I actually detest the word “resist” to describe our movement. For me, it calls to mind images of someone being assailed and quietly, unmovingly, not-too-indecorously trying to find ways to distance themselves and escape from potential harm. We are being actively harmed, and that demands a reciprocally forceful response. These times do not call for mere “resistance,” but active revolt.
Witnessing the mindless, heartless, and soulless power-grab of rising international fascism opens our eyes to more than merely the political and personal threats engendered by our own past complacency. Focusing attention on the “what” of where we are and the “why’s” and “how’s” of our path here inevitably exposes systemic oppression. Most of us have come to this movement by following one personally-impacting, objectionable thread of injustice, only to find ourselves suddenly confronted with a vast tapestry of toxicity that can be overwhelming to acknowledge. It is up to no one but us to decide if we are going to be defeated by it, or rise to defeat it.
Knowledge is more than just power. In actual fact, knowledge is entirely impotent –even unhealthy and dangerous– without action. Knowledge is responsibility.
I feel an inescapable, compelling, and inspiring responsibility to learn, to engage, and to fight, but I fight against no one and nothing.
I fight FOR.
I fight solely from love, and I fight only for Justice.
Triumph is contingent upon our Unity, and in this war, we must adopt the ethos of the trench. Warriors don’t care about disagreement on nuances of policy application when they’re being attacked. Warriors stay laser-focused on what matters: strategy, survival, and victory.
Activist victories, however, exists on three timelines. There is the immediate (within a year or two), the mid-term (within a decade or two), and the long-term (laying the groundwork for others to carry on the fight into successes we will not live to see). I would add, moreover, that there is a fourth timeline: the personal day-to-day.
Overarching goals are one thing, but my quotidian work is born of something else entirely. My everyday activism is informed by the determination of my conscience, the compulsion of my sense of duty, and the self-propagating resilience of living in alignment with my ethics. There’s a part of me that can’t even worry about winning or losing, because there’s a level at which it doesn’t even matter. What matters is knowing that, in the choice between inaction and action, between paralysis and motivation, between despair and inspiration, the decision to fight is simply my most important and necessary daily act of self-care.
Millman wrote, “to rid yourself of old patterns, focus all your energy not on struggling with the old, but on building the new.” That can be challenging when faced with new outrages by the hour. When faced with adversity, what I find helpful is to try to find a way to circle back to gratitude and empathy, because I need the resilience their positivity reinvigorates me with. As such, I can’t help but be grateful for the current global crises, in that they have drawn our attention to inequity, galvanized us to respond, and afforded us a phenomenal opportunity to create a world aligned with the best in us, capable of providing the best for all of us. I am fiercely, resolutely, and passionately focused on building the new.
Call to Action
My current focus is on healthcare justice, as the issue has incredible momentum right now. Our collaborative effort is so close to garnering us a monumental win, and we need your help to ensure success. I know @AdyBarkan and the Center for Popular Democracy (@popdemoc, @CPDAction) would love to have you join us in the fight for Medicare for All.
We have weekly conference calls with inspiring speakers every Thursday night at 8PM ET (7PM CT/6PM MT/5PM PT) which discuss actions you can take from home, or in the field.
Call-in #: 669-900-6833
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See you in the fight, my beloved Warriors!
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