On the Shoulders of Giants

Across the nation there is a feeling of tension in the air, tempers are high, bonds of trust and common courtesy have frayed, and people seem more willing than ever to burn the bridges of friendship in the name of being right. Hatred permeates through society and festers in social media threads, entrenching already divisive rhetoric into echo chambers on both sides. And for those of us who feel the country is heading in the wrong direction there is an accompanying sense of despair that can feel like an ever-present dark cloud looming overhead. It can be paralyzing to see the breakneck speed at which the new administration is moving to dismantle the institutions that have made our country great, all the while our elected leaders on the left seem intent on doing nothing so as not to upset a status qou that is crumbling before our eyes or rock a boat that is already sinking.

I know how easy it can be to feel jaded and apathetic in such an environment, but we cannot give up; because that is precisely what they want us to do. All throughout history the oppressor has relied on the apathy of the oppressed to entrench their power, because they know there is strength in unity of the people. Ignorance can be bliss in the moment but eventually reality will catch up with you. Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand but rather it is the time to speak up and fight back; before we find ourselves too far down a path we cannot come back from. We must not wilt anyway in the face of adversity or challenging circumstances, no matter how daunting or futile it may seem at times. We must remember that each time this nation has been faced with a great challenge we have always overcome it, and we will do so again.

In the late-stage social media age, it can be easy to fall into the trap of doomscrolling through increasingly bad news and what seems like rampant negativity, but that’s why community is more important now than ever. Whether it’s the website formally known as Twitter, Reddit, or Facebook, these sites have become increasingly siloed and less of online public squares for discourse as they were intended to be. This perpetuates a mindset of ‘us versus them’, but as hard as it may seem we have to resist the temptation to give into hate, and push back on the thought that our fellow Americans are our enemies. We must remember the underlying thread that is a desire for a better America that drives us all, even if we feel our fellow countryman are severely misguided in their path to get there.

The antidote for apathy and anger is human connection and a sense of belonging. Coming together as like-minded individuals to work for a better America, no matter how small the task, builds comradery and gives you a certain sense of accomplishment and hope you cannot find on an app or through a screen. Doing tangible work in the community is rewarding enough in itself but also helps to build relationships with other great organizations, like Habitat for Humanity and local food banks. When we come together as a group we can bring real change to our communities, and the road ahead of us will seem less daunting when we know we don’t have to go it alone.

Make no mistake, this nation has come to a crossroads. We the people of this country need to ensure our leaders hear our voices and know the path forward we wish to take. The constitution has allotted us the tools to achieve this through peaceful protest, legal assembly, and freedom of speech; the backbones of all great grassroots movements. We need to not re-invent the wheel, but rather look to the examples of the past to find inspiration. History can be our teacher if we care to listen. Look to Martin Luther King Jr’s peaceful protest movement of the civil rights era and his determination to use love rather than hate to drive out racism, and the courage it took to do so in the face of such vitriol and violence. Look to the youth of the 1960s and early 1970s who came together to protest an unjust war in Vietnam. Look to the late congressman John Lewis who famously said “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, to redeem the soul of America.” These are the giants of the past whose shoulders we stand on today. These are the movements we must emulate to voice our frustration and anger. We must find courage in their examples of the past to carry on the fight today, to pursue what we know is right in the face of increasingly hostile circumstances, and indeed, “redeem the soul of America.”

Alexander Johansson