The power of the collaborative voice

Today I received a lovely email from our local mayor. Well it wasn’t just directed at me, of course I was part of a consortium, but a part of it I was. A little while ago I was reminded of a survey that I was asked to partake. The survey requested my support to oppose a potential change to a ferry service along the shores of one of our many rivers. Now if you live in Sydney, you would have rode at least once, the ferry into the city. It’s a lovely mode of transport, especially on a warm spring day. Clinical papers have proven the effects of fresh air and water having a positive impact in lowering stress levels as well as clearing sinuses, and increasing the overall well-being of the psyche. It was with this thinking that for the first time, I lent my email address, I entered my personal details and took the time to oppose the suggestion cut to the now privatised ferry service.

Apparently, according to the email, so did 848 other residents in the area. While I do have a voice, I don’t usually stand with a cohort, instead I tend to watch from the sidelines. Maybe that’s not a good thing. Maybe this small gesture has propelled me to join others to share a collective voice. Like all those who stand in line together. However the emails' objective hit home. It was a nice feeling that together the residents of our community, so opposed to the suggestion, banded together and proved to the local government, that this was not on.

And while these collective voices are a mere drop in our larger issues, especially now with the going ons in the world, I can comprehend what generations before me fought for. I applaud those passionate beings and those that stood together a little differently, maybe no so much in a straight line. Maybe we do need to find our collective voice...

#opinion #voice #bandtogether