Travel back with me in time to the 1960's and imagine, if you can, that the idea of women wearing pants on a regular basis was really out there.  I mean, apart from employment necessity and the eccentric rich and famous, it was just NOT done.  

Nor were trousers appropriate office-wear for women.  I remember my darling, albeit chauvanistic, father forbidding his female office employees from wearing them. Schools went the same route: pants on girls were against the rules.  In fact, I got sent home for being a renegade, trying to get away with culottes. It wasn't until the 1972 Title IX Amendment that schools were forced to drop their dress code policy of no pants on girls.

Why was this such a big issue?  Tons of reasons, but the most relavent here was the concern that such revolutionary change would have horribly adverse effects on society.  Really?  Did the sky fall in?  Did we all die? Not!  It was a silly to-do about nothing.

I have been enthralled by the current PBS, five week series Women, War and Peace.  The courageous women spotlighted have taken up enormous, life-threatening issues in the name of justice and civil rights.  Makes me feel guilty for not standing up for the "silly to-do's about nothing" floating around in my world.  We all have lots of opinions on issues, and lots of excuses for not being courageous enough to make changes.

This is the perfect time to set some goals for next year.  We haven't yet become consumer, party and food gluttons.  We have a little down time between jack o'lanterns and turkeys.  I challenge you to join me in pledging to be courageous and work on just one issue important to you next year; something that, like girls wearing pants, society has it's boxers in a bunch about.  But one voice, your voice, can turn into 10, 50, hundreds.

We need a game plan - so here it is.

1.  Determine your issue.  I'm going to work on two - breast self-exams and support for my local animal shelter.
2.  Learn about the opposition.  In my case, breast self exams (and mammograms too) have come under fire for resulting in false positives.  And animal shelters are sometimes seen as not nearly as important as shelters for abused humans.
3.  Develop a statement supporting your issue.  We can't fight all nay-sayers, but we can create a positive mantra to further our beliefs.  On my breast self-exam issue, I believe (from personal experience!) that dozens of false positives are worth one real positive.  Regarding animals, as they are unable to speak for themselves, I believe they need the voices of their human friends for help.
4.  Just do it!  Now comes the fun part.  Find ways to involve yourself in your cause.  If an organization, fund-raiser, blog, etc. exists, jump on board.  Even an hour a month on your part is more than they had prior.  And if there is nothing  in the works, find the courage to make the first noise.
5.  Chronical your experiences. This is really important!  You don't have to write a book, just jot down notes of your actions, your thoughts and your results.  At the end of the year you'll be able to celebrate the successes - no matter what size - and create an action plan to go forward in the next year.

Now who would have thought a pair of pants could change the world?  That's how courage happens!