Which Side Are You On?
By Mickey Z.
16 August, 2013
World News Trust
Photo credit: Mickey Z.
"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin
How much more are we willing to tolerate before we take direct action?
What is our personal pain threshold?
When will we decide that we are less afraid of the State than of living on a planet without trees, without drinkable water, without arable land, without a hint of justice?
In the name of inspiring answers, I'll say ssssshhhhhhh…
Silence your cell phones, your TVs, silence the noise in your head... and just listen. Listen carefully. Can you hear it?
It's a cry from the future, a mournful plea begging us to capture this moment. Can you hear it? Will you hear it? Or have you gotten so accustomed to losing that you choose instead to cover your ears, bury your head -- finding endless excuses and myriad methods to ignore and/or discredit the efforts being made?
Listen again. Listen closer. This is our last, best chance... and what you hear is nothing less than the call to global revolution. How will you answer?
Another world is possible…
There was a time when human slavery was believed too deeply entrenched in American culture to ever be abolished. But the movement to end this "peculiar institution" was made up of individuals willing to recognize that some things in life are bigger than any of us.
Whether they literally risked their lives by rescuing slaves and running the Underground Railroad or played a role by sewing clothes or blankets for escaped slaves or lending financial support or handing out pamphlets or even writing books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the effort needed every single one of these brave humans doing their part -- small or large.
File under: Tactics, diversity of.
What seems impossible and irreversible today can similarly be addressed when we're willing to wake up and do the hard work… when we’re willing to stop making excuses for the reprehensible leaders (sic) -- both political and corporate -- who profit from our complacency.
Suggestion #1: The next time you’re about zone out to a Will & Grace re-run, why not do some deep contemplation instead? Take a good, long look into your heart and an even longer look at the choices you make all day, every day -- not from place of guilt and shame but with a sense of revelation.
Ask yourself if your behavior is in line with your values. Accept the challenge to be better a human being, a more responsible earthling.
Nothing will change until we change our minds but it takes courage to perform self-examination. It takes courage to accept everything you know just might be wrong. For the record, it takes far more courage to do this than to willingly enlist to be paid to wage illegal and immoral wars.
It's not the volunteer mercenaries in places like Afghanistan who are fighting for our freedom. It's activists -- all across the globe.
Risk imperfection
In the name of solidarity, I beseech you to rise above your urge to critique, your need to be right, your fear of the unknown… and just listen.
It's not about purity.
It's not about who did what or said what first.
It's not about following a predetermined game plan.
It's not about waiting for the ideal time to jump on board.
It's a fuckin' revolution -- in the name of all life on earth -- so shrug off the excuses and get involved.
We need a planet with far fewer reasons to grieve and far more reasons to celebrate… and the good news is that there’s a growing celebration meeting down at the corner of Empathy & Anger and what we’re planning is nothing less than a global jailbreak.
Those in the anti-slavery movement I mentioned above recognized that some things in life are bigger than any of us. Well, today, the entire planet is enslaved… to profit-seeking, landbase-consuming corporations and the corrupt politicians they own (yes, including the vaunted Pope of Hope).
Thankfully, this generation’s abolitionists are beginning to take a stand and create change.
Not ask for change, create change.
And they need your support. They need you.
Now.
Sure, participating in sustained direct action is not a popular choice. It could put us at odds with our friends, family, and community. It could jeopardize our careers. It could even lead to direct conflict with the notorious Blue Bloc.
Scary stuff, indeed.
But, as a thought experiment, ask yourself this: What frightens you more, being judged by your neighbors for getting busted for disorderly conduct or comprehending that 80 percent of the world's forests and 90 percent of the large fish in the ocean are already gone?
There are good reasons to be afraid. There are better reasons to be bold.
Could it be we’re afraid of learning that much of what we've been taught is no longer or never was relevant? Are we afraid to open our hearts and minds and start caring like we've never cared before? Maybe, just maybe, we're afraid of ourselves and of what were capable of accomplishing.
Maybe Marianne Williamson is correct when she suggests: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."
Make no mistake, we will be asked by future generations what we did during this momentous time of human struggle. Let’s make sure we can honestly reply: “I did my part leave the planet much better off than how I found it.”
Suggestion #2: Silence the sirens of archaic archetypes, open your mind to new configurations, and heed the call of the future. I promise it'll be a lot more fun that you ever imagined.
It's time to blossom, comrades. It’s now or never.
Even with all the fear, pain, dread, and uncertainty we may (or may not) experience while blossoming, remaining tight in the bud is no longer an option… for us or for the planet.
Just leap and the net may appear…
#shifthappens
***
Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook. Anyone wishing to support his activist efforts can do so by making a donation here.
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