Take a moment to imagine a lighthouse. It’s perched on a seaside cliff, overlooking the dark, stormy seas below and weathering tremendous gusts of wind from all sides. Even amidst the most torrential storms, the lighthouse fulfills its core purpose by continuing to cast a bright glow into the distance, giving hope and direction to sailors navigating the turbulent seas on their own vessels.
First Amendment Voice is just like that lighthouse. In 2020, we experienced some of the stormiest moments of our lives, including but not limited to the pandemic, protests, politics, natural disasters, and then some. Like the lighthouse, FAV remained steadfast through these storms by adapting to social distancing regulations with virtual programming alternatives, expanding our trove of valuable resources to reinvigorate civic advocacy efforts, and becoming a beacon of hope for citizens navigating waves of rocky discourses in their own lives.
The seemingly relentless political polarization in the U.S. has only reinforced our mission to invigorate Americans to understand and exercise First Amendment rights through a collaborative campaign of awareness, education, advocacy, and facilitation.
If you’re not yet a member of First Amendment Voice, we need your help. Just as a lighthouse requires people and resources to fulfill its purpose, FAV needs people and resources to ensure we’re able to share our light with others who feel as though they’re drowning in the seas of destructive discourses all around us. Here are just a few of the many reasons why you should join FAV this year:
Access Exclusive Member Perks
FAV offers a tremendous variety of exciting events for the public throughout the year, and many of these events include members-only perks such as the VIP reception after our National Symposium panels in the fall, discounts or special access to FAV workshops, exclusive discussion opportunities, and so much more.
Get Research-Packed Advocacy Resources
Early in 2021, we released our first FAV-exclusive white paper entitled “Pandemic of Polarization: How America’s 2-Party System, Social Media and Our Brains Poisoned Civil Discourse (and What We Can Do About It).” In addition to producing new content with in-depth analyses and research from the most credible sources available, we also offer useful tools and handouts for members to help them become stronger civic advocates in their own communities.
Our blog is free-of-access to members and non-members alike; with your membership, FAV may continue enhancing its efforts to share the most up-to-date, trustworthy and accurate information on issues relating to the First Amendment, political polarization trends, media bias, and civic advocacy both within the U.S. and abroad.
Receive a Free FAV T-Shirt
We currently have an exciting offer for members who sign up for recurring monthly donations of $10 or more: a free FAV t-shirt in your size! If you’re ready to escape the negativity and become a “light” of civil discourse in your own community, join FAV this year and experience all the benefits our rapidly-growing organization has to offer.
After the divisiveness and health emergencies of the last year, it seems we have been inundated with bad news and the media continues to feed us that diet. Are you looking for a place to learn about good community work, positive news stories, and celebrate those successes? I sure am and can tell you reviewing the nomination sent in for the Edward Lowry Memorial Award for Citizenship has rejuvenated my spirit. Despite the hardships of a pandemic and difficult divisions across communities and our country, these many nominees found ways to explore common ground and serve others. many have done it all their lives and probably know no other discipline! Please consider joining us on May 21st at 4 pm Pacific Time/7 pm Eastern Time to enjoy an Oscar’s style presentation that celebrates the top ten nominees and announces the winner for 2021. Find the registration link here.
I’m excited that our June membership drive is right around the corner. Watch the attached video to learn about the many benefits of FAV membership to include learning the inside baseball at FAV in quarterly membership updates, meeting our board members, awesome speakers, or participating in many of our programs for free! If you decide to sign up for monthly giving at $10/month or more, we’ll even ship you one of our coveted FAV T-shirts, Citizenship: Not a Spectator Sport! We always get inspired when we see someone wearing one on a zoom call or at one of our events! We even have a lady’s style after we received feedback from the ladies that they preferred that option. Learn more about our membership in the membership corner below, on our website, or by reaching out to us at [email protected] – we always love connecting with folks. Lastly, if you know someone who would be interested in our content, please refer them our way. Follow us on social media, subscribe on YouTube, or sign up for this free email to receive FAV updates, blog commentary from our awesome blog writer, and other good news stories!
