Having A Voice And Using It

I have been officially French since April.

Today, all the new citizens gathered for a ceremony to celebrate this honor.

It's also the day of national strikes around France.

The speakers at the ceremony continued to remind us that being French comes along with many rights, and it also comes with duties.

Some of those rights and duties are one and the same -- the right to speak freely, but not hatefully, being one of them.

Yesterday, while working with a group of women on the book Defy by Dr. Sunita Sah, we spent the majority of our time practicing defiant conversation. How to say "no" to someone's expectations, behavior, words, etc.

We also talked about the option to defy something bigger than ourselves -- a system or process that is no longer working, or is changing in the "wrong" direction.

That is what people across France are doing today. They are exercising their right and their duty to stop working -- to say "no" to a law being proposed.

When I first moved to France, I was taken off guard by the strikes across France, and how they affected everyone.

Now, eleven years later, and a citizen myself, I respect those who give their voice to what matters most to them.

I may not always agree with their choice.
I am often negatively affected by their striking.

But I still think that having a voice matters, and that we should all use that voice when it matters most.

It doesn't have to be big, bold, and loud.

Too often, it's our only source of agency and power.

👉 Do you use your voice for what matters most?

P.S. Did you notice that I even dressed in the French colors?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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