Imagine That

You are taught that your country is a “shining city on a hill”. That is an example of freedom, wealth, and security. But everyday you have less of everything and instead possess a growing sense of oppression, desperation, and ruin. When you complain that the truth is killing you, they say it’s your fault for looking. Returning to bondage is the only way to live free.

Imagine defending a history of genocide, white supremacy, and exploitation with a paper thin facade of manifest destiny and divinity. If you refuse… there are consequences. As fascism’s malignancy grows into its own, the dangers of resistance are increasingly brutal and dangerous.

So you give them your life, the lives of your children, and the wealth of your labor willingly. You sacrifice to a ruling class that only cares about what they can extract from you for their momentary opulence. They are not the leaders they pretend to be. They know that there is no real future in their world, but they just don’t care so long as it means a few more minutes of power and privilege.

Imagine giving reverence to your own exploitation. Striving to believe that you are doing it for your family and community; but knowing that it is a lie. Repressing the reality that you are disposable, a mark in a confidence game.

But you do have a choice. It is the one thing they fear. The one thing that they have no real protection against. You can stop believing their lies, cease obeying their commands, and join in the fight to end their rule.

You can return to yourself, and decide to really live free, instead of clinging to their dying world. It is dangerous to do; but when you understand that they have already taken your life and you can either wait for your own murder or fight to take it back, it is the only choice.