With gratitude,
Team FAV
Learn more about the benefits of being a member of FAV with this video from our membership coordinator Sydney Lantz:
FAV Dates – Mark Your Calendars
April 29 at 3pm PST/ 6pm EST – Quarterly Membership Update
May 21 at 4pm PST/ 7pm EST – inaugural Edward Lowry Memorial Award for Citizenship (Register here)
June 1 through July 4th – FAV Annual Membership drive
As we gear up for our inaugural Edward D. Lowry Award Ceremony on May 21st, we’d like to take the time to reflect on the many civic-minded qualities embodied by the award’s namesake and invite you to consider how you can integrate these principles into your own life.
In addition to overcoming adversity, Ed Lowry was well-known for his tireless dedication to serving others in his community. He was a tremendous source of inspiration for countless people throughout his life, and we can continue his legacy of community service by striving to engage in everyday acts of inspiring courage, service and advocacy.
Encouraging Volunteerism
Ed Lowry was a committed volunteer who consistently went above-and-beyond what anyone could’ve expected from just one person. Ed didn’t simply volunteer for organizations he was personally passionate about; he leveraged his voice and expertise to inspire others to get involved in volunteering as well.
As we gradually move towards some semblance of “normal” in 2021, ask yourself how you can get more involved in supporting community organizations through volunteer opportunities. Maybe you already volunteer once per month for one-day/weekend events such as local park or beach clean-ups, healthcare clinics, food pantry or soup kitchen preparations, exercising dogs for the local animal shelter, collecting supplies for low-income folks, or any of these virtual volunteering opportunities. Do you reach out to others and encourage them to get involved too?
Volunteering doesn’t have to be exclusively performed through an organization, of course. Helping neighbors with groceries, driving seniors to medical appointments or offering to babysit for a busy parent are some of the many ways in which a small action on your part can make a big difference in the lives of others.
Fundraising for Worthy Causes
If your schedule is packed or you have ongoing concerns about Covid-19, there are ways to help others in your community even if you’re not involved in hands-on volunteer efforts. By spreading the word about donation drives and other fundraisers on social media, email or video calls with family and friends, you could create a ripple effect for fundraising initiatives that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t shared this information with others in the first place.
For more information on supporting donation drives, GoFundMe published this great list of 25 fundraiser sharing strategies to help you get more creative in your efforts to raise money for organizations and causes you care most about.
Engaging in Civic Advocacy
As a strategic advisor for First Amendment Voice, Ed Lowry was well-known for inspiring others to become more civically engaged in their communities.
Ways to get involved in civic advocacy include:
Writing letters to elected officials to support local causes that deserve more attention from city council members and/or state legislature representatives
At FAV we know that you are probably doing many of these things already. Keep up the great work, just like Ed did his entire life, and you will enjoy the satisfaction that comes from serving with purpose and meaning.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we have chosen to highlight a tremendous force in women’s and Asian-American history: Patsy Mink. Mink served in the US House of Representatives as the rep for Hawaii from 1965-1977 and then again from 1990 until her death in 2002. She was the first woman of color elected to the US House of Representatives and the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress.
One of the many important contributions Mink made to this country was co-authoring the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which stated: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Mink’s work has been incredibly important in working toward creating a level playing field for all US citizens. After her death in 2002, the Title IX amendment’s name was changed to the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
Mink represents everything that FAV stands for. She pursued ideals that she believed in, even if she was the only person on her side. A quote from Mink that resonated:
“It is easy enough to vote right and be consistently with the majority. But it is more often more important to be ahead of the majority and this means being willing to cut the first furrow in the ground and stand alone for a while if necessary.”
Mink’s self-assuredness and passion for justice certainly serve as inspiration. We remember her legacy and all of the contributions she has made to both the advancement of women and the Asian-American community. Read more about Patsy Mink here.
