The phrase “hand me downs” comes to mind as I post this.

Today is Labor Day.  My life, literally, has been Labor.  I am a child of two career public school teachers whose career began in the 1920s.  For nine years I was a public school teacher myself; then, for 27 years, I  represented public school teachers in a teachers union.  After all of this  has come 25 years of retirement as an activist.  This blog is part of my activism.

There has never been a Labor Day more important than today, September 1, 2025.  If you’re still wondering what you can do, start today by doing something constructive reaching out, and each day that follows, repeat, repeat, repeat….  You know the issues.  Your issues likely will be different than mine, but you know them and you can act, one action at a time.

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If you wish, here’s a place to start: zll of my posts over the past 16 years are archived, and this day I recall one from Nov. 17, 2011, on Referent Power – by far the greatest power ordinary people like you and I  have, and the power we seem to actually use the least.

Put the words “Referent Power” in the search box and there are 8 entries….

Today my favorite historian, Heather Cox Richardson, gives context to Labor Day.  Here is her post dated August 31, 2025..

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In addition:

On August 25, I published two posts which you may wish to scroll through: Smithsonian and History, and The Days Ahead.  The Days Ahead includes starter thoughts on the latest school shooting, Annunciation, August 27, in my own metropolitan area….

Together, we in the 99% can succeed.   It makes no difference whatsoever that we live in different places, or even if we have different issues.  The common element is effort beyond ourself, positive action in all of its infinite varieties.

COMMENTS:

from SAK:  Thanks Mr Bernard,

Your activism over the years is sincerely highly appreciated!

By the way someone sent me a YouTube link to Heather Cox Richardson whom you have alerted me to much earlier.

Some might like listening/watching her expound her reflections, for example:

A Brittle Administration Inventing a Crime Crisis