And Justice for Y’all
It’s no secret that the pursuit of money and power has led humans down dark paths. Today is no different. We sit in the middle of a government shut down, leaving hundreds of thousands without pay for work they’re owed. The GOP claims authoritarian power (Miller went so far as to briefly argue “plenary authority”) while the Dems refuse to pass legislation because they disagree with how the money will be spent.
Meanwhile, rents and mortgages go unpaid, children go hungry, transportation is grinding to a halt, while planes are literally falling from the sky (the incident in Louisville is a true tragedy that at the time of this writing is seemingly unrelated to the shutdown itself but still rings of a waning democracy). Billions have been poured into board control, while board control has rolled into major metropolitans shooting praying pastors in the face and curb-stomping peaceful protestors.
We’ve seen sexual predators escape justice time and time again. We’ve seen the unequal application of justice between white and non-white residents. We’ve seen the rich escape any effect of justice, brushing the government aside like an unwanted garnish on a perfectly crisped wagyu just because they can afford to tie up the legal system in appeal after appeal. We all know the system is broken, we just disagree on the “right” way to fix it.
Both sides seem eager to clamor for their 2nd Amendment rights in defense of the 1st, but I urge you to consider an alter path. Appeal to your local representatives – if you can’t reach them with compassion, reach them with greed. I’ve known very few politicians that were so convicted of the morals and passions that they were unable to look past their own good fortunes.
We’ve seen the efforts put into fundraising via corporate donors, literal million-dollar lunches, lavish parties and paid speaking events. I’m not saying that anyone should bribe a politician or offer any head of law enforcement a briefcase with $50,000 cash for example (that would be illegal, obviously), but we can lobby in our own way. We can make them understand that when they’re voted out of office, they’ll lose their right to lucrative book deals and campaign donations that are funneled into privately ran charities and access to insider information they can use to profiteer on the public markets.
We’ll do this together, as a collective, through marches and protests surely, but we must also do it through coordinated efforts by reaching out to your neighbors to say “we don’t hate you, we are just scared”. Open a dialogue. Engage. Debate – which is very different than pointed zingers, bad faith arguments, and personal insults. When you do this, you’ll find that once we strip out all of the toxic algorithm-enhanced rage-bait news cycles, we really aren’t all that different.
We want safe, clean streets where we can walk without fear of being mugged or stepping on needles. Streets that don’t smell like piss because there isn’t a public bathroom in 2 square miles. Schools that have earthquake drills instead of active shooter drills. Backpacks that have books instead of armor plating. Hell, I’d go so far as to argue that we all want food for the children stuck in school instead of another tax break for some nepo-baby oligarch.
We may disagree on the exact composition of books in a library, but we can’t let that distract us from having libraries at all. We are a nation that has thrived greatly on the diversity of ethnicities, foods, commerce – a nation flush with natural resources and overflowing abundance. We work hard in fields and factories, in call centers and hospitals. Let us also work together to build a life, a society, that we are proud of and one that we can pass on to our grandchildren … once we’re able to afford childcare services.