As a final note, we have been shocked and deeply saddened by the growing rates of crime against the Asian-American community. We condemn all acts of violence and hatred, including the egregious act committed against massage parlor workers in Atlanta, Georgia. Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the victims: Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Hyun Jung Grant, Soon Chung Park, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Paul Andre Michels, and Delaina Ashley Yaun.
Reprinted with permission from Chris Duncan. This article originally was printed in San Clemente Times, (March 4, 2021).
Our natural instinct in these times is to find like-minded souls to take us in, assuage our self-doubt, and tell us the “other side” is the source of our inner turmoil.
In coffee meetings, YouTube chats, and Facebook groups, the urge is strong to sort ourselves into competing factions, all bent on protecting “us” from “them” by denigrating those who see things differently.
Fear and frustration manifest as grievance against a mythical “they” who have gained from our side’s loss. Like a drowning swimmer off Lost Winds, we pull each other under to save ourselves.
This animosity, while comforting in the short run, is not the answer. We San Clemente residents will not, and should not, agree on everything. Vigorous debate results in a better functioning democracy, because the best ideas will withstand the toughest scrutiny.
But while we may disagree with our fellow citizens on the issues, we must not assign them evil intent. That is easier said than done, especially right now. National news outlets and social media companies, which profit off our divisions, tell us the stories we want to hear, not those we need to hear, and relentlessly demonize the “opposition.”
Your neighbor is not your enemy, but it is easy to believe he or she is. I know, because I am as susceptible to making rash personal judgments as the next person. It feels soothing for an instant to vilify someone who thinks differently, or worse, label them a bad person. But personal attacks only make us feel more bitter and alone, and in the long run, corrode our public discourse.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Each of us is responsible for changing the narrative. Our future generations are counting on us to make decisions today that will enhance our city’s prospects, not drive a wedge through it.
If we acknowledge that our own insecurities are often the source of our unease, we can avoid trying to find faults in others to make ourselves feel better. Through this acceptance, we can lift the invisible walls that separate us and come together to achieve the goals we share.
I believe we are in a unique position to make this happen. As tragic as COVID-19 has been, it has forced us to unify around beneficial practices we previously overlooked, like dining outdoors, enjoying our beautiful environment, and being more present for our kids.
As we emerge together from the pandemic, having defeated the virus and preserved our way of life through our collective diligence and mutual goodwill, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage this unity to tackle other challenges that seemed out of reach.
Stopping the toll road, saving our beaches, ending homelessness in town. These are all possible if we direct our energy toward solving the problem instead of endlessly critiquing fellow problem-solvers.
But this opportunity is fleeting. If we do not act now, it will pass us by. And a year from now, when things are back to normal, we may forget what is possible if we act in unison.
San Clemente is an extraordinary town, but I am convinced our best days are ahead of us. It is up to each and every one of us, including the five us on the city council, to release the baggage of contempt and blame, appeal to the better angels of our nature, and replace character smears with substantive, fact-driven discussion. Only then will our Spanish Village reach its full potential.
Chris Duncan is a San Clemente city councilmember who was elected in 2020.
One of the qualities encapsulated in First Amendment Voice’s Ed Lowry Memorial Award for Citizenship is a person’s ability to overcome setbacks and strive on in the face of adversity. Many of us are no strangers to adversity, especially after one of the most challenging years in recent public memory.
Rather than dwelling on the negative events that happened in 2020 and continued into 2021, we’d like to take this as an opportunity to meaningfully reflect on what adversity is and what we can do to change the ways in which we view and overcome adversity.
What is Adversity?
Adversity is generally described as serious and/or ongoing difficulties and misfortune. It can involve anything from physical, mental or emotional struggles of an individual to the social, legal or economic setbacks experienced by a wider group. Most people face some kind of adversity at many points in their lives, but the extent of the problem and the individual or group’s capacity to remain resilient in the face of adversity varies widely.
