I think it’s fair to stipulate that America has a kind of love affair with the idea of the rugged individualist. The maverick, the one that stands for their values against all the forces of fate and society because dammit, that’s what they believe and damn the consequences, they will stand.
I get it- a lot of those concepts and words I used also fall into our popular definition of hero, and who doesn’t wanna be a hero? We also influence that attachment to our identities- be you, listen to your voice, know thyself… hang onto that thought, we’re going to come back to it later.
Right now, of course, the ground to stand on has been oh so helpfully defined by the folks in power- and that’s on both sides of the aisle, by the way. And boy, are they ever contemptuous of people that don’t stand with them.
What I find really interesting is the method of shaming of others for people who don’t share the ideals- here’s a short list-
“I bet you’re too scared..”
“I bet you don’t have the balls..”
“There’s something wrong with you if…”
“Everyone has lost their minds…”
“Anyone else got the guts to..”
“I dare you to…”
OK, so, let’s unpack this a little bit… what I’m seeing is that we have an awful lot of folk walking around, convinced that most people are in agreement but lack the spinal or intestinal or testicular fortitude to stand up for whatever the rest of their point is.
Shorthand? I’m a rugged individualist, and everyone secretly thinks like me unless they are crazy or a coward.
And everyone should find their own voices, unless they don’t sound like mine.. but paradoxically, if someone is following guidance I don’t agree with, they are a sheep.
I look at all this, with all of the examples the universe has seen fit to provide lately, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Here’s what I will say- I have no problem with standing for the things I believe in, and I like to think they are pretty universal. If you’re curious- I believe kids have the right to be taken care of and get to grow up in the best circumstances we can give them. I believe in caring about people around me, and would hope they care about me, too. I believe that I have a responsibility to the world at large to try and live a good life, to help lift others up so that they in turn can do the same. I believe unkindness is rampant because it is comfortable.
I spent a lot of my life thinking I wasn’t a good person, that my voice wasn’t important or intelligent or useful. I don’t think that anymore- but I also don’t think my voice is more important, more intelligent or more useful. I respect the fact that there are people that don’t think like I do… that only ends when those opinions stand to cause harm to others being able to see the value in their voices.
If you’ve followed me all the way to the end here, I hope you believe me when I say, from the bottom of my heart- my hope for everyone is that you can be you. Find your authentic voice from what you’ve learned, what you’ve achieved, and who you are.
And if you define yourself by romanticized concepts of the past, weeeellllll…. it would be my hope that you dig a little deeper. The world keeps on moving, and we can give more to it and to ourselves if we live in the present.
Curiouser and Curiouser 