For the People?
With the recent news (that I know we are all aware of) it feels a bit selfish and tone-deaf to fill your inboxes with lines of whatever I’ve been thinking about for the last two weeks. But, for the sake of being consistent with this newsletter and exercising my writing muscles, I’m going to type away and see what appears on this page while I mull over the state of the world (the US), how we’re forced to keep living our lives as if everything is okay (read: it is absolutely not okay), and how honestly, things feel quite hopeless right now.
Hopefully you find this relatable, and I apologize in advance if this newsletter comes off pessimistic or bitter - but I think all the feelings are valid. Nonetheless, we keep moving. Unsure if we’re moving forwards or backwards at this point, but we are...moving.
It’s become abundantly clear time and time again that we are seen as lower than humans. Somehow, it feels as if every week we manage to move backwards, rather than adapting to the times, and building a more loving, caring, nurturing world - but I guess that would go against everything that the US seems to currently stand for. I saw a tweet this week by @writtenbyhanna - “A country founded on the principle that people can be property will never be a country that will allow its citizens to have full autonomy or personhood. The beginning of freedom for all of us means an end to a country that has a vested interest in our subordination.”
I have nothing else to add - other than to say, I guess pushing our judicial system (as well as politicians, leaders, you name it...) to truly be “for the people” is asking for too much. It certainly shouldn’t be. It appears that if you aren’t a wealthy, heterosexual white male, you are not included in this “people” that seems to be written in invisible ink. When will we have control over ourselves? When will the exploitation end? When can we send our children to school, without fear? When will marginalized communities no longer be marginalized? When will we have equal, accessible resources (cough cough healthcare) for all? When will it be enough of a wake up call for our systems to be re-evaluated, re-designed, and re-structured?
When will we as a community, as a whole, feel supported by this place we call “home”?
The questions are endless, but the obvious answers seem nowhere in sight. These days, I find myself clinging on to whatever “control” I feel like I have over my future - figuring out my career, diving head first into school, or using exercise as a means to escape while “working on myself” and feeling “productive” - like it even matters during these times. Sometimes it feels as if the only time my mind is blank is when I’m running, sweat dripping down my face, music blasting in my ears so loudly that I can’t feel my own heartbeat. Healthy? Probably not. But as a brown, 20 something year old woman in this world, it feels as if the only thing I can do is pour into myself, so that I can eventually pour into others - into community, into the world.
We keep pushing. We hope for change, and believe so strongly that it will come.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading Jia Tolentino’s powerful piece on the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe. v. Wade.
Take care of yourself, but others, too.
With love,
Nivita