Life, Liberty, and Other Things I Believe In

Featured image: Photo by Aditya Saxena from Unsplash. Edited in Affinity Designer. For audio, see the highlight from the video of my live reading on Twitch.

4 for Now

This week, I thought it would be good to state some things I believe in explicitly, for a few reasons: 1) to contextualize what I write, 2) to give new readers a quick introduction, and 3) to spark discourse around ideas that may pique your interest.

I believe:

• We must center humanity. When we center profits and power, we neglect life.
• White-abled-neurotypical-cishet-Christian is not the default worldview. When we center everything around this identity, we increase struggles, erase cultures, censor creativity, and obstruct innovation.
• All people deserve equal respect and kindness, because no one is lesser or greater than anyone else.
• We should not oppress anyone, for any reason. Until we stop oppressing people, those with privilege must use that privilege to uplift those who are oppressