micahsmusing - Tumblr blog

[micahsmusing]

“We hold it as an inviolable principle that racism must be opposed by all the means that humanity has at its disposal. Wherever it occurs it has the potential to result in a systematic and comprehensive denial of human rights to those who are discriminated against.”

Flashback Friday to June 1990 when Nelson Mandela addressed the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the United Nations General Assembly Hall.

In the decades-long fight against apartheid, the UN stood side-by-side with Nelson Mandela and all those in South Africa who faced unrelenting racism and discrimination.

Nelson Mandela’s journey from prisoner to president was the triumph of an extraordinary individual against the forces of hate, ignorance and fear – and it was a testimony to the power of courage, reconciliation and forgiveness to overcome the injustice of racial discrimination.

Racism, xenophobia and intolerance remain problems prevalent in all societies. But every day, each and every one of us can learn from the example of Nelson Mandela by standing up against racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes.

Be a human rights champion: Fight racism and stand up for someone’s rights today:  http://www.un.org/en/letsfightracism/

📷: UN Photo / P. Sudhakaran

[micahsmusing]

Identity of One Millennial

I am 27 years old and just beginning to unlock my desire to milk life dry of experience and dream chasing. It took years of tangible life experience to figure out that I did not want the future that others had planned for me. I was greater than the glass ceiling projections that had been so coercively placed inches above my head. From a young age I had been a dreamer and doer but years of being told to fit in a mold of idealism left me without confidence, courage, or hope. Yet, through all the pressures of socialization, I always knew that I looked at the world differently than the people around me. My mother was born the middle child in a family of six children. She was raised during the 1950’s and 60’s when women’s domestication was being challenged and rivaled by the realization that we could achieve any dream we cherished in our hearts. I believe this sentiment of freedom unnerved my mother. She drifted backward across decades of hard won battles fought by both men and women to free women from the restrictions placed on them by both the patriarchy and social pressures women forced upon each other. Instead of embracing the challenge of freedom she shrunk back into a comfortable existence. One in which she always had to hold herself back from upstaging her husband by learning both to manipulate his ego and detract from her own natural ability. My father was a victim of the patriarchy as much as my mother was self imprisoned by it. Though he was a large man, strong and fully capable of any task, he was never quite masculine enough, or rich enough, or influential enough to fit the ideals of being a “real man”. He spent his life trying to prove his worth to people who simply didn’t care or to sharks who devoured his efforts and left him with even less confidence than he started with. That left me, their oldest child and only daughter in a lifelong defensive position. For my mother, I was never “pure” enough or modest enough. I was always challenging my father when he would fly into a rage and mistreat my mother and little brother. For my mother, that meant I was not demur enough and this would be a greatly unmarriageable trait in a woman. For my Father, I regretfully realized only much later, it only challenged his masculinity further. I broke their hearts because I didn't understand who they were or where they were coming from. Instead, challenge I became only served as a great source of energy for my father to tame his little shrew and after many explosive interactions I was broken into silence. By the middle of high school I was dragged about by both parents and paraded in the faces of each of their friends as a trophy of etiquette and humility. I had to be a Sunday school teacher, and sing in the worship band. I had to be smart but not so smart that I had my own mind. Little by little my individual identity was stripped away and I became a porcelain doll; painted perfectly but truly hollow inside. I hated the world of humans. To me, no one wanted anything for free. There were rules in the world of people. Rules you had to conform to in order to survive day to day life. As often as I could, I would sneak away and find refuge in nature and in my own imagination. I wasn’t allowed to have my driver's license until I was 18 because my parents wanted me close to home and “safe” from the treacherous world. When I finally learned to drive I would leave home for hours on end. I would drive through the fire-kissed sequoias of the Sierra Nevadas and I would discover every possible access road to my safe havens in the hills. These long drives gave me time to wonder what was wrong with me. I often mulled over the problem that I felt