Dearest Self,
I am not going to sugar coat this: I am very disappointed in you. You’ve always told yourself that you wanted to be a civil rights activist. You’ve always wanted to advocate for human rights and equality for all, and yet at the time when activism is needed the most you choose instead to sit in your dorm room and watch Netflix.
Remember the fear and anger that boiled inside you after the November election? After that night, you promised to end your complacency and join the fight for a safe, equal world. But it has been over three months since the election and you have nothing to show for your involvement. Yes, maybe you re-posted a couple of articles on Facebook and you might have attended the Women’s March in Seattle, but that was mainly because those opportunities were overtly convenient. You have yet to challenge yourself, to put yourself on the edge in order to stand up for what you believe in. The complacency that you promised to end in November has infiltrated back into your life. That’s fine, I suppose, but please realize that because of the culmination of your social, cultural, and economic circumstances you have the unique ability to prioritize your homework and your social life over the constant need to fight for your life and liberties. Your complacency stems from your white privilege. Just because you don’t have to be in constant fear that your human rights will be revoked with the flourish of a pen, millions of others don’t share your same security.
Dear self, please realize that attending a single march and complaining on Facebook does not qualify as activism; it is simply a way to justify your inaction. Activism requires the constant campaigning for social change and the continual placing of pressure on your lawmakers to pass equitable bills. Activism is an unceasing movement rather than individual events. While it doesn’t have to necessarily take over your life, activism has to be placed as a priority.
You can at least do something instead of simply waiting for someone else to change the world. I know you consider yourself a crazily busy person, but I can 100% guarantee you that somewhere between class, homework, and mindlessly eating popcorn in your dorm room you can find a couple minutes to contact your congress representatives. This is perhaps the smallest, most minuscule of actions you could possibly do, but at least it is slightly better than inaction.
Dear self, this is no longer the time for complacency. This is the time to join arms with your peers and support all the people across the globe that are fighting for their survival. This is the time to stop allowing the world to wash over you, to get off the couch and earnestly join the fight for human rights.
Sincerely,
Your Disappointed Self
