This episode was inspired by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who – as she told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sep. 27, 2018 – felt it was her civic duty to inform them about her being sexually assaulted, in an effort to “to provide the facts…so that you can take that into serious consideration” in determining whether Brett Kavanaugh should sit on the Supreme Court.

Her courage prompted thoughts about the energy that each of us channels when we tell our stories.

In this episode, Siena explains how sharing the story of her own sexual abuse affected both her and the classmate she told, in a powerful and positive way.

Your story holds power

Emotion is a form of energy.

You can feel this energy whenever you tell, or listen to, meaningful stories.

Culture is the sum of all of our stories

If you feel powerless amid the current state of American democracy, remember the stories below.

They are our collective American story.

Here are just some our American stories:

We The People are the ones in the story who insist on, fight for, and win…

• safe and fair working conditions and wages, protection of children from those who would use them for labor

• safety regulations on food and water, including truth and transparency in food labeling

• the right to vote, and to have our voting systems be secure and protected from foreign or domestic suppression, fixing, or manipulation

• fairness and equality for women and minorities, in employment, in marriage, in housing, in finances, in education, in sports

• humane treatment of animals

• truth, integrity, and honor in our representatives and government officials

These are just some of our stories

None of them are finished

We are the storytellers, now

We can consciously shape the culture that shapes us, by choosing what stories we tell.

We can learn for the first time, or re-learn again, our history, our ideals, and how we as a people have fulfilled our civic duty, by living them out.

May the energy of our stories – as individuals, and as We The People – strengthen us.

May we all fulfill our civic duty within The Great Story that is continuing to unfold.