Pause for a moment to reflect on how adversity has appeared in your own life over the past year. What challenges have you faced, and how did you successfully overcome them? Which personality traits do you credit for your ability and willingness to strive onward in spite of the obstacles in your way? And if some of these adverse circumstances are still ongoing, what can you do today to resolve them?
Of course, not all types of adversity are resolvable through sheer determination by an individual. While the U.S. has long-embraced the cultural value of personal responsibility and ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,’ it’s important to remember that adversity is often caused by factors outside of our control (such as the pandemic and all the related consequences it has brought with it).
With this in mind, we should renew our focus on being empathetic towards others because we never know what someone might be going through behind the scenes. We can’t control others’ responses to conflict and adversity, but we can compassionately support them and find commonalities in our unique, yet similar struggles.
Reframing Adversity as Opportunity
As former First Lady Michelle Obama said in a college commencement speech in 2016: “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.”
As we discuss in-depth in our FAV-exclusive white paper, some of the best strategies for adjusting our expectations to upsetting or challenging situations involve self-distancing and cognitive reframing. In a nutshell, these techniques involve consciously viewing adverse situations as opportunities for growth and actively identifying which factors are within our control to drive positive changes in our lives.
For example, someone who is laid off could reframe job loss as an opportunity to find more meaningful employment elsewhere, perhaps with a more agreeable boss, better benefits, and greater job satisfaction. We’re not suggesting that you should only look at the bright side when confronted with adversity; it’s a natural human response to feel anxious, disappointed or angry when presented with a seemingly impossible obstacle to overcome. However, you also can’t let yourself get too caught up in the negativity if you genuinely hope to overcome adversity, so reframing how you think about a problem – as an opportunity rather than a disadvantage – is essential for overcoming setbacks in any area of your life.
It’s a fair question: who, exactly qualifies as a “journalist” these days? Can just anyone be considered a journalist, or are there certain educational and professional requirements involved? Do “citizen journalists” — everyday folks equipped with smart phones who are in the right place at the right time —count as journalists?
As Professor William E. Lee pointed out, “Anyone can be a journalist and they don’t need an affiliation with an established outlet…it’s increasingly important that unaffiliated journalists know they have the same legal protection as a reporter at a newspaper. It’s significant for the development of alternative forms of expression that do not fit neatly in our traditional concepts of speech or press.”
We could argue about who is and who isn’t a journalist all day, but there’s a bigger problem at hand: How does the First Amendment currently protect so-called “citizen journalists,” and what can be done to improve their free press freedoms? Let’s examine some of the concerns we have about citizen journalism:
Prosecuting Citizen Journalists
In 2017, Georgia citizen journalist Nydia Tisdale was convicted of a misdemeanor charge related to obstruction while filming a 2014 campaign rally that was publicly advertised but located on private property. When campaign organizers demanded she stop filming the event, Tisdale refused and was forcibly removed from the property. While she was acquitted of more serious felony charges, even the misdemeanor conviction could be a serious blow to citizen journalists’ rights around the country.
Around the world, citizen journalists are under attack. Many politicians and members of the public claim they’re not “real” journalists and therefore shouldn’t receive the same rights and protections as reporters from established media organizations. Many citizen journalists have faced threats, harassment and even arrest, as in the case of Priscilla Villarreal.
Are these incidents proof that the First Amendment rights of these citizen journalists are being violated, or are these incidents proof that citizen journalists do not and/or should not receive the same treatment as professional journalists associated with established news outlets? Perhaps only time (and many more legal battles) will give us any clarity on these issues.
Freedom of Expression Alternative?
As UNESCO points out, citizen journalists ought to receive similar protections as “established” and “professional” journalists in order to ensure freedom of expression for all citizens. Thanks to online publishing platforms like WordPress, Tumblr, YouTube and other social media channels, there are far fewer restrictions and obstacles preventing everyday people from reporting on local events, video-taping law enforcement and broadcasting images, audio and video about natural disasters happening in their communities.
