March 6, 2021

Before I continue, I want to make a few things clear. I fully understand the power and gravity of my words. However, I am also a human being who is frustrated and angry. Just because I am angry does not mean my words are not true. Make no mistake: this is not the space for neutral and objective language. This is the space to tell the truth.

Movies are powerful tools. They have the ability to show us truths we are unwilling to acknowledge about ourselves and our society in a way most people can understand---through stories. They also have the power to inspire. Exactly two months since rioters invaded the American Capitol, I happened across two films of consequence: A Face in the Crowd (1957) and Gandhi (1982).

The first film shook me to my core because it felt like a prophecy of what the American people---and really the world---would be forced to endure 59 years later. The similarities are striking and disturbing. The figure who stains these writings as well as history would have been about 10 years old when this film was made. It leaves me wondering whether or not he has seen the film and in combination with the ruthless, twisted upbringing of his father became the weak, pitiful creature he is today.

The second film is the complete antithesis of the first. It chronicles the adult life of its namesake, documenting incidents of racism he endured as a young lawyer through his transformation into an advocate and fighter for India's independence from the British Empire. What made Gandhi a remarkable figure was his philosophy of nonviolence; he toppled a powerful entity with quiet resistance and perseverance.

Figures like Gandhi, Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Henry David Thoreau teach us that the people have the power to change things, but sometimes it requires defying unjust laws and unjust governments. However, defiance does not equal violence. Civil disobedience, courage, a willingness to endure physical and emotional pain, patience, nonviolent demostrations, and love are only a handful of the things needed to honor the trailblazers listed and the hundreds more who worked and fought with them for what is right. The baton of civil rights has been passed to the next generation. With the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and too many others, the lynchings of the past have been thrust into the lights of day. The ropes have been replaced with bullets, but the effect and motivation remains the same. For young people, this in no longer history: it is here; it is now.

In a similar vein to civil rights, the right to vote is now threatened. The rash of disenfranchisement is spreading across the country. In the majority of states, bills have been introduced by Republicans to restrict access to voting. You are either blind or kidding yourself if you think this isn't racially motivated by sore losers who can't figure out how to win American elections the proper way. This party couldn't even put together a document that spells out their ideas for the 2020 election; they recycled the outdated one from 2016. No wonder they are trying to cheat their way into power. They have no policy, plans, or ideas.