Why “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World” Inspires Me

“Pneumonia, polio, measles, diarrhea…

Pneumonia, polio, measles, diarrhea…

Pneumonia, polio, measles, diarrhea…”

The night before my first advocacy meetings in Washington, D.C., as part of Shot at Life’s annual “Hill Day,” I lay in bed repeating the four major vaccine-preventable diseases we would be discussing with our elected officials. 

I fretted about many parts of the process: Keeping the talking points straight, navigating the alphabet soup of acronyms and organizations that are part of the process (Gavi, USAID, UNICEF – it’s a long list!), getting stumped by a difficult question from a staffer, getting lost on Capitol Hill and, yes, leaving out one of the four diseases.

Cynthia Changyit Levin’s book, “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World,” brought back all of those memories of being a novice advocate. A book like this would have eased my fears back then (even if it didn’t magically help me remember the four diseases). 

Cindy has made the missteps many of us make as beginners, such as saying “millions” when she meant “billions” and missing a fine point of an important fact. She has also persevered and succeeded.

That’s why she’s the perfect person to create a guidebook that informs new advocates, reenergizes those whose motivation may be flagging, and provides tools for anyone, at any point in the process, to get the most out of their time, energy and intellect.

What is advocacy anyway?

Now that I have been involved in multiple advocacy days in Washington, D.C., and here in Tallahassee, Fla., the first image that comes to mind of advocacy is a swarm of people, wearing matching T-shirts or other garb, huddled in legislators’ waiting rooms, grabbing pictures outside of their offices and debriefing after-the-fact in a hotel conference room.

That’s true, and is the source of some of my happiest memories.

But it’s important to note that advocacy takes many forms. For Cindy, her advocacy started in the early morning hours when she had sleeping infants and she decided to write a legislator, learn some new facts or craft an op-ed. 

Her definition demystifies the idea of advocacy, and reminds readers that the ability to advocate lies within everyone: “…expressing yourself to inspire action from another person with the power to help”

The world is so unfair. I feel powerless.

One of the talking points we learn as Shot at Life advocates is “vaccines don’t have passports.” It’s a way of explaining to a legislator or legislative staff member that there is a rationale for the US spending money on global health. The world’s borders are very porous. Even the US, which is separated by oceans from many disease hotbeds, is one airline arrival away from a potential exposure. 

At one media training, I parroted the “vaccines don’t have passports” line and the trainer said, “that sounded very cold.” 

She was right. Even though I had uttered the correct talking point, I hadn’t infused my particular message with the inner motivation that fired me up emotionally.

Some people feel they have a surplus of that inner motivation; they wonder if they can keep a handle on their emotions about the world’s injustices when they’re feeling under pressure. 

I love Cindy’s framing of that: “If you respond to a random news story with an unexpected flood of painful tears, just think of it as “superpower growing pains.”

Cindy also reminds us that each of us matter. The legislative process can be a puzzle at times. One thing about that puzzle is that legislators can be much more apt to respond to someone who is actually their constituent than to a well-meaning advocate who does not live in their district. 

Cindy asks, “What if you are the constituent in your district with the right request, at the right time, for your member of Congress?” Legislative offices keep tallies of how often they have heard from constituents about an array of issues. You may feel like you’re just a “check mark” on their tally sheet of constituent contacts, but every check mark matters in advocacy.

Maybe I can make a difference after all

I didn’t become an active advocate until my children were older (middle school and high school), so I didn’t face some of the challenges Cindy faced as she juggled the diaper changes that are part of this book’s title.

All people have roadblocks that can make it seem impossible to take steps toward advocacy. It would be great if the world was a place where the duties of keeping family life going were evenly split among partners, but that still isn’t the case for many family groups. 

It’s impossible to read this book and say, “I can’t find a way.”

Advocacy can help us set an example for the children in our lives, says Cindy:

“We all want our children to see the best sides of ourselves. To do that, we first have to recognize the best that is within ourselves.”

And besides our children, there’s the democracy that we all value, she notes: 

“An everyday citizen who learns the skills to advocate to our elected officials is democracy at its finest. To save lives with those skills is humanity at its finest.”

About the book

I hope you’ll consider buying Cindy’s book, either for yourself, for a friend (or both).

An independent bookstore Cindy recommends is The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis. How to buy.

You can also order from Amazon.

Then, you’ll be equipped to change the world!