In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade (and so many other awful events including the massacre in Uvalde and Highland Park and the police killing of Jayland Walker), the optimism on my end, has, frankly, been running low
It's been a challenge to channel the hope required to write this newsletter. But hope is required to participate in any resistance. I opted to continue writing the Portals of Possibility newsletter because I needed that monthly dose of positivity and it's proven to be an important opportunity to force myself to see the light there is in the world. And there is still a whole lot of light out there.
So, here I am manifesting that optimism, channeling that sense of resistance through a short list of some of the good things happening in the world right now!
Global Progress on LGBTQ+ Rights
While some U.S. states are seeking to limit LGBTQ+ rights, the global progress is undeniable. This and last year, same-sex marriage became legal in Switzerland and Chile and the church of Scotland is finally allowing same-sex marriage. About damn time, but progress nonetheless. Also, New Zealand and Canada have banned conversion therapy.
Here in the U.S., to help combat the anti-trans laws around the country, democrats introduced the Transgender Bill of Rights in Congress. The bill would ban conversation therapy and descrimination against gender identity and expression in housing, credit, public accommodations, and employment and would require the justice department to enforce the civil rights of transgender people. Of course it has a long way to go to be passed by Congress, but it is a step in the right direction which we can advocate for.
The Global Fight for Climate Change Grows
Ten West Indian Ocean countries (Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania) joined forces to create what is called "The Great Blue Wall." This initiative "aims to create interconnected protected and conserved marine areas (“seascapes”) to counteract the effects of climate change and global warming," wrote Nassim Oulmane and Thomas Sberna in Brookings.
Also, despite SCOTUS' recent limitations imposed upon the EPA's ability to regulate industry to stem the tide of climate change, communities are doing important things at the local level across the world. One mechanism for thinking about local-level solutions is the recently established Urban Ocean Lab creating actionable climate and ocean policy for coastal cities. The UN-backed Global Environment Facility (GET) is making it easier for cities to exchange information about their local-level approaches to fighting climate change through the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities and their small grants program funding up to $50,000 directly to local communities.
And, climate justice is becoming an essential part of fighting climate change. As such money has started flowing to the least resourced communities around the U.S. to build their resiliency through the Biden Administration's Justice40 initiative.
The World is Becoming More Socially Progressive
While some countries are seemingly becoming less progressive, the world is becoming even more so according to the 2021 Social Progress Index. Using indicators including personal safety, access to education, access to technology, quality healthcare, quality of environment, and rights, 147 nations have shown progress on their score since the last Index. (See more about this at Positive.News).
Sadly, but unsurprisingly, the U.S. has slipped in its score. Although underneath the politics, we have become a much more progressive country. The fact that our politics do not reflect the actual sentiments of the majority of the populace is certainly a problem (e.g., on abortion, climate change, and LGBTQ+ rights). That is something many organizations are working to change (more on that in a future newsletter).
I hope these stories give you a dose of hope for the way forward. I'll continue to gather some of the positive news and in the future will post another similar post as this collection of positive stories begin to accumulate. Next month we'll be back to the topic-specific posts.
In the meantime, tell us what stories are keeping you going these days?