more kindred a connection with the wildness and freedom of the mountains, summer meadow flowers, and free roaming animals than I did with the members of my species. When I attempted to fight for justice I failed. When I sat quietly, I forced my own forfeit. I was the girl on the outside. Girl on the outside could never fit in. She didn’t fit at home, she didn’t fit as a wild thing. She had no one who looked at her without seeing a quantitative pay out. Girl on the outside was hollow and without purpose, identity, or connection. Through all of this confusion, I did the only thing people do. I adapted. I learned the social game I'd been taught and tried my hardest to play by the rules. I squeezed and pinched myself into this prefabricated box of the ideal and I never looked up to see the glass above my head. Even now my self consciousness says that telling this story breaks my look of strength and says I'm good enough to play like the others do. But I learned that showing weakness and being transparent shows much more courage than hiding the dark spots away. I learned this lesson in much the same way that I had learned others. This time, I did something different. Every once in a while, life throws something at you so hard it shakes the foundations of every construct you’ve built around you. Life gave me some powerful blows that knocked me so far off everything I had built that I had to start squeezing and pinching to fit in again. But life gave me something else. It gave me a Professor. This man treated me as an intellectual equal. He challenged my ideas and welcomed my challenging of his. He encouraged me to push through the limitations I had set in my own mind and drove me forward with a hungry curiosity to really understand the world like I never had before. He gave me books that confused me and made me frustrated at the darkness in the world and then showed me that these authors felt the same pressure of idealistic boxes that I did. Instead of asking me to think about the words on the page or regurgitate the information I’d read, he asked me to understand how the author was trying to insight change in the world. Literature and Professor Fritz changed my life. I was no longer girl on the outside. Instead I was a person of valuable thought. I read everything I could get my hands on and the more I read, the more I realized that every one has felt this societal pressure in a multitude of ways. The more I read through eras of history, philosophy, and social change, the more I realized that simply embracing yourself and being courageous enough to tell your story can change the way people look at the world. It can change the way they behave and it can inspire others who’s hearts have been broken by human greed and human pride to break free of their respective chains. It can stir a generation into action and fuel a revolution. I have been practicing this notion of freedom and I have many kindred spirits. The people who frown at our ideas and ridicule our desire to reshape the world are people like my own parents, broken, afraid, demoralized, and locked away in the comfort of their constructed reality, and knowing no better. I don’t hate those people, I pity them. To be locked away, hating everything that challenges your ideals because if one block in their wall is revealed as false, their who facade comes tumbling down. These are the people who blame millennials for changing the status quo. They tell us we are weak and distracted by technology, incapable of human interaction, and clueless about the mechanics of the world. The reality is that together we have build some of the biggest interpersonal networks of knowledge, cultural exchange, information, and human connection in the entire history of the human race. We have banded together to become empathetic and understanding and no longer tolerate corporate creed, racism, sexism, or even extreme nationalism. We have learned that no matter what you look like or where you come from, you are just like me. Struggling people on the outside. Battling their own wastelands of isolation, We, as a generation, have learned how to reach out and support each other from around the globe. THAT is the change we are bringing. We are here to shake up the establishment of social constraint and economic oppression and eradicate the comfort of constructed reality. THAT is why we are so often railed against. Because we no longer accept the glass ceiling. We thrive on innovation and new ideas and we realize that we have to fix ourselves in order to save ourselves rather than tear down whoever we perceive to be our competition in a survival of the fittest. We are truth tellers and we refuse to wear blinders or be canaries in a cage. I am 27 years old and I am just beginning to tap into my talents, my dreams, my gifts, and my humanity. I am telling my story because I will no longer be silenced by the “ideal”. I am no longer a hollow porcelain doll and I have realized that my beauty is the light within my own unique heart. I am girl unchained.

