We Are the Moral Failing

We must stop pointing at others, when we should be doing shit ourselves

In the grand scheme of things, what are you doing?

Are you going to work every day? Putting your head down, getting through the spreadsheets, slide decks, and thinking about what you’re going to do when the clock strikes 5?

Are you just waiting to go to the gym? Grab a drink with friends? Maybe get dinner with that crush in that other department you just started talking with?

Are you working on a pet project? A podcast, a piece of art, a short story?

Are you thinking about that vacation you can’t wait to go on? That beach that just has your name on it, that car you are hoping to rent there?

Are you thinking about that new pair of shoes that you want to add to the collection? That new restaurant that opened down the street that has brunch starting at $49, with mimosas, and bacon, and pastries?

Are you contemplating that car that you’ve been dreaming of buying? That new piece of furniture that you’ve been wanting, that silk set of pjs that just showed up on your for you page?

Are you not paying attention to the news because ‘it isn’t good for your mental health’?

Are you ignoring that side of social media, because ‘everyone is so angry, and you just want to relax’?

Are you avoiding those serious conversations that come up when your friends hang out, because ‘you aren’t educated enough to have an opinion’?

Are you closing your eyes when you see stickers, and signs, and flags, and protests?

Are you downplaying the threat to the people in your life from the government and policing institutions that are no longer simply going after the ‘other’ brown people?

Are you staying out of politics, because ‘people get what is coming to them’?

Are you just angry because you ‘deserve’ some quiet time, some peace, some rest?

Are you sure it’s anxiety because of your work load, and your new cycle, and the cost of eggs?

Are you paying attention?

What will you say when you are asked, ‘what did you do?’

Will you have the balls to be honest?

Will your back be straight with pride that you survived this era in time?

Will you speak with conviction about the decisions you made?

Will you have nostalgia about the fact you found a way to center yourself and your rest and your peace during a time of desolation and heartbreak and death?

Will you be able to hold the gaze of your children, grandchildren, or the generations that come outside of you, who will demand to know what you did when the world was crashing down around you?

Will you even know by then, all the things you could’ve done differently?

Will you even be willing to admit that you should’ve done them differently?

You may as well admit it now, before it becomes…

What did you do?

x o x o – jacks