyed.
Photos of the march show numerous people, many of whom are holding signs with a variety of slogans on them. Some supported women’s health, some sought equal pay, some protested the language used by the newly-inaugurated President. The people walking side by side were championing a variety of different causes, but they were standing together, and were stronger for it. This march is a powerful display of people uniting for justice and equality, and I think they have a strong case backing them up. For all the protests of the past, there is still a great deal of injustice in our world. I might not agree with every voice that rises from the crowd of protesters, but I certainly agree with some. I won’t ignore all of the voices because I disagree with some of the people who participated in the Women’s March.
What will the world do in response to this global show of solidarity? I often feel that no matter how many people protest, nothing will change. Maybe some will listen, but this protest has the potential to be superficially noticed and handily ignored. Yet no matter how hard it is to remember on some occasions, history shows us that change is slow, but still possible. It is the small steps of change that eventually bring us miles from where we were. We can make the small step of listening a little more closely. We can be a part of the change that can occur in the world, in America, and in our own college.
This is not a perfect place, and it is not enough for us to go blindly on, failing to notice the hurts that exist where we are. What we can do, and are called to do as Christians, is hear the words of the people around us, who have voiced their concerns and fears. We can be more willing to show grace to each other, and more willing to listen to the worries of those around us. Houghton may not have had a Women’s March on the quad, but nevertheless, the voices protesting injustice will become clearer when, instead of ignoring them, we choose to listen.
This isn’t a solution, of course. Listening will not magically solve the many problems that are being faced. This is simply a reminder to have minds and hearts that are willing to look at things from different points of view. It would be arrogant to imagine that we can fix everything ourselves. What we can do is to think a little harder about the social justice questions that are being raised, and care a little more deeply for the people around us.