Do we still ‘Make a Difference’ after a certain age?

Do people still ‘see’ us?  Do we continue to matter as we get older?

Quietly over the winter, a long time woman activist left this world.  Lucky for us she left something behind – an impressive example.

I didn’t know her well.  Yes, I met her once, but simply by accident.  You may have actually met her too, and not realized it.  You may have let her slip from your mind, as she did from mine until her death.

She was sometimes called the president’s closest neighbor.  Her name was Concepcion ‘Connie’ Picciotto; she was 80 years old when she died in January 2016 and had picked a hard life for herself.  Perhaps she would say it picked her.

Her particular politics were about peace and promoting an anti-nuclear world.  In the middle of the Washington DC tourist district (Lafayette Park), you may have seen her “Live by the bomb, die by the bomb’ messages.  Or perhaps you saw the signs that counted the days of this encampment, started in 1981 and often credited to William Thomas.

I had noticed this encampment on more than one occasion when visiting DC, but only recall meeting this committed activist the one time.  Others I saw milling around, probably also tourists, did not appear particularly interested or kind.  Then again, I don’t remember Connie being overly nice or inviting when I met her.  From what I can remember the word I might choose is challenging.  But who could blame her.

She began her famous 24-hour vigils in 1981.  Anyone who has ever lived in or near DC understands the hardship of this physical exploit.  The weather is not as nice as one might expect from the US ‘south.’  It can be very cold and snowy or hot and humid or stormy, and rarely predictable.  More importantly, like everyone with any political agenda, she would have endured numerous set-backs.  She would have witnessed successes only short-lived, with always another battle to fight (including the one to allow them to stay encamped on their famous tourist spot.)

Whether you abhor or admire her politics, the memorable example she left was of her tenacity and sticktoitness.  In an interview before she died she was asked why she did it.  She said ‘because no one else will, no one will stand up.’  She went on to lament that ‘everyone is wrapped up in their little world.’  Of course she is correct, but that is what we have – our own little world, our own lives.  We make choices that we live with, and commitments we try to abide by.  We cannot all keep 24-hour vigils.  Indeed most of us would not want to be offered that opportunity, and I dare say I doubt we would seek it out.  Still we can  choose to expand our little worlds.

While we don’t have to be like Connie, we can be an activist in our own quiet or individual way, even in small ways.  One night a month we could shut off the TV and write a Letter-to-the-Editor.  Or we could volunteer to procure funding for the grandkids’ school, stand in a picket line against an unwanted pipeline or unwanted eminent domain take over.  We could attend an issue campaign, donate time to a favorite candidate or help an adult learn to read.  Picking an activity that represents who we are and at the same time encourages us to take a stand in the world.

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The model example of this older woman continuing to keep vigil for over 30 years may be beyond our wishes or even our capacity — it certainly is mine.  But making some small difference in the world is not.  The one last thing Connie said was “everyone has a responsibility to stand up.”

As one of my professors was fond of saying, ‘stand for something or you will fall for anything.’  No matter the calendar date of our birth, we can still discover what is worth our interest and time (and maybe courage) and then make a difference.  We can still be ‘seen’ instead of evaporating into old age invisibility.

We all know how even tiny efforts blossom.  And if we don’t know that now, we will learn it soon enough.  Small actions beget other actions, and on-and-on-and-on.

So the question was
‘Do we still Make a Difference after a Certain Age’?  

I assume the answer is no surprise.  It depends on us.  But we might keep in mind that at some point in time, to give meaning to our own lives, to matter outside our families, to age with real pizzazz, we all need to ‘Stand Up’.  I wasn’t crazy about Connie that one time I met her, but maybe she left me with something that we can all use.  Namely, a reminder.  It may help to keep this woman’s commitment in our heart to inspire us to Make a Difference – no matter what our age.

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Title picture: Concepcion Picciotto.  PlayCharles Dharapak/AP Photo