Until Americans of every identity are willing to look in the mirror and look through America’s inside window and not see a view that comforts but reality, we’ll continue to have failed dreams.
Look in the mirror to save ourselves.
I was not sure what I was going to write about today. My morning show had some great discussions, but I had not had the time to distill the video excerpts yet.
A couple of years ago, I attended a retreat in upstate New York where activists, community organizers, community volunteers, and other good-intended people of all ideologies met to discuss how to bring the country together. The people were frank, got along, and genuinely liked each other.
That did not surprise me at all. Do you know why? Most people share more in common than not. While that is a cliche, it is an absolute truth.
A MAGA regular caller to my Politics Done Right show wanted to create a false argument on Christmas/Kwanzaa. He was upset about Kwanzaa and called it a false holiday to combat Christmas. Of course, he heard that on his Right-Wing networks. But aren’t all holidays created at some time? And what in Kwanzaa could he find offensive? The answer was nothing. The right-wing creates a narrative to instill racial fears and hate, not by looking into the Kwanzaa value set, but as something that denies him something not denied. Creating division is too easy when it is not immediately and intelligently challenged.
One retreat organizer sent a message that hit a nerve as he commemorated the event. “. Are we naïve, and do we not represent what Americans are thinking about?” he asked. “While we all believe that when a society is cohesive, and people feel connected to each other and trust and support one another, it will lead to a more harmonious and stable community. But are we missing something? Do most Americans believe this? What are we doing wrong? Are we just preaching to the choir? Just as we are asking America to be open to change, we, too, must be open to change. I believe it is time for us to question old assumptions if we are to be successful. “
The answer is a resounding NO. We did the magic of bringing all these ideologies together, had deep, difficult dialogue, and had a great proof of concept. It is about implementation and externalities. Following is the response I sent.
Hi XXXXX & the wonderful people I met,
I have two answers to your questions. You asked: “Are we naïve and do we not represent what Americans are really thinking about?”
The first answer is that we do not have it wrong at all. I can see America through many eyes because of the multitude of identities both foreign and otherwise I have. I can see America as the outsider based on the propaganda America sells and the reality of being an American.
The exported American story and the history books of the American story is wonderful and should be considered aspirational. But we never had a history that warranted the phrase Make America Great Again. Our group should believe in MAGFA, Make America Great For All. Our conflicts are that for the few that control our narrative expansively, they have promoted a nostalgia that most never lived irrespective of their identities. But they have convinced the majority identity that their inability to achieve the dream is a result of those others.
The fact is those others do not exist. It should be “we,” Americans. But when there is a class in a system of manufactured scarcity that uses resources to control, it necessitates division and deception manufactured as truths.
So, the second answer is the following. In a controlled environment we are on point. When we leave that environment and absorb the externalities, it allows the fears and prejudices instilled in us because of how we were reared, the untamed animal nature of the masses to reemerge.We must get real and get to the core. America is still a racist sexist patriarchy. But it is a specialized one where identities can be adopted temporarily. And this election is probative. It does not matter your ideology; we had a candidate that was very competent to serve and one that was proven not competent to serve. This is not an opinion. Based on the American value set it is a statement of fact. And here comes the rub and what we must fight. The prejudices of too many are capable of overriding what deep inside we all know is right.
Our work must be coupled with doing anti-sexism/anti-racism/anti-patriarchy work. But we first have to accept the premise that most of us see but refuse to acknowledge. I have dedicated myself to this work and engage all. I do not say anything here speculatively.
Take care, my brother,
Egberto
One of the problems that we must solve is our fear of confronting issues of gender, race, and patriarchy honestly. We are all victims of our environment. We can all be, even, at times, subject to groupthink or pre-planned behavior. Only by overtly addressing these without fear can we get past it. I have been doing this fearlessly for years, and as I “preach,” I see more and more people willing to get out of their comfort zones and take the plunge. We can start by being honest in evaluating and understanding the election results without attempting to put an acceptable facade on it!