I fully admit that today's post is a bit of an unintentional coincidence but an important thing to share with the happenings of the last couple of weeks. I really was just looking to share a neighborhood that I haven't used in a while, with this find from the Strip District fitting the bill. I've had it in the queue for a while now actually, but I always felt there was another sticker that was a better fit for that week. There's also the fact that while this phrase is highly relevant in the current political and cultural atmosphere, I actually found it back in 2015. Obviously there is never a time where you should let your dignity ever take the back seat as it is a defining characteristic for everyone but dignity has certainly made a bit of a resurgence in the public eye lately. So I guess in the end there really wasn't any other choice for today's share. Since the word plays such an important role not only in today's sticker but also in the current media, I thought it would be worth giving a definition. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dignity is the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed. It also applies to having a serious or formal demeanor. Although looking down the page, the simpler definition is that it's the quality of being worthy of honor and respect. And I think that's the essential bit to this idea, that you have to present yourself and your ideals in a way that gives others the ability to respect you. That everyone is afforded the basic ideal of dignity and respect but you determine whether or not you're worthy of it. Which unfortunately seems to be in short supply these last couple of weeks. With the Presidential tweets, a blatant distortion of facts to defend what feels like unthinkable positions, and so many other things quite honestly I'm constantly finding myself at a loss for words. I couldn't find who was behind this sticker but I can't see a better time for this phrase. We have reached that point where we need to start the fight to defend not only our dignity but also our county's. With the Woman's March a couple of weeks ago and the many protests that have happened since, it is encouraging to see the public outcry against the many slights that are occurring to our society. And like I said earlier, people are using the idea of dignity in a big way to support this outcry. Obey the giant, the man behind the Obama Hope sticker that I featured earlier, decided to use his well known style to speak out in a series at the beginning of the year. Among his many signs showing woman of different ethnicities there is one of a woman who is of Latin American descent. Underneath her powerful image is the very simple phrase "Defend Dignity". It's a very simple idea but one that's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication not only by those who are being directly affected. We will have to band together and show that we believe that we are worth the world's respect. That we are better than the worst of our ideals, giving hope to an greater sense of world dignity than we've seen in a while. Sorry I'm generally not one for political discussion, so I'm sure this isn't terribly insightful or moving. But I do see the need for more voices in this coming year. So I hope that my little contribution to a discussion of dignity is a good step in the right direction. I have every intention of showing my support to the many causes under fire, I just don't think they'll be appearing here very often.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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