Being Woke Has Turned Into A Race To Senselessness
Today, you are merely an idea, but an idea is just like potential: Energy, which can either be harnessed or untapped.
I always fed into the system. Well, at least I did for most of my life.
Born into Grandma and Grandpa’s home, things were always a certain way. I’m sure this does not surprise you. Our lives were at the center of a terrific, tight-knit community. We prayed at a certain time every morning and evening. Dinner was always served between 8–9 just before Grandpa had to make it back to Shul. Life was simple- we surrendered to a life bigger than ourselves.
Politics was never really a topic of conversation growing up. Sure, we discussed the political climate of Iran and Israel from time to time, but Grandpa never gave me the spiel on why trickle-down economics really is a sustainable conservative policy. Last weekend, I explained to Grandma what the difference was between conservatives and liberals.
Looking back, I realize that Immigrants are living a different reality than your average American. It was about survival in a new place; prosperity was merely a byproduct of what needed to be done.
Grandma and Grandpa were not well versed in culture, let alone political discourse. Our connection to local and national politics was driven mostly but what was best for our community. We supported the candidates we felt would allow us to continue to practice our way of life with ease.
And so, like with many other facets during my formative years, I had to find my own path. I defaulted into consuming mainstream media, and by osmosis, mainstream liberal values. For a long time, I was not even aware of the “other side” of the agenda-driven news cycle I was consuming.
I don’t know if most young people easily self-identify with the mainstream liberal agenda. I know that for me, it just kind of made sense. I did not disagree with most of what I was hearing. In the age of Trump, it’s easy for one side to sway your ability to entertain the other side of the coin.
A few weeks ago, I tuned into a conservative political podcast.Now, I should probably also mention, that this was the first time that I had consumed a conservative show in its entirety. I’m almost 30 years old.
(Back sometime around 2017 we hit the golden era of podcasts. Here is a good recap)
Anyway, A few days in, I came across the following episode.
The topic of conversation on this particular mid-April day was Kyle Korver, a 3-point specialist in the NBA. naturally, I was super interested because it involved sports and politics.
Kyle had written a racially charged think-piece that was received with wide acclaim:
Truth be told, had I read this article before I happened to step outside my comfort zone and given Mr. Shapiro’s podcast a shot, I would have added to the praise Kyle was already getting for writing the article. Let me be clear: I agree with most of what he says in his piece. I simply would not have picked up on the 10% I now clearly disagree with had Ben Shapiro not brought it to light. And that is the following: Just because you are white, does not mean you are responsible for the inequities of your great-great grandfather.
You see kids, in 2019, there is something we call being “woke”. It’s hard to explain, so here is the UD definition:
*”The act of being very pretentious about how much you care about a social issue”
Yeah most people don’t care about parking spaces for families with disabled pets. I wish they were woke like me.*
Like everything else in the social media age, being woke has turned into a race, and the track is social media. Who can be the “Wokest” and over-express on empathy to the point of senselessness? that is where we are in Mid-2019, kids.
Here, check this out (published March 28th, 2019)
“And yet, the people of Silicon Valley seem determined to make themselves miserable. They sit in painful, silent meditations for weeks on end. They starve for days — on purpose. Cold morning showers are a bragging right. Notoriety is a badge of honor.”
That’s right: A BADGE OF HONOR. We brag about everything. It is exhausting.
And so, in an time where the world, factually, has never seen so many of its inhabitants free from terror, hunger, and undernourishment, we starve ourselves and subject our bodies to needless torment.
Life is about balance. Too little empathy is narcissism and too much is border line insanity. Everything in this world needs to be seen through the lens of moderation.
Moderation becomes increasingly unattainable when one insulates oneself in silos, created in large part, to close minded group-think. The Internet has given unprecedented voice to these groups, on all parts of the spectrum. Twitter sucks you in to your comfortable vortex of ideas and opinions, with little to no contact from other thought patterns.
This is where the problem lies, and what you must seek to avoid at all costs, always.
To never give credence, or worse, to not even entertain opposing ideas is asinine, and a highly uneducated ethos. To firmly believe that your ideas must be bullet-proof that no other even merits the time of day, is a good example of way too little empathy. Do not merely default into a pipeline of pre-ordained, rigid beliefs.
If there is just one thing you know about the world, it should be this: Nothing is solid, everything is gray. Every color plays a role in the final tapestry.
