You say you want a revolution?

This week on the blog I’d planned on formally introducing you all to mom and pops, because what is there to be more thankful for than a fantastic set of parents? And mine really are the fucking greatest, bar none. If you think anything good about me as a person, I ain’t shit compared to them. But because we don’t have dominion over the happenings on this earth, it wasn’t so. As you all probably know by now, my photographer Frank and I are a couple of vagos, who love the pressure of racing against time and shooting off the cuff, so we made that lemonade and headed out onto the Miami asphalt to bring you this week’s tale of revolution.

When I started this blog in April, I was deep in one of my “If Not Now, When?” phases. This is a phase that like a rogue wave, knocks me over every so often over the years and I never know what it is that will jolt me out of my skin but something always does. Sometimes it’s a life-changing event, sometimes it’s the colors of a pink and orange afternoon. Every time I’m confronted with an IFNNW moment my life changes drastically. I feel like I’ve accomplished something, and I’m all the better for it after the wave has passed.

My journey toward a more sustainable lifestyle has been gradual but has penetrated every part of my life deeply. I was once a consumer who like many others, bought things without thought. I should have this, I want this other thing, but what about the why behind the impulses? I was never materialistic, but I also never really cared about where the clothes I wore or the food I ate came from. This outfit, like those featured on MyXXFLY, are made up of items that I’ve had for many years, are hand-me downs, or thrift store pieces. From the earrings that used to be my abuela’s to the bracelets that were gifted to me by friends, my aim at this stage in my life is to live simply and with meaning because time is our most valuable tool when fighting the status quo.

Apathy

The first line of defense that the establishment uses against societal progress is encouraging apathy. There are people and institutions that profit obscenely from unfair, inhumane, and unethical practices. If we, on an individual basis don’t care about what happens, or how, or why, we are complicit in keeping the system stagnant.

How is apathy encouraged? Nationalism.

Really Yesenia? Again with this out of left field bullshit. How can feelings of patriotism encourage apathy? That implies that you care, which is you know, the opposite of apathy. Hear me out guys.

This country was founded on dissent. At its very inception came the idea that the government worked for the people. Its citizens stayed involved because fresh off the heals of the Revolutionary War, newly minted American citizens weren’t going to take shit from their elected officials. Hundreds of years later, nationalist propaganda permeates our very existence and speaking out organizing against the government is labeled unpatriotic.

Then, hundreds of years and wars later came industrialization. More machines, more military power, more infringement on the individuals rights, less tolerance for opposition, and now? You’re either with us, or against us, and if you don’t like how shit is, you’re a terrorist sympathizer. War is a tool of conquest but also fear. People are less likely to oppose their government if they have a clear other, a clear enemy, somewhere far away that they can hate. Through nationalism we fear the big bad wolf overseas when it sleeps in our own beds. We’ve entered a Kafkaesque reality that that would make Rod Serling himself think “naaa, too over the top”. Where corporations are considered people, Donald Trump is president, and water protectors are being attacked by the U.S. government in direct violation of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Standing Rock, while simultaneously celebrating Thanksgiving.

We are distracted from what’s really going on. We are overworked and understaffed, we are paid unlivable wages so that our immediate struggles are overwhelming, and city planning keeps us boxed in our cars on long commutes while removing recreational areas so we don’t come together within our communities. Simultaneously we are bombarded with advertisements so that we treat ourselves because “goddamn I work too hard not to”, and are consequently left too exhausted to fight corruption and cronyism because our immediate woes outweigh what’s happening in D.C. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut.

The hyperbole of the American Dream is also to blame. As children we are taught that there is a clear path to success, and if we follow it we will be handsomely rewarded. All you have to do is go to school, work hard and you’ll be on the road to riches. While I am a huge advocate for both education and hard work, and statistics show that the higher your level of education the more likely it is that your paycheck will reflect it, making the American Dream seem as easy as 1,2,3 is ignoring built in institutional set-backs such as systemic racism and the dynasties of old money in America.

There is a clear demarcation of “class” based on income in the United States. The top 20 percent of earners in the country have managed to increase their income by the tens of thousands over the last 20 years, and the higher up in the distribution, the greater the rise in the inequality. If you are in the bottom 80? Your increase in income falls between 2 and 16,000 over the last 50 years.

It’s really fucking cushy to sit back and accept the way things are. To work your shit job, and skip cooking dinner for the convenience of buying a couple of burgers because you’re exhausted from your legitimately exhausting fucking day. The old adage that hard work pays off grinds my gears like no other because it implies that hard work is all a person has to do to get ahead. It forgets the millions of Americans who work hard day in and day out with no improvement to their quality of life because of the barriers set in place by our government to keep them so.

