Today, Not Someday

I’m hearing so many of you tell me that you’re disheartened, that you’re afraid, that the world is not what you thought that it once was. People I admire have a slump to their shoulders that wasn’t there a year ago, and you can’t completely blame a year’s passing for the deeper lines on our faces.

This *broad gesture* has been hard. Everything changed for the entire globe over the course of 2020. We are right to question what we thought we knew. Extreme ambiguity and the pace of change are unsettling and our reckoning with centuries of privilege must happen. The sooner we reconcile as one humanity, the better. Change might happen quickly, through tumult, or it might rip our societal fabric which is worn thread thin, to shreds.

A friend told me tonight that she “once believed that we all had common aims, just different ways of accomplishing those aims,” but that she no longer believes we as humans are working towards the same ends. Another friend is fearful of genocides and war as the inequity between classes and factions widens. We are all plagued by the slightest sound of a cough, the hint of a fever, and the fear of the pandemic stretching into endless months (or years) ahead.

In the near term, a divisive election looms at a time when voters will likely struggle to ensure that their votes count and, no matter the outcome, the legitimacy of the election will be contested. Add in the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what will likely be a contentious nomination and confirmation of her replacement, riots for racial justice that don’t allow anyone sane to turn a blind eye to systemic racism in the United States, and the undeniable science of climate change and we are faced with one hell of a year. And there’s really no end in sight, as the economic impacts of the pandemic send shockwaves through our economy.

But there is still this — at the heart, we have sons and daughters that will inherit this world, and they will have sons and daughters. And someone must stand up to say “This. This is what we are fighting for and this is the future we must create.” I believe that the future we must create is one based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. Liberty means inclusion, equity, and a celebration of diversity, knowing that we are stronger together. Happiness stems from generosity, not greed and has almost nothing to do with material possessions.

Wars have been fought and lives sacrificed for the democracy that we are all responsible for maintaining. And the perpetuation of this experiment rests on thinking of the good of all, not just the good of the individual. Yes, you work hard for your money and yes, capitalism should incentivize the creation of value, but the cost of that opportunity cannot be the destruction of the environment or a blind eye towards how our economy is built on the inexpensive labor of those who society systemically disadvantages (privatized prisons, for example, or the disproportionate number of low skill, low wage jobs held by minorities).

So here is what I think: darkness is required so that you can see the stars. This time is dark. The world is bleak and breaking apart. And now, more than ever, we need to shine. If you believe that you have goodness in your heart, or that you are “one of the good guys,” the first thing I’d ask you to do is to consider how you contribute to the things I mentioned that are ripping our world apart. Here are a few things to ask yourself first:

• Am I being responsible with my money by buying from companies that treat workers well and respect the environment? (Check out B-Lab, if you don’t know how to figure out what companies those are).
• Have I gone out of my way to support those who are different than me? If I’m in a position to hire, does my team look like me or not?
• If I’m quick to hate “the orange man in office,” have I questioned that I might be part of the divisive rhetoric that has devastating consequences?
• Do I do everything I can to conserve resources? For some practical tips, check out Zero Waste on how to reduce your carbon footprint. A very practical way to do this is to buy locally from small producers as much as possible. Know who made or grew the things you consume. Especially in Pennsylvania, we have an abundance of makers producing high-quality products and produce.
• Have I considered the sources of information that I consume? Check out this media bias chart to see where your sources fall. And, for gods sake, be extremely critical if most of your news is coming from social media. Anything that is free to you is manipulating you somehow for profit. Consider choosing to support public media or high quality journalism and always question the motives of your platforms. (By way of transparency, I am a board member for a public media station and I care tremendously about the quality of journalism. Our access to information determines how informed our electorate is and ultimately whether our society can function. Propaganda and unreliable sources of information will undermine our ability to govern.)
• Do I hold fast to an ideology to the exclusion of others opinions? There is a vast middle ground that our fast-paced news ignores in order to fit information into headlines. (Yes, I’m also criticizing the media for this.) Everything worth knowing has nuance and context.

Before we can build a better future, we have to be better ourselves. I (and you) must do more. We’ve been complacent, lulled by generations of prosperity and peace. Everything has been (relatively) easy and our older generations weren’t wrong when they pointed out our entitlement or wastefulness. Sure, we have crushing student debt and a higher education system that no longer delivers on its value prop (knowledge is readily available and the idea of paying for access to a network of the privileged and powerful is less and less utilitarian). But we really haven’t had to work towards a common goal in a way that required much sacrifice.* We haven’t been faced with challenges that force us to come together as a nation and I personally fear that war will be the catalyst for unification, although with journalists and media fully undermined, conflict will make an environment in which the masses could easily be swayed.

*I’m excluding service members from this claim and am deeply grateful for your service. Freedom isn’t and never has been free.

For the rest of us, listen, go ahead and feel terrible. Be afraid. But act anyway.

If you feel like you can do more, do more. If you believe that justice is important, you can no longer turn a blind eye towards those who are less fortunate or support companies whose policies destroy the environment. In an economy that’s driven by consumption, we need to question the durability and sustainability of our purchases, along with the compensation of a labor force that is quickly being disrupted by technology or market shifts.

Vote.

And more than that, find more and more ways to be kind and compassionate. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle; ease their way forward if possible. We become great by making others great.

Volunteer. Donate.

Lead, if you can. And if you can’t, be wise about who you follow. Be bold.

This is the time to shine. The world depends on it. Not someday, when things are better, but now.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” -Oscar Wilde

https://medium.com/@anneparmer/today-not-someday-8b62211b9246