I remember this prayer from my early schooling days. Back when we had RME (Religious and Moral Education.) It was one of the many things we crammed into our heads only to regurgitate later in some test or exam. Only recently did it become more of a living statement than some nice-sounding words that you hear people chant out. Let me start by saying this.
It takes real courage to stand for change or to effect change. Human beings, in my experience, are creatures of habit. We long for an identity and a sense of belonging, so much so that we are willing to suppress our unique quirkiness all in the name of being “normal” and out of fear of being ostracised by the social grouping that we so direly feel the need to belong to. We willingly indulge in office gossip because we want to be “in the clique” even though we feel our gut wrenching as we laugh along.
It is the very same reason why we love martyrs so much. They represent, for the greater part, our innermost aspirations, that state of being free that we want but cannot have because our adopted identity binds us, we are gagged, and we are mentally raped by this false need to belong. So we find easier ways to exist, and we forget the strength that we are born with, the ability to shape and reshape our reality with our own words, just our own words.
What is worse is that the systems of oppression know this. They know that we will willingly conform. They create examples of those who attempt to raise up or to speak up so that we continue to live with the fear of god in us. Whether it is the school bully, an oppressive regime, societal norms and expectations or our fears, the system works similarly.
Instead, we falsely believe that we do not have the ability to change anything. We accept with serenity that it is out of our control, that it will take an army with tanks to effect change. We doubt, we ask, “Who are we to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented… “Most of us have resigned ourselves to this firm belief that we cannot, and we take comfort in the fact that “others aren’t doing anything either.”
In truth, it’s not about others; the “others” are really just many of you trapped in the same false belief; they are us just living in different timelines, presented with different circumstances and with vastly different innate talents that all humanise us. We are not so different, you and me. So the prayer I wrote at the very beginning has been modified many times throughout the years. Alcoholics Anonymous adopted it (yes, we all fight different addictions; let’s keep going) and expanded. I found a more extended form that really got me thinking; here it is below:
Courage to change the things which should be changed. Now, that part grabbed my attention. Ladies and gentlemen, change is not optional. It is a necessity. We are called to effect change. Sitting around and lulling in our false sense of helplessness does not benefit anyone. Our idolising martyrs and aspiring to be them doesn’t make anything better. They do not need our recognition or praise; they are dead, and you are still living, so do something with the life force that courses through your veins.
Make them feel something, anything; do not continue in that zombie-like trance. I have spent a lot of time in that trance, paralysed by my fear, blaming everything and everyone else for…well, everything! I cannot continue like this; it will not benefit me or my dream. My being politically correct, my being courteous, respecting elders who have abused their authority and robbed me of my future while I watched, who manipulated policies that were meant to benefit my people and me for their own benefit. Mongrels who infected the system with toxic and cancerous actions, corruption, nepotism and complacency that we have normalised and accepted.
I have accepted hardship for far too long, as have my fathers and forefathers, and still, we are not at peace; there is no peace. We are at our ends as a people; most of us have given up and have nothing to lose anymore, so why do we keep quiet? The internet has given us a way to amplify our own voices, yet we exist in a time when our people are silent about the things that matter and shout about pure vanity, worshipping the modern gods of success, money and fame.
Religion really is the opium for the poor; look at how many of our people are dead in their hearts and minds, souls sold to the aforementioned false gods, peddled forward by the great inventions that were meant to bring us together, that now keep us shackled, social media, polarised media, which feels like consumerism fuelled by some capitalist propaganda.
#Breathe#
I have a lot that I need to say, unpopular things, I have a lot that I need to do, difficult things. But they must be done. I am not writing this for anyone else but myself so that I can make known to my former self that the silence ends now, and to remind my future self why I started in the first place. It will get hard, the system of oppression is designed not to take change lightly, but this I know I can change, and so I should change. We are approaching an election where we will vote for people, not parties or organisations or organised syndicates.
We are putting people, human beings into public office. People that we must work with to bring about change, people that we must call out when they deviate from the mandate and promises that they rode on. I do not know what you believe in, nor do I know the shackles that bind you. What I do know is that you care, you feel so deeply about something and can act, to make things better.
Do not wait for the others because the others are just you and me looking back at you, trapped and unable, disempowered because people like you and me do not act…so they do not act. Let us dream and decide to do. If you know what you want, then go out there and get what you want, but be ready to put in the work, I know I am. So let us begin.
– I originally wrote this on 8 July 2018.
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