7 Things I Stopped Entertaining
The events over past two years, principally the pandemic, caused me to be more reflective of the people and things around me. I made the conscientious decision to be an intentional, informed, and independent thinker. The current climate is riddled with bullies broadly and we, the governed, are being gaslit by our government. We are deceived into accepting rubbish propagated by respected pundits and influential celebrities, and are forced to accept.
We exist in a space and time where questioning is violence and originality is demonized. People are intimidated into silence for fear of losing their jobs, getting their assets frozen, or even getting their houses raided for not aligning with the dominant narrative.
So, being coccooned at home over the past two years, I took the time to undergo a journey of undoing. Here I address a few toxic ideas that I clung to; hot topics that are risky to speak on today, but I believe are necessary to challenge.
1. White people are not the problem. It is both irresponsible and lazy to think this way today. It engages no critical thinking and rejects self reflection. Your decisions get you to where you are. One may not be responsible for the life they were born into, but they are responsible for the life they lead. There was a point in history where white people cornered most of the wealth in the country and the hands by which much oppression was inflicted on various people groups, but that is changing and has since changed. We need to delve deeper and investigate why certain things are the way they are. Analysis is worth the journey.
2. Race is not everything. The more that I sit back and observe, the more I see a circular battle playing out that has nothing to do with race at all. Does racism exist? For sure, but it’s not looming as large as the government makes it out to be. But if we’re being honest, the root of all of this is money. The love of money creates divisive circumstances that breed confusion and the absolute worst out of human beings.
a. Monetizing a type of excellent does nothing for a race (i.e. Black excellence, Asian excellence). It is amazing to have excellence and representation but to tribalize it is dangerous. Competence is rooted in character of perseverance not tribes, ethnicities, or race.
3. The rich are not the problem. This would deflate many people’s hate for the rich but while we are here, why not say this. Unfortunately, the hate for the rich and the affluent prevents those who want to be rich and affluent to attain the life they desire. For as we know that our minds prevent us from achieving what we don’t believe we are worthy of possessing. If you believe that others think that you are inferior for whatever reason, you will operate in life as if you are undeserving of success and wealth.
4. Men are not the problem. This does not mean that men do not have problems, or have not created problems for others, but this isn’t exclusive to just men. We need to stop disproportionately burdening men with a responsibility that inhibits self reflection.
5. Abortion is not a women’s rights issue. Abortion is a money hungry scheme. This is one of the most evil ways to collect money. Despite what you may believe, women can achieve careers as mothers. Yes, it will be significantly more difficult but not impossible. A mother faces different challenges than a childless woman, however to believe the lie that a child is a thing that prevents you from achieving success is a dangerous narrative to believe that leads to unmentionable evils, namely the murder of said child. In the same vein, the people who stand to gain from abortions are not women, but those who receive thousands of dollars who get paid to perform the murder; the large organizations who wager that it is more expensive to pay for maternity leave than it is to fund an abortion and then pay for the labor of that woman who believes that they are gaining by killing their child. I assure you it is not a woman who stands to gain positively with an abortion. What women do stand to gain is a lifetime of heartache and regret. Those who are for abortion may never acknowledge this but the reason why this false data that women are not really regretting their abortions are because the ones that do speak out about it are in the walls of the church to bible study groups that are charged to hold their secrets. So automatically there seems to be a disconnect.
6. Victimhood is the new fad. This actually is unbecoming to Black people especially. It glorifies unforgiveness, charges people to live in the past, and promotes emotionalism which makes it incredibly easy to manipulate. When you are emotional, you are easily controlled. Victimhood also breeds a false self-entitlement, crippling a people to want and do better for themselves while criticizing others who do for themselves.
7. The government is highly dependent on your fear. They dictate the fear and you fuel their power. As long as you trust the government to dictate what you should fear they secure the reigns to avert your gaze in the opposite direction to what you truly need to be paying attention to.
The fear of man is rooted in the profound need to be accepted by others. It is better to stand your ground in truth and your convictions and be ostracized than to be accepted by the very people who make you compromise your moral values. Stay true to yourself.
Truth has the freeing quality to the speaker, so consider this my emancipation. It’s a difficult thing to stand in truth even when it is unpopular.
I understand that this may offend the activists’ sensibilities, but I can assure you it wasn’t ignorance lead me to this point. I hope this challenge can spark some curiosity within.
Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.
Signed,
Dani J.
