“Gotta get it together forever”
– Phife Dawg on A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Space Program”
Last month, I spoke about the important of coming together. This month, especially as a result of the recent election, I must re-emphasize that. Instead of just talking on coming together though, I wanted to talk about overcoming division. It’s somewhat of the same idea, but it’s different in a way too. Coming together doesn’t necessarily address the severed ties that we have and the differences that separate us. By titling this “overcoming division”, I wanted to tackle the topic of why we’re divided in the first place and why it’s so important to overcome that. This one’s gonna be a goody.
Before that though, welcome to the Ajaxxx.com November 2016 Opinions Column. This is where I’ll talk about what’s on my mind, as I always do. Here goes…
So the election happened. It was ugly, bitter, and quite polarizing. While it was full of drama, it was also extremely divisive. I’ve seen stories of Muslim girls having their hijabs ripped off, vandalism against African Americans, and I’m sure many of you have seen the video of middle schoolers chanting “Build the Wall” in school. It’s sad. After all the progress that we made with electing the first black president, I feel like we’ve reverted back to prehistoric times where individuals with archaic mindsets have emerged from their caves with their backward-ass thinking. And with a campaign filled with lots of negative rhetoric towards certain minorities by Trump, it didn’t help.
While these acts are absolutely heinous, I’ve seen the division on the other side too. Rallies in numerous cities, some inciting violence, have popped up across the country. There are also stories of youths attacking Trump supporters. So you see the divide on both sides. And I mean, it’s very disenfranchising to witness it and wonder how it’s gotten this bad.
I already expressed that I was unhappy with the election results. How can a candidate that built his campaign on such negativity have won? At the same time though, I realize that many people felt left out by the government and wanted drastic change. Some even voted for him just to send a message. It’s taken me awhile to get over this (actually, I’m still grieving) but I have too many moves to make to get me down. So yeah.
Now let me emphasize, and I mentioned this last month…it’s not all apocalyptic out there. The media tends to exaggerate things and highlight the extremities. For most people, they will move forward and continue to live life. But there still IS a large group of people, on both sides, that are angry. It’s a krazy time man.
I think the election brought out the worst in people and gave a silent majority the empowerment it needed. It’s also made a lot of minorities feel like second-hand citizens, which is disappointing considering many of them are Americans. Honestly, America can’t continue like this. We need to come together. Otherwise, it’ll only get worse.
So what can we do to help? Do we write blog posts, similar to the one I’m writing now? Do we march with protesters and try to make our voices heard? Or do we sit back and watch TV because we realize the problem is bigger than us? It’s entirely up to you, really. In my opinion though, if you do care about making your world around you better, get involved. It could be something as simple as reaching out to your neighbor or volunteering at a local charity. Or, it could be running for local office and organizing rallies. Here’s a good link with more information. Whatever it is that you want to do, I encourage everyone to build bridges and find common ground with each other. Because like I said back in December 2016, “if you can look past the differences, you’ll realize we’re more alike than you think.” Even the minorest of actions (and I don’t think that’s a word lol) can go a long way.
And with that said, I’ll leave you with a video that I recently heard while visiting NY to shoot my upcoming video (shameless plug, ehem). Hope it resonates with you the same way it does with me.
Stay up, stay safe, and hold ya head. Ajaxxx signin’ out, peace!
Photo credit:
androidcentral.com
