|
Do you feel it?
There’s amazing energy in the movement right now…folks finding their place and showing up in all kinds of ways.
Energy is good. Showing up is good. It also feels like a good time to revisit what it means to be “good”.
Conceptualizations of what it means to be “a good person” are a part of a broader process of socialization that serves to train us in how to play our assigned roles in the dynamic system of oppression. Early on we learn what it means to be obedient, play by the rules, perform the status quo. Of course, none of this is neutral, enforced by a system that either rewards us for following the rules or punishes us for going against the grain.
In American Detox, I wrote: The desire to be good - whether in the eyes of god, or under the banner of meritocracy, or due to social pressure to be perfect - often has more to do with serving ourselves than the people we are trying to serve.
Being "good" fits into a power dynamic that exists to keep us stuck and maintain the status quo. Anand Ghiradarades, author of Winner Takes All, suggests that perhaps instead of trying to be "good" we should try to do less harm. For me, that inspires better questions...
Instead of “how can I be good?”, we could ask “how can I do less harm?"
Instead of “what is the right way?”, we could ask “what is my unique role and responsibility?”
Instead of "how do I do better?", we could ask "how do we grow together?"
Instead of "who's going to save us?", we could ask "how do we create the conditions for liberation and wellbeing for all?"
We must no longer strive to be good, we must strive to be human. Together.
Over the next few months I'm hosting spaces and events to help us return to wholeness and get ready for the work ahead.
You in? 👇
|
