We can all admit it: it's so, so easy to pass the blame onto someone else. I remember blaming messes on my preschool friends, blaming bad grades on my teachers, blaming a bad self-haircut on an online tutorial, and finally, blaming things I don't like about our modern world on "society".
I'm sure you've heard people do it, or even done it yourself.
"Ugh, this is dumb. I hate society"
"Society really has their priorities messed up."
"I wish I could just change society!"
Especially now, after the election, this blaming has become much more prevalent. Even I was using phrases like these to try and justify everything that took place. I was stuck in the mentality, that I, as one person, have no flaws. I had done everything right and the my ands were clean of the problems of our nation. I started revisiting the thought that one person can't make a difference, no matter how perfect (or in my case imperfect) they are.
And that's when I had to stop and ask myself, "When am I going to start taking responsibility?"
I was moping around after the election, defeated, believing that I had done everything I could. But when I really thought about what had happened, and wondered how I could have been so wrong, I realized that blaming "society" wasn't right and wasn't making things any better.
Like the majority of those around me, I watched what was happening as candidates began their campaigns. I watched as different candidates were targeted by different agendas. I watched as the primaries concluded. I watched as TV shows caricatured the two candidates. I watched as the nation collectively slowly paying more and more attention to the dim TV screen, and I watched my face in the mirror as I cried and cried and cried while in utter and absolute shock.
I treated this election like entertainment. All of us who are blaming "society", WE treated this election like entertainment. In a way, that's all politics is to us, some twisted way to entertain ourselves every four years.
We are the society we love to hate, it is made up by all of us. The left, the right, we each contribute our presence, our thoughts, and our actions to our communities. We have freedom to speak the way we want and we're using it to blame. As we continue to blame "society" we continue to blame ourselves.
I am calling YOU to take responsibility for the society you are apart of and to lead it with all of your might in the direction you want it to go. Along the way you will connect with so many members who share your same ideals and you can change things.
This is our call to action. This is our call to own our rights and stand up for what we believe in. Change doesn't just happen, society (us!!) makes it happen, and these movements start with one thought from one mind.
