Youthful Life: X

"Our society is much more interested in information than wonder, in noise rather than silence...And I feel that we need a lot more wonder and a lot more silence in our lives" Fred Rogers There is a battle raging in our world . It's a rat race to wield the power of knowledge and truth. When knowledge is hoarded like a dragon in a cave we have to see the impact others are deprived of knowledge. It's a direct balance. Keeping people from knowing, from cultivating the tools to know, and from how to know  is cruel manipulation with devastating consequences. Should we all have the chance to know? Who deserve to know? And to know what? Do we have to know everything? More and more we are faced with these grand questions about what is right, good, just, or even equitable for every aspect of our lives, our communities, and our societies. There may not be an end all, be all, absolute answer but that does not mean a conclusion isn't worthwhile. Just because there's not a ...

"The benefits and possibilities that are created created by being personally accountable are countless." Jay Fiset Accountability is truth actualized. Calls for unity without amends are inauthentic means of gaslighting, silencing, and minimizing harm. We cannot and should not move forward on any scale without the necessary recognition of all that has transpired. It's dangerous for all involved. Those that have caused harm continue aloof as to how they have caused harm for others and will continue to do so, or never take the opportunity to hold themselves accountable to responsibly own their "stuff." For those that are most directly impacted it's a questioning of sanity to even wonder if all that was experienced, felt, etc. was even real. It's a gutting discarding of truth in favor of prioritizing false comfort. People have to be uncomfortable. Harm has been caused. Pain has been given out. Violence in its forms has been perpetrated.  There's no real...

 “You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.” – Timber Hawkeye Life can be overwhelming at times. There always seems to be so many things going on at once. Managing it all just gets to be too much, and there we are paralyzed into nothingness. Everything seems to pile up and we get stuck in task debt that we struggle to get out of. There doesn't seem to be respite or reprieve just more work, more things to know, more things to do, and more people to maintain relationships with. It's the knowing that can be so debilitating. It's seeing it all and being privy to the knowledge that we're supposed to do it all, and in a speedy manner. When we've fallen behind, missed something, or suddenly have a lot we can get weighed down. We drown. We flail. We scream underwater. We gasp for air. We just want to stop swimming if only for a little while. What happened to floating peacefully. What happened to soaring above the water?...

"Now, then, in order to understand white supremacy we must dismiss the fallacious notion that white people can give anybody their freedom." Stokely Carmichael "I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." James A. Baldwin I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I'm lethargic. The past few days, as if they are different than any other days of my life existing as our countries most blatantly visible "problem" (cc: W.E.B. DuBois), have run me ragged. It's not dealing with the images of fanatical vitriole dressed down in polos, khakis, and swastikas with tacky Pier One Imports-style ironic culturally appropriated tiki torches that is a poor man's (quite literally; lol at racism and xenophobia masquerading as economic anxiety) KKK copycats sans hoods. It's not the hurling of racial, homophobic, or anti-semitic slurs coupled with Nazi call...

" America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds  herself to be false to the future." Frederick Douglass The American Dream is dead. Rather it never existed. Maybe it did, but even then it was not made for everyone to be able to attain it. What's a dream if its within reach for everyone? No it was, is, and always will be reserved for a select few. And to those who don't fit the selection criteria but somehow, against all odds (*read systemic and interpersonal barriers) make it  - the narratives are co-opted to reify the propaganda that the dream is only deferred not denied. This country doesn't want us all the make it. Our society isn't built for everyone to thrive. Our perspective needs people to trounce upon, to use, to throw away as disposable. We need people to other. We need them to be different. We need there to be a distinction between us and them. That is what we are founded on - blood, the ideals of the rich white-ma...

Truth - Sometimes have to break apart to come together, and other times things may not come together at all. Divided - a word that has been used time and time again to describe the United States as a society. Is it an accurate adjective ... perhaps, at times, but then again the appropriateness of it depends on your perspective. What does it mean to be American? Who gets to claim the moniker? Are we a nation divided or has nothing actual changed? The saying goes divided we fall, united we stand but what if division just might be the thing that saves us from ourselves? "Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained." Helen Keller Division is objective ly not a bad thing. It in and of itself have no value attached to it. It's our viewpoints and our emotions that assign those values to it. Division let us separate out our issues and also gives space for us to make ...

Truth - Reality is relative. The ways that we experience the world vary greatly. It is a testament to people being given the same knowledge or facts, and coming up with different conclusions. Absolute truth may not be quite so absolute. In the wake of a truly dramatic campaign season, the different realities we exist in has once again diverged. The divide from person to person seems to grow. Some are relishing in this brave new world, and others are struck with mortal fear. What thing that holds to be true is that no matter what or who we are, our lived experiences are valid. This is our Dys(U)topia.   "Perhaps the greatest utopia would be if we could all realize that no utopia is possible; no place to run, no place to hide, just take care of business here and now." Jack Carroll Hope and peril . Dreams and nightmares. Awe and terror. This is the tale of two Americas and the multiplicity of realities in between. The day after an election is nothing but an almagation of a ...

Truth - Everything is political. Everything from what we do and what we say, to even our existences are political. The notion that people can be into or out of politics is moot. All that we are is based on beliefs, normalizations, and values that are inherently contestable. Whether we like it or not, we are consumed by politics - in fact, we are the embodiment of politics. The extent to which we show up in political ways can surge and wane but the bottom line is that to exist is to be political. How we navigate those personal politics makes all the difference. "Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues." George Will Being part of the American general public is an experience. That experience is greatly influenced by our identities and the ways in which we move through this world in addition to our actions, words, and ambitions. What we know to be true, and what has always been true is that each and every person is different. We experience the w...

Truth - law and order, when administered fairly, prevent anarchy. Society needs boundaries, rules, and regulations to avoid chaos. If the natural order of the universe is to gravitate towards disorder then humanity is diametrically opposed to the way things are. We have to give up some of our freedoms to gain protection, parameters, and oversight. That sacrifice however is supposed to come with the insurance that more often than not what we have gained will outweigh the cost of what we have lost. In a time where civil unrest regularly is part of the national conversation, this is policing. "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time." James A. Baldwin We need law enforcement. We need authority. We need police. We need policing. We need police to to think better, do better, and be better. Police play a critical role in ensuring that our society does not denigrate into dystopian catastrophe. They are charged with...