In-Justice: Lift Every Voice (and Blindfold)
It’s a cold war in the system. The constant hurdling of censorship, cancel culture and socioeconomic barriers is making for one perfect Hunger Game – and trust me, we are severely malnourished.
All too often are we silenced (muzzled, gagged, incapacitated, or put to sleep – none of which btw are particularly representative of power and influence) by our inability to define what real truth is. The lure of massive corporations dropping propaganda in front of our faces like fish bait in attempts to opt us into the intertwining world agenda as new influencers are born daily, sick from the conditions that led us all to leverage one another for a fraction of our 5 senses.
This has started off sounding more like a rant than an empowering journal entry, but unlike the tone deaf messages that we consider newsworthy, I intend that this article does not fall upon deaf ears. What I want to make clear is that tuning into our individual voices is not only personally rewarding but also crucial for fostering societal solidarity and revealing the collective truth.
In The Beginning
LET THERE BE LIGHT! Throughout history the voice has been a human phenomenon. A phenomenon worthy of so much that much has been invested to take it away from us. Powerful voices have united the most unlikely of foes and incited insurrection time and time again for the purpose of restoring our collective justices. Disney even highlights how invaluably we take our voices for granted when Ariel would rather have feet (if you have a foot fetish skip to the next paragraph) than a voice, as uniquely beautiful as it was.
The likes of MLK Jr. and Greta Thunberg come to mind as we continue to illustrate the power of exercising your voice to spark individual change. Even on a smaller scale can we use our voice to enlighten one another. Positive affirmations spoken in confidence over our brothers and sisters are foundational to our collective well-being.
X Marks the Spot
When voicing your individual experiences, I encourage you to look past selfish ideals passed down from the insecure and the sometimes pessimistic. Our experiences are the only tangible source of proof that we existed – that we’ve fully lived and not drifted mindlessly through time. The truth of the matter is that our experiences make up our collective truth, therefore, when determining what is worth your regularly scheduled programming or what is newsworthy, we gain more from the stories of others than we do from any major headline.
*Tinfoil hat removed*
Personal accounts of domestic violence capable of sending chills down the spine, yet resurfaced surveillance footage is all the rage on your favorite social media blog. How was your day? – the gateway drug to endless accounts of meandry – offers collective insight a thousand kilometers long (or deep – whatever floats). Now it’s time to add color to these narratives and by color, I mean diversity. The growth of individual communities is ladened with allyship from those who share very little but a desire to be recognized for their breadth of understanding. There lies the intersectional intellectual.
Let’s Get Tactical
It’s a cold war in the system. The constant hurdling of censorship, cancel culture and socioeconomic barriers is making for one perfect Hunger Game – and trust me, we are severely malnourished. The fear of speaking out these days rivals that of the Jim Crow Era (I have no evidence to back that up but keep following). No longer afraid of being lynched, we settle instead for the preverbal guillotine of dreams that oppresses us into our shock collars. And just when all hope seemed lost, adrenaline kicks in and
with it, a new plan to escape the entanglement and unleash the greatest superpower in your arsenal – your voice.
But perhaps the greatest enemy to us all is a more familiar foe. Lurking in the depths of our soul is the final boss in a stage I like to call: the internal battle with self-doubt. Here too can we lean on the collective to empower us by empowering others to express their unique voices. By rooting on the underdog and embodying the main-character energy within us all. You were meant to have a voice, or you would have been born a sloth (because I’ve never heard –).
For The Ones in the Back
However, there are some voices that are less often heard and once again the power of the collective must step in and amplify these voices. In amplifying these voices, we strengthen our community bonds. One man’s truth is another man’s treasure – that’s a new one – but it’s not complete bullshit in case you're not familiar with the phrase, “Based on a True Story”.
Nonetheless, being enlightened to the journey of others can help us heal and grow as a collective.
When we amplify our collective voices, they can drive social change. Otherwise, who should political leaders listen to? Themselves? The irony of it all is that the collective has the power to make change well before government can. And when we begin to trust each other and work in unison, the ultimate truth is then realized – the truth of how powerful we truly are. So do yourself some justice and turn off the fake news (or lack thereof), stop believing the nay-sayers, be unafraid, and start broadcasting on a higher frequency. Calibrate to the tune of the collective and you will always know the truth.