Image Courtesy of Mr. XPK
There are certainly no limits on having opinions in our steampunk community. With those beliefs comes an opportunity to speak up, speak out, educate, assist, and basically take action where and when action is needed.
A previous post talked about awareness, in here, we’ll talk about how that awareness can help us take action to do the right thing and help others.
We can’t change the actual past, but our steampunk stories and cultures do create some amazing past histories for us to revel in and enjoy. Those stories, and our blogs and speakers, help us understand real history, the challenges and accomplishments, the atrocities and triumphs, and knowing all of that, we can make a better future for everyone.
Steampunk helps us explore those issues and make changes today. Steampunk almost challenges us to take action and make life better. Steampunk confronts the -isms of yesteryear and enables each of us to turn those roles and stereotypes upside down. Steampunk gives us a voice to say “NO MORE!” to the many forms of manipulation, control, and discrimination still present today.
We have blogs like Silver Goggles, Beyond Victoriana, and Chronicles of Harriet to educate us and share information and perspectives we may not have considered before.
There are groups and activities doing charitable work to directly help others, such as Sky Marshals, a steampunk charity performance group; Vandalia-Con, a steampunk convention (now in its 4th year) that donates 100% of proceeds to breast cancer services for women in West Virginia; and Fleet of Fleece is an HRA Ashanti event created to partner with other steampunk groups across the country to provide new blankets to those in need.
Steampunks work to help each other and the larger public community. Bruce Rosenbaum uses his knowledge and experience to incorporate steampunk design in ways to help people in their everyday lives, as well as talking about STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math. There are groups on social media for various needs of steampunks to know they are not alone – groups for chronic illness, LGBT, singles, and more.
Perhaps the clearest example of steampunks taking action is in our fashion and behavior. When we dress, we dress in our best. When we act, it’s (usually) our best, too. We look elegant, and damn if we don’t look good! We make a statement in what we wear. Our politeness and civility also makes a statement, and by our example, we paraphrase what a principal often said in my grade school in response to poor behavior, “No, son, we don’t do that in this school.”
How do you take action in your own life to make life better for yourself and those around you? Donations to causes? Volunteer time? Addressing inequality and injustice when it happens? Setting a good example? Are you the Secret Santa delivering gifts that no one knows about?
Tomorrow is a new day, get out there and take action!
Follow along each day as new entries are added to the Official Link List and join the discussions on the Facebook event page.
Airship Ambassador 