Radical Creative Resistance

I have a confession to make. I haven’t been paying attention to the news lately—not since last November’s election disaster in the United States.

It’s not that I don’t care about the destruction and chaos that is coming our way or that I support any of the policies of this disaster of a human and his wealthy cronies. Rather, it’s because I know that the radical trends occurring worldwide are not just failures of democracy—no, they are failures of humanity.

Ultimately, we will destroy ourselves unless those of us who still retain the capacity for empathy, kindness, and care for others (including strangers and people who are different from us) unite in radical creative resistance.

I have been practically hiding in a metaphorical pillow fort, wondering how to fix what’s broken. How do we change anything when so many people cannot see beyond their selfish needs, wants, and desires? These goals blind them to reality, and they vote against their own well-being.

How do we make a change in a world that insists on hating anyone or anything different or beyond their understanding? How do we support others when we’ve been told that the only thing that matters is wealth, wealth, and more wealth?

For me, the answer lies at the intersection of love and creativity and requires a collaborative commitment to radical creative resistance.

Before you come at me, I acknowledge that AI has its uses as a TOOL to help, but much of our situation comes from the fact that we have all succumbed to versions of the world that are bot, or AI-generated. We’ve lost the capacity to recognize fact from fiction, fallen victim to well-made (and technologically supported) propaganda campaigns, and turned our lives over to influencers who have learned how to use tools of technology to curate an image of themselves and their lives that may not be real.

Suggested solutions: Follow and support authentic people. Unfollow the toxic ones. Have conversations with new people (even if they don’t look like you). Trust your gut when it says, “This isn’t real.” Choose authentic connections over imagined relationships.

Share does not mean I will tell you my and then walk away. Share means that I will tell you my truth, AND I will listen to yours. The act of sharing and listening is an act of love, and it is crucial to survival. How can we ever come together if we close our ears and eyes to the people and the world around us? We can’t. We have to recognize the humanity within us regardless of race, gender, religion, education, etc. It starts by speaking and listening, even though that’s hard to do.

Suggested Solutions: Participate in communities and projects that focus on ideas, creativity, play, and a better world beyond the limits of your defined community identity. Practice active listening and holding space for difficult conversations. Listen with love as the intent—not romantic love or opportunistic love, but the love of human potential.

This is hard to do when we live in a competitive, individualistic world that feels threatened by the success of others. I promise, there’s enough pie to go around. When someone creates something that resonates with humanity, amplify that person. When someone speaks truth to power in a way that makes you rethink your own opinion, share it. Stop sharing the toxic memes and jokes, or the clickbait. Ignore the people whose voices have overwhelmed our media with toxicity. Don’t share their names, their quotes, or their images. Focus on the voices that matter the most—the ones that see all humans as having the potential and ability to thrive together.

Suggested Solution: This is challenging when news media wants to focus on clickbait-able headlines and toxic people, but the more people say “ENOUGH!”, the more we can change the story.

This is the most difficult and requires a community of people willing to take risks. I can’t tell you to break laws, but if a law is unjust, is it work following? I can’t tell you to put yourself at risk for strangers, but if you look into the eyes of a stranger, you will see another human being who could become a friend. I can’t tell you where the line is between passive resistance and protective action, but when it comes to people I love (even those I don’t know yet), I’d rather be hurt than watch them suffer injustice.

Suggested solution: Only you can define the steps you are willing to take. However, by building collaborative communities, we will discover that we are not alone in the struggle. Build one! Join one! And don’t give up hope!