Button up! (Try it, you might like it.)

During the 2016 elections, I was rocked to my core by toxic political dialogue from all sides. (Oh, wait, was it any different in 2024? Hmmm…..moving on.)

In both those election years, I experienced a sense of powerlessness in the face of rampant, public, verbal toxicity. (No, no, don’t run away, yet! Trust me.) Propitiously, and thank you, universe, I saw a baseball cap emblazoned with “Make America Kind Again” and was instantly smitten. Of course, never one to be shy, my ego spoke right up, saying “you look terrible in baseball caps!” (Truth.) Next best option - buttons. Ta-dah! The seeds for reclaiming my emotional wellspring were planted, taking root quickly.

A graphic designer friend created a prototype button saying “Make America Kind Again.” I rustled up a reasonably-priced button manufacturer online and headed for the runway. But wait, I wanted the buttons to be giveaways – all free - so there would be no inequality in terms of who could wear them. (Little did I know what I was letting myself in for!)

Ordered 100 and began passing them out at my Quaker meeting. Another Quaker member, gently, took me aside and said, “Jan, when has America ever been fully kind?” making mention of slavery, racism, etc. Whoops. Guess we have a ways to go, huh?

My Quaker friend’s gentle schooling quickly led to the creation of a second button - “Make America Kind.” During this by-the-seat-of-my-pants button roll-out, I realized that ‘polarization’ was, yet, another unfavorite word of mine. Voilà! A third non-polarizing button came to life! “We’re all human, let’s connect.”

Did I stop there? Are you kidding me? I was enthralled by the sheer momentum of button mania, feeling empowered myself. (I’m partial to feeling empowered, aren’t you?) Forthwith, yet another button, with a phrase purloined from a recently seen T-shirt, “Humankind - be both” made an appearance. The ongoing creation, and wearing, of these custom buttons buoyed me. All free.

Take a gander:

Make Love Great Again

Make Science Great Again

Make Good Trouble (from the late Congressman John Lewis)

Let’s Talk - I’m Listening

Kindness Is Contagious

(Granted, some of the buttons reeked of sentimentality. Others didn’t. Just planting small, button-like, seeds to help nurture a less fraught public discourse.)

Then, poof! A gung-ho button aficionado set up a website for me so people could order their own buttons directly from the manufacturer (rescuing me, thank heavens, from middle-person purgatory.) A website statement requested that all buttons, purchased, be freely shared with others. Hey, freedom rings!

As buttons evolved and rolled out, a wide variety of communities - spiritual, nonprofit, and heaven knows what else, from around the country - ferreted out, purchased, and disseminated buttons, freely given to any person who might want one.

My initially verbalized sense of powerlessness? Took a long hike. And, hey, even with our abundant human differences, reminding each other of our shared humanity never hurts. (Does it?)