Wri Fri: George Floyd

Usually, I post blog interviews with other amazing indie authors on Fridays before hosting Friday Night Reads. This Friday is different. This Friday I'm exchanging fantasy for a bit of reality, instead. The other day I was reminded that since I feel isolated and distanced from what I believe is systemic racism in our world today, I can continue with life as usual.

But life is anything but usual or normal or right. There is a mass disconnect between races, economic classes... the list goes on... and it will not be solved by anything short of a comprehensive overhaul of our hearts, minds, socio-economic divides, the justice system, and government.

Recently, as I was enjoying some takeout Chinese food I got a fortune which has really stuck with me. It reads, "A different world cannot be built by indifferent people."

Let that sink in.

...

And before we all move on with our goldfish attention spans, let's also take a moment to realize that we (You. Me. Each of us) are the indifferent people.

We want to be the right ones. We want to be the ones who tell everyone else to change. We're the ones who retweet but don't vote. Click like but don't run for office. Forget in a few months.

Because the problems we face are systemic, they aren't going to be solved by a single blog post or a comment on social media. Change has to come from the heart and it has to stick around. It has to cement into the real workings of our everyday business and economic structure. It has to ride shotgun with our police and emergency personnel. It must become more important than money. More important than re-elections. More important than popularity. More important than fame. More important than success.

Justice must actually be Just again.

And even if we fail, we must change our own hearts - reorientating ourselves to try and try again and try some more. Even if that makes us poor. Even if that makes us vulnerable. Even if it costs us everything. Some things Matter.

Because a different world cannot be built by indifferent people - me among them.

Some things we can all do:

Speak Out. Whether that means protesting or calling out racism and injustice as it happens in front of us. Be the change we want to see in the world.
Vote. Justice doesn't have a political affiliation. Corruption, greed, and injustice will continue. Let's make sure we continue to adapt against it.
Run for Office. Ownership means responsibility. This is our country and our world. It's not a corporation. It's not a Thingshate group. It's not a military.
Continue to Make Good Art. It's not about money or ratings or exposure. It's about changing the hearts, minds, and imaginations of what IS possible through creativity, ingenuity, and skill.