[micahsmusing]

Jim Carrey: I Needed Color from SGG on Vimeo.

[micahsmusing]

Outrage and media attention helped to gain footing with the fight against the DAP but the fight isn't over. We still need to vigilant even if media coverage has dwindled away. Watch this video and then take action

[micahsmusing]

Akon Lighting Africa from David Monfort on Vimeo.

[micahsmusing]

Squaw Valley CA, #smalltownUSA #Backyardadventures

[micahsmusing]

Life and Lemons and Other Stuff

Every one has heard that old saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. I know I’m not the only one thinking that lemonade has more ingredients than just lemons. At the very least we need sugar and where are we supposed to get that? Besides, if we were all making lemonade, why are we still battling world hunger? Why are we making cruel jokes, discriminating on any possible level, even disowning our own family members? Why do we still bicker over things that happen ages ago even on national fronts? If we really did decide to make lemonade, what kind of world would that be? I think we all know that a perfect utopia isn’t going to happen. We are still humans; desolate, selfish, bitter, and cruel. We still fall short on a daily basis. Our scientists spend more time developing military drones and redesigning the Dodge Challeneger for umpteenth time rather than finding a way to cure AIDS, cancer, or even developing more ecofriendly modes of transportation. Our infrastructure is crumbling under the weight of so many people and our farmlands suffer from lack of water. When you take a step back, there seems to be so many lemons in this batch we could drown in their acidity. Maybe the universe is just one giant lemon tree. So what is the point of that saying we should make lemonade? If everything seems so hopeless and incurably corrupt, then what are we as small individuals in a monstrous world supposed to do about it? Einstein and Madam Curie may have been able to change the world but who are we to be compared to them? They were geniuses and had dedication, and lets face it, most of us lack the concentration to even finish reading the terms of agreement on iTunes. Thinking about it all like this seems to create even more lemons for us to try to squeeze, and while we are being honest, most us just buy our lemonade at the local grocery store anyway. Who even makes lemoade anymore? Once I read a joke someplace that said “When life gives you lemons, throw them back”. I liked that saying way better. First of all, I was raised with a brother in a highly competitive family where every one does everything decently and nothing especially well. Needless to say, I can throw a ball as well as the next guy and with all the frustration of global failure, throwing something seems like a great solution. What was that first thing? Battling world hunger? Well if I were to throw a lemon back at that, I’d start educating those around me. Yes, there are starving people in the world and no, I’m not telling you that that is why you should finish eating everything on your plate. Im saying go and volunteer in food line, give financially to those charities who actually use your funds to accomplish goals instead of setting their presidents up in five star hotels in Belize for the weekend. Do your research and open your heart to the need on your own street, in your own neighborhood, in your own community. Start there and don’t slow down! Reach out to your friends and enlighten them! Pass the torch and start chucking some lemons of your own! Next on the task list was our flawed personal lives. Well that’s new. You see so much heart break everyday. Some of our top grossing entertainments involve stories of people who fall on hard times. We love to watch their climb back to the top and we all hate the mean girl in the generic high school, we hate the villain thats trying to blow up the world or commit genocide, and we definitely hate that mean old Simon Cowell-the guy has no heart right? Really though, we are, each and every one of us, villains of our own. We lie, cheat, belittle others, make cruel jokes, gossip, and treat each other with disrespect. Even the best of us are arrogant and quick to judge. We hold grudges for years and yet we wonder at the escalation of the Hattfields and the McCoys. We’d never be like that right? Hand me a lemon because I’m going to start pitchin’. Clean it up! Know that every one else out there no matter their size, shape, color, background, parents, or circumstances has been just as jaded and just as poisoned by life as you have. We have all felt that pain of rejection, the bitterness of defeat, and that life altering embarrassment. Stop passing it on. I’m just as guilty as next guy on this one too. I get upset and say things I really don’t mean, I get caught up in my own troubles and I lash out at others, but I think this starts a chain reaction. Time for another oldie but goodie, “A smile is contagious” so put on that smile every time you think about it. By no means can we ever be whole, perfect humans but we can get better if we practice. The more you think about it and practice kindness, the easier comes to you. Try asking that kid over the counter how their day is going instead of just talking about your own, maybe hold the door for someone who looks like they need a hand, and if you start to say something harsh, try to identify it and say two positive things instead. The real biggie though is this: Forgive those who offend you. It’s tough I know and you may have the most valid reasons in the world for wanting to be frustrated but is it really worth it? To hold on to that lemon and coddle it like it’s your soulmate even as your face puckers up from the sour taste in your mouth? Drop it. Throw it away from you as hard as you can!Throw it back by showing understanding and patience. Throw it back by growing a thick skin or maybe by kindly being honest with some one. Throw it back by being nice! Well, there’s a thought…be nice, be considerate, be honest, practice my little Dimaggio’s, practice! The world is hard and it really feels like no one wins. We can’t walk a mile in each other’s shoes, but we can walk along side one another. We can’t all be geniuses but we can pass our torches to help illuminate each other, and eventually whole communities and countries. We can’t stop hunger or make it rain but we can share with those around us and we can decide that the environment is more important than our need for speed. We can start to look at each other with eyes of kindness instead of judgement. We can try to see that we each have our flaws and if we want to make changes on a big scale, we should start by changing our own hearts and habits. I think that’s part of what God’s will for us is. To learn how to love unconditionally, selflessly, mercifully, and humbly. We must do what we can with our opportinities and we must know that not one of us is any better than the other. We have to stop settling for less. We are complaining about our own lemons all the time, but we are so sour in ourselves that we are just perpetuating this stinking state of lemon giving! Start throwing back all these lemons instead passing them on. We can use it as our combined source of a healthy release of frustration. Throw them back with the mindset of generosity and love and each day your life will become a little sweeter and little sweeter by blessing some one else. This idea brings us full circle because at the end of the day, we have found that missing sugar, our lemons are smashed up from all that throwing and look what we’ve made! Lemonade.