So now that I’ve got you all riled up like I have been, for the entirety of my life, you’re probably thinking. No shit, I feel you girl, it sucks, but talking about it on the internet isn’t going to change any of it? You’re right. So what to do then? Well, the key to any good capitalist system is to keep the public content. Docile enough to easily profit from them, and distracted enough to not question or worse, dissent. So you’re not docile, and you’re definitely not content. Hallelujah. Phase two.

Power

In a capitalist system, our money is our source of power. Which, if you have don’t have much of, sounds like an unwinnable, starting with the deck stacked against you kind of fight. Well, progress is tough sugarplum, don’t quit on me now.

Injustices in our communities come from an imbalance of power. The people who suffer most are those that are most powerless to act, and because power corrupts, those who are able to influence change often resist it due to self-interest. By dividing us into categories, and subcategories, and having us argue over the semantics of one group versus another, the system as it exists ensures that we spend our time fighting amongst ourselves instead of pushing for progress. In the current state of affairs, we do not convene, we do not organize, and we do not find common ground, but in order to avoid being continuously marginalized and exploited, we fucking must convene, and organize, and volunteer, and be involved in what happens in our own communities. Our political officials are not blameless, but if we do not, en masse, demand that they act in the interests of their constituents, they simply won’t.

But Yesenia, that kind of involvement is for the college kids and rambunctious petition peddlers on Lincoln Road. I’ve got a mortgage and children, and although I would love to attend weekly meetings and volunteer at fundraising events for non-profits I just don’t have the time. Alright darling, I hear you, and it sounds like we may have to reverse it to that section on apathy. But still, lucky for you, there’s always something you can do right?

Well, going back to that money is power thing. Every purchase we make is an implicit vote.  You may think boycotting a brand makes no difference in the big scheme of things, and that the problems are too big to change at a register, but it is definitely a start. Do you get a rush from being petty? Who am I kidding,  of course you do. So let me tell you how it’s proven to be most effective. Like a scorned lover intent on dragging the former apple of your eye through the mud, do your best means girls impression and badmouth the shit out of unethical companies. Ruining an company’s reputation does damage far beyond simply not buying their product. A company will re-brand and advertise and fight tooth and nail to be liked because like all people, they are mad insecure. So find a company whose practices you disagree with and get together with your buddies and eviscerate ’em. Every item you purchase (or don’t) is a statement either for or against a brand and their practices. By supporting locally sourced food, and ethically responsible brands, you are voting with your dollar, and the great thing about money and its power, is that companies, trends, and media will pander to what the people want. Corporations always listen to where the money goes.

Influence

While tackling issues on a local scale and mobilizing the base of a community is an ongoing and unending battle, one that has to be picked up by each new generation through the mentorship of those past. We must use our influence for good, while admonishing the external influences that bombard us constantly, but how?

Well, much like the skewed wealth distribution in the United States, the undeniable power of information is now controlled by five corporations. These five corporations, (or roughly 200 media executives) control what information over 250 million Americans in the U.S. digest. This includes news outlets sure, but also cable TV shows, the radio playlist of the moment across the country, and the new box office features of the week. FCC deregulation has homogenized information and has worked as an obstruction of free press in America. So what can you do? Get your news and entertainment elsewhere and always share your knowledge with anyone willing to listen.

The frequency you emit extends far beyond the scope of what you see. The things we focus on matter and they echo throughout our lives and interactions. Just like a person ravaged by depression who sees the world through a filter of despair, the things we value are woven among the threads in the tapestry of our lives. If we are preoccupied with talking about the latest smart phone on the market, or showing off our newest designer handbag, if we give in to the impulse purchase, and value materialism over empathy, we are part of the problem. Do not get sucked into the need or base desire to indulge in things that will not improve your life. Spend your time and money on things that will further your purpose and community.

As Americans it’s easy to sit in our country of privilege and ignore the chain of events that occur beyond our borders as a direct result of our actions and lifestyles. Every day I am grateful for having the opportunity to live in a country where I can speak freely about whatever issues interest or trouble me on a week to week basis. This however, is a freedom that like many others, can be stripped away at any moment if we, the people, let our government take it away from us. Yesterday, Americans gathered with their families over Thanksgiving dinner and celebrated what Native Americans call a day of mourning. How a country can revolt against an oppressive government and then become the oppressor is the irony of this country. The dark history of exploitation lives on to this day and we cannot sit in the comfort of our homes and ignore the plight of those around us. So instead of heading out on and feeding the machine, rage against it and find a cause you’re willing and proud to back. Until next week, spend your time and money wisely, pry behind the curtain, and keep your double-x fly.