Since we are increasingly reliant on citizen journalists to cover small and major events alike, they certainly should receive the same press freedom protections as professional journalists. The question that remains now is: How can we ensure citizen journalists, who may not have media badges and credentials and expensive-looking equipment, are given equal access to reporting opportunities as their professional counterparts?
In honor of Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate for FAV to emphasize the impact of African American leaders. They represent one third of our Board of Directors, Advisory Council members, Symposium speakers and many of our audiences. FAV strives for diversity in all of its aspects and mirrors our country’s founding motto, E Pluribus Unum, “out of many, one.” To quote Alan Inman on our board of directors, “People need to see themselves in the picture.” Thus, we work hard to ensure that African Americans lead our organization, speak during our programs, and feel welcome at FAV hosted events. We value the struggles and sacrifices made by the African American community in the United States and lock arms with our brothers and sisters to strive for the aspirational goals in our founding documents, that all men (and women) are created equal.
We have a lot going on this month! Don’t wait until March 1st to nominate a community leader for the Lowry Award. Learn more at our website quicklink and inspire others to live up to the values of selfless community service, being willing to work across partisan divides, encouraging volunteerism, and other leadership traits. Learn more by watch this short Lowry Award video or going to our website.
Last month, we congratulated our amazing volunteers during our annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony. Congratulations to Tyler Boden, Volunteer of the Year, Aaron Johnson, Runner-up, and Kelly Kehoe, Honorable Mention. These amazing volunteers selflessly contributed hours and hours to ensuring that FAV content & programming delivered the same high quality you have come to expect. They represent the dozens of volunteers who helped make our programs, Symposium, and campaigns successful during the year. We couldn’t do it without them and greatly value their contributions. Read more from this San Clemente Times story.
Subscribe to FAV YouTube channel
Have you enjoyed watching some of our programs on video? Maybe you wanted to attend our recent Digital Detox program, but the timing didn’t work? Check out the FAV YouTube channel and hit subscribe to stay up-to-date on all of our programs. Every fifth (public) subscriber gets a free FAV T-shirt! (Hint: get four of your family or friends to subscribe and guarantee you get a free T-shirt!) Don’t forget to click the thumbs up icon if you like any of our videos.
Membership Corner
Have you recently joined FAV as a member? Don’t forget all of the great benefits of membership: free attendance at coffee talks and workshops throughout the year, discounted attendance during the annual Symposium, quarterly member updates where you learn about new FAV programs, recognition, and get to ask questions, and much more. Sustaining members ($500 and up) get VIP passes during the Symposium in addition to learning about the impact of their donations, allowing us to produce products like the recent white paper on polarization in the U.S. Learn more at https://firstamendmentvoice.org/join/
FAV bids farewell to Alyx Wells, our membership coordinator. Many of you may have spoken to Alyx on the phone about your membership benefits or upcoming programming. She moves on to a sister nonprofit and will benefit them in amazing ways! We are equally excited to welcome Sydney Lantz. Sydney joins to enhance member benefits and value. Look to hear from her around the time your member renewal is due or to learn about new programming. Reach out at [email protected] to ask her a question.
Partner Spotlight
The 20th anniversary of religious freedom in faith-based and government partnerships, an essential cornerstone to advancing religious freedom for BOTH religious organizations and individuals receiving social services funded by the government. If you are interested in running it on First Amendment Voice, let me know: https://irfalliance.org/happy-20th-birthday-to-the-faith-based-initiative/
Conflict is an inevitable part of living in human society, but interpersonal conflicts seem to be particularly emotionally-charged in the U.S. nowadays, regardless of whether you’re arguing about politics, finances or other areas of dispute in our daily lives.
If you find yourself getting upset and angry (or perhaps shutting down and shutting others out), you might want to try employing these three proven strategies for maintaining calm in heated arguments:
Focus on Your Breathing
There have been countless studies conducted on the psychological and physiological benefits of breathing, and the results are fairly consistent: slow, deep breathing techniques are proven to reduce your heart rate, increase your comfort and mental alertness, and reduce arousal, anxiety and anger.
