Resolution for Evolution

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 11:44:41 -0500

There are times in life when one experiences so many emotions at once, they become impossible to distinguish. It’s like mixing all of the colors in art class, only to find a dark puddle of paint, no longer discernible as a particular hue, just darkness.

I started the day on January 6th pretty upbeat. I was getting back into the flow of work. I had a great holiday season, all things considered. Things were good. And then, just before 3:00, the texts started rolling in. “Are you watching this?” “ I can’t believe this.” “Yo this is crazy!” Confused I turned on the news to find something I never thought I’d see… armed insurrectionists breaching the U.S. Capitol. And a U.S. President, like the scene in The Princess Bride, telling them to have fun storming the castle. As I watched the events unfold, I had several thoughts. The first and most prevailing and persistent was how different this would play out if the Black and Brown people started a protest that turned into a riot that led to attempting to invade the Capitol. I shudder to think of the carnage that would have ensued. The longer it went on, the more I wondered, how is this possible? How, in the epicenter of freedom and the citadel of democracy, can armed thugs, domestic terrorists gallivant around the Capitol building unchecked and undeterred? How, in 2021, are we seeing a confederate flag being paraded through the rotunda? The answer is simple, white privilege.

“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” – Franklin Leonard

Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. We see privilege but we’re told there is nothing to see here. We feel that privilege but we are told that we are being too sensitive or playing the race card. We are asked to choose to ignore what is obvious, what is clear. The rules are different. The system has been designed and perpetuated to greatly advantage some while it significantly disadvantages others. That has always been true in America, America was founded on that principle and built on its benefits. We have been told that the world is post-racial, but it is hard to unsee the realities that lay in stark contrast to that narrative. So now what? Many of you are asking yourselves the fundamental question, what do we do about it? More specifically, what can I do now? It would be easy to say I don’t know; I don’t have all of the answers; you have to figure it out for you; or some other platitude that absolves me from any responsibility to help guide you as you grow. I choose not to. While I cannot give you the right answer for yourself, I can give you some ways to get to it.

1. Find your Purpose and your Passion. It doesn’t have to be what you are pursuing to make your living; it does have to be what makes you feel alive. Own it. Commit to it. Work at it.

2. Help others. There are people that can use your help, in ways big and small. Seek them out and offer your time or talents or treasure or all of the above. I am not asking you to sacrifice everything for the cause or for the culture. But the time has passed to sit idly by. Life is not a spectator sport, that’s not me its Jackie Robinson.

3. Build and Strengthen your community. Whatever that community is or looks like for you. You need support and to support others.

4. Galvanize and Organize your efforts. There is strength in numbers and power in different points of view. Find people or organizations that align with your aforementioned passion and purpose and build with them. Or start your own and build from there.

5. Take care of YOU. This is a lot on top of a lot coming behind a lot. It may seem never ending, but it is not. A new normal will emerge. The world will reopen. Between now and then, take care of yourself in real and tangible ways. If you need help, get help. If you need help finding the help, just say something, we are here for you.

6. Take care of Business. You are here to get your degree. You have persevered through pandemic, campus closure, zoom, all of it. You may not be doing as well as you hoped you would, but you are still doing. Keep showing that Grit and get this done. The world needs to see the brilliance you have to offer.

My better angel made a great point this morning. In the movie Monsters Inc., the system is set up to be powered by fear. They traffic in it, they power their lives with it, they refine their methods to extract it, they are even willing to break rules and laws to gather it. And yet, (spoiler alert) in the end, they find out that laughter is 10X more powerful than fear. What is true in the wonderful world of Disney is true for us too. As you wrestle with your resolutions for the coming year, make one above all, if you haven’t, choose Joy.

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

-- Helen Keller

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

-- Nhat Hanh