I came into this week fired up about writing this blog post. I’d watched the amazing documentary, Thirteenth, had been listening to a ton of new, critical rap that tied in amazingly to the film, and was energized to write on these topics. I still want to share those resources with you (and I will, here), but my brain is hyper-focused and processing the events of last night. This post is most likely going to be garbled, and I’m sure you’ll understand why - but I’m working towards wrapping my brain around the next four years!
Last night solidified what voices matter in America today. On one hand, we esteem higher education, and on the other, make it unavailable to people of all racial backgrounds, systematically. As a result - we all suffer. The majority of people in our country demonstrated their lack countrywide and global empathy. As Americans we adore junk food, quick fixes, blind faith, dreams. We showed that in this election.
Last night’s results bring to light the suffering in this country, and highlight the disparity between those who have technologically advanced, and communities who are desperate, and have been left in the dust.
The hypocrisy and rhetoric of this entire election have been sickening. Desperate communities, seeking advancement, put their trust in someone who is the antithesis of progressive improvement. He can speak t e that to act in favor of social justice. Stacy, I look at you and your passion for serving veterans, Chelsea your respect for the homeless, traumatized, seeking safety through substance, Noah, your articulate presence and passion for arts, Tonya, your fierce energy for mental health justice, Jana, your expertise in prevention and policy, and Paula - whose professional mission is to energize students about participatory policy and systemic change - we need it all. We are too educated and too privileged to not put our passions into activism and practice.
The soundtrack to this blog post (sorry for the language... but it is worth it to hear the unedited versions).
AMAZING lyrics in each, and worth a close listen.
Thank you for posting this and for the props you gave all of us! :) I think we have witnessed, more than many other SWO programs in recent years, the real importance of social justice, and how important it is to keep fighting for it - start with a small group (like your SWO cohort) and take it to the communities, the counties, the state and the Nation. This was not the outcome we expected, but we shall learn from this, endure it and come together to remind the world we are no longer quiet, and we never will be again.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ellen for this post. I am choosing to see this an opening for us to mobilize, get savvy in policy and social action, and reflect on what needs to change in the party that lost so decisively across the board. You all are my inspiration and hope for the future, and with that I am confident things will get better and systemic changes will result.
ReplyDeleteHi Ellen, thanks for your thoughts on the results of this tough week. Yesterday was certainly a day to not forget, and my hope is that the many of us who are effected so heavily by this change will continue to not forget and work for change. Collectively we have the wisdom, tools, and resources among us to rise against the rhetoric of hate and prove that the United States can be more than this. We owe it to the people who are hurting, those who will experience continued and expanded pain from this decision, and for the sustainability of our entire earth. We all have played some role in getting to this place and although it seems as though all the power is in the hands of a dangerous person, I believe we have enough collective power to show people that change can happen but it can look different than this.
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