When engaged in a heated argument, focusing on your breathing (and your body overall) can help you maintain physical and mental calmness. As silly as it may seem to have to practice something all humans do naturally and unconsciously throughout our daily lives, practicing breathing techniques is the only way to experience the full benefits. Without a keen sense of self-awareness achieved through consistent practice, it may seem like deep breathing doesn’t help much. In reality, this is one of the best ways to stay calm in a heated argument.
Engage in Reflective Listening
Reflective listening involves genuinely paying attention to another person’s words, feelings and nonverbal expressions in an attempt to understand where they’re coming from (which is a core component of empathy). When you’re engaged in reflective listening, you shouldn’t interrupt the other person — no matter how much you might want to. Instead, offer brief forms of acknowledgement, such as “m-hmm,” “go on,” “oh really?” or even just a simple head nod or change of facial expression to signal that you’re actively listening.
Reflective listening requires a considerable amount of self-awareness and self-control, which also relate to the concept of motivated reasoning that we previously wrote about.
Consider the Consequences
When you’re involved in an interpersonal conflict, consider how much you value the person versus how much you value your position on a given matter. If this argument continues and heads in a more negative direction, is it worth sacrificing the stability of your relationship with this person in order to vocalize your viewpoints and attempt to win them over?
With this in mind, consider the potential outcomes of an argument. Is it over a relatively minor issue (in the overall scope of your life) or is this a major problem with potentially life-changing consequences? Is the person/group involved worth the time and emotional energy you’re putting into arguing with them? If so, would you still want to argue with them if there was a 0% chance that they would ever change their mind?
The questions above ask you to consider your relationship with the person(s) you’re arguing with, the issue you’re divided over, and the potential consequences that may result from the conflict. When involved in a heated argument, it’s easy for us to get tunnel vision and ignore these important considerations in order to focus on “winning,” but this is rarely an effective strategy for actually changing people’s viewpoints and maintaining healthy relationships with them at the same time.
For more information on improving your constructive communication skills, be sure to download the new white paper on our website.
We at FAV are pleased to announce that we will be awarding the Ed Lowry Memorial Award for Citizenship starting this year.
Purpose
Honor the life and legacy of Edward D. Lowry by recognizing outstanding civic engagement and encouraging citizens to serve others and engage on issues of importance in their communities.
Criteria/Qualities
Relentless service to others
Able to work across ideological differences for the common good
Fearless advocate of the First Amendment and its champions
Overcomes setbacks; strives on in the face of adversity
Exhibits strategic thinking but able to translate that into results
Inspirational: encourages others to give of time, talent or resources
Consummate networking to connect organizations & people for community impact
SubmissionsDeadline: March 1st, 2021
Format: email [email protected] one page writeup on why the nominee best exemplifies the qualities above. Submissions will be considered for award and recognition during the annual Symposium. Self-nominations are not encouraged. We will consider nominations that best emulate the life and legacy of Ed Lowry whose tireless work benefited countless individuals and organizations within his community.
Nominators should provide their name, relationship to the nominee & contact information
Restrictions: FAV board and staff not eligible.
Timeline
March 2020 – award announcement
1 March 2021 – nomination deadline
15 March 2021 – nomination committee selects top candidates
15 April 2021 – FAV announces 2021 Lowry Award Recipient
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or Abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
It’s a fair question: who, exactly qualifies as a “journalist” these days? Can just anyone be considered a journalist, or are there certain educational and professional requirements involved? Do “citizen journalists” — everyday folks equipped with smart phones who are in the right place at the right time —count as journalists?
Conflict is an inevitable part of living in human society, but interpersonal conflicts seem to be particularly emotionally-charged in the U.S. nowadays, regardless of whether you’re arguing about politics, finances or other areas of dispute in our daily lives.
