What the hell are we going doing?

That's about all I have to start this next part. I'm dead serious too. One of the strongest motivators can be despair. It is in the most depressing moments of humanity that we have seen people rise through the debris of life and radically influence humanity to move towards a brighter purpose and meaning. Which is why I posed that question at the start of this writing. I am spending more and more time listening to and reading the works of people who really started to put flesh and blood to this revolution. One essential conviction to them is their work ethic. Ian Mackaye was being interviewed once and openly admitted to how he doesn't remember ever being in a band and not having to work a commonplace job to support himself. Henry Rollins was quoted in a dialogue about how he has no time for people who are not as busy as he is. These are two people who have dedicated their being, their souls and hearts to being a part of something more than what was always carried out by the system. In a separate interview, Ian responded to a question and said that he refuses to read "historical" or "biographical" books about events and times that he and his band were directly influential to...specifically because he does not believe that he is done. These people come from a time that fully recognized the despair...and they ARE trying to do something about it. Our generation has inherited the same despair...the difference is that we've been saturated by a media demon, political agendas, and countless religious movements that have given us plenty of placebos to ingest while we slip further and further into apathy and depression. Our despair has not led to motivation...rather it has led to lassitude.

We are not doing shit to change anything. We are actively living lives of inactivity. We know full well that something is wrong...but we are doing nothing to alter the course of history for the better. We are rapidly altering the course of history, but for the worse! We are learning that life is suppose to be filled with "fabulous houses in the Hamptons" excessive partying, excessive drinking, excessive drug use, excessive sexual activity...all which has led to excessive depression, excessive mutilation of identity and excessive lethargy. We all talk nice and flowery words about change, but the truth of the matter is that we are doing nothing. We all like the ideas of being "aware" about the world around us.

I visited a website today that has a particularly large following of celebrities that all support this specific movement. What is interesting to me is that this website's motive is focused on poverty. It has a bunch of celebrity sponsors...all who live in very lavish houses, apartments or condos, or whatever, they all drive very luxurious cars, they frequent exquisite restaurants and nightclubs, in general they live very profligate lifestyles...while the world they want to change grows poorer and poorer. But I think what is more disturbing is how we as a society have encouraged it! We support it. We watch MTV Cribs, and "The Fabulous Lifestyles Of..." on VH1, we buy what they are wearing, want to drive what they drive, and in the middle of this completely forget that there is a world we "talk" about wanting to change.

Please understand, I'm not just pointing the finger and saying, "you're all so fucking bad!!!" I do it too. What I really hate is how I have encouraged this lifestyle too. We need to change. We desperately need to pull ourselves away from the tv, from the movies, from the music, from the literature that encourages a lifestyle of apathy and embrace the movement of systematic and global change. We need to radically change our lifestyles if we ever want to radically change our world. The real question is are we living what we preach? The real dilemma is that we bitch a lot about wanting to change the world, but then wait until some actor or athlete or musician gets their face put on a website and "OHHHHH! THEN it's a fucking noble cause that warrants our attention!" With all due disrespect...FUCK THAT!

If what we discussed earlier is true, the same despair about life...the same diseases...the same addictions...the same lies all existed way before some celebrities were recruited to say pretty words about all the not-pretty stuff. Why the hell are we waiting for one of them to tell us to do something about it? When are we going to get off our asses take to the streets and demand change? You know why the government sucks so much? Because a bunch of people would rather sit around in a circle and bitch about how they could do a better job, rather than actually try to be a proponent for change! That's why there is no one worth voting for! You know why poverty exists? Because 20% percent of the world consumes 80% of the its resources and that 20% enjoys the luxury too much to give a damn about maybe not hording all of Earth's benefits! Do you know why children around the world are not getting an education? Because we did nothing to stop the production of weapons! Nobody realizes that "less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn't happen." (Globalissues.org - 3.3.2007 - Poverty Statistics) LESS THAN 1% FOR EVERY CHILD!!!! Jesus Christ people!!! This has been going on since the beginning of time...and if we don't start acting now it's going to keep affecting the world long after we have gone!

It boils down to this...are we willing to sacrifice? Seriously, are we willing to lay aside our personal preferences for the betterment of this world? There are so many different levels to this, but in its simplest form the only question is are WE going to sacrifice...not "hey when somebody starts leading the way...then I'll join in!" That's not fucking good enough. We are used to thinking this way. We are inundated with "have it YOUR way." "obey YOUR thirst." It is all about us receiving...we have not learned. The problem is that if we are moving towards unconditional love, unconditional acceptance, unconditional forgiveness, our preferences must die. I can best illustrate this, by relaying a conversation I once had with a good friend.

My friend and I were partaking in a fine meal of Qudoba Mexican Grill burritos in Grandville, Michigan. At this point, I was dating a girl, with whom I was becoming more convinced was to become my wife (for all you hopeless romantics...the girl has since married someone else...don't get your hopes up for reconciliation romantically!!!) My friend had been married for some time and I wanted him to impart some of his vast martial wisdom upon my young "grass-hopper" heart! I asked him when he knew that his wife was the woman that he wanted to marry. What he said next was not what I was expecting. "I'm so glad you didn't say the one...I'm not sure I believe in the 'the one'...love is about waking up each morning and saying I'm going to put this person's desires, needs and wants before mine." I had never thought about this...and in this instance the debate is not about whether that special someone is wandering the earth waiting for you to show up and sweep them off their feet. The point is about the sacrifice true love obligates. You are not loving unless you are laying aside your self-betterment.

Think of it this way...you know you are loving when it hurts. True love heightens the awareness of all the flaws...it does not sugarcoat the brutal world we live in. If this is true the next question is this...who or what does it hurt to love? Who is that one person more than anything you don't want to serve? See that is what is so revolutionary to the generation before us! Everything was about "make something of YOURSELF" "do whatever YOU can to survive." There was no focus on the care and compassion for others.

It hurts to love this world we live in. Seriously...it is a pain in the ass to walk along the street and pick up the trash someone else left there. It is an intense battle to not just assume the homeless man who asked you for change is just going to buy alcohol. It is difficult to accept that some people may not be of the same sexual orientation that certain people deem "acceptable." It is incredibly traumatic to realize that there are people in this world who are going to lie, betray, abuse and take advantage of you...and yet they are still people. That is why people like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Gandhi and Jesus are so powerful. In the face of some of the most tangible forms of racism, oppression, poverty, hurting and brokenness, they unconditionally loved and accepted everybody. They all had their own belief systems and convictions, but in the end, nobody else had to agree with them to be worthy of love. Their belief system compelled them to love...compelled them to accept...compelled them to forgive.

Our revolution needs to embrace this. There has been enough hate, exclusion, racism, abuse, religious piety, political propaganda and economic caste systems. Our revolution...what sets us apart is that we no longer see the diversity of humanity as something to be control and systemize, but rather to be celebrated. The beauty of accepting people where they are rather than where they should be must be birthed in our actions. It must be born out of our lives. We must do all that we can to embrace this lifestyle. If we ever hope to see humanity change for the better our art, our music, our words, our literature, our politics, our society, our economics, must move in this direction. There are lots of the old world activists...but there are many more of us who are tired of seeing our world go to hell. Let's get off our asses and actually to something.

much love.