Why does it Matter?

“Why does it matter?”

This question was posed to me last Thursday, as I stood on a chair surrounded by friends pitching the bus trip to the  People’s Climate March in NYC. When I tried to answer I stumbled, I stuttered, I spoke without the conviction the moment called for, so here goes round two.

 

It matters because you matter.

It matters because you are important.

It matters because you are surrounded my people who respect you.

It matters because I can’t speak for you.

 

I’m not going to tell you that it will be fun, or that you’ll meet cool people, or that large demonstrations have been historically one of the few ways people friendly policy has been enacted. Because honestly, that’s not why I think it matters.

To me it matters because a well-turned double play is a beautiful thing.

It matters because sometimes life is better than the movies.

It matters because of my nieces smile,

Cookie dough ice cream

And

Late night dancing in the grocery store.

 

It matters because your list would be entirely different, and that’s amazing.

It matters because too many people have fought to make the world a better place, and too many of you are fighting too hard now to make it even greater.

It matters because we owe it to the giants whose shoulders we stand on and the children who are clamoring onto ours.

 

But most of all, it matters because we owe it to ourselves.

You matter, together we matter, and because of that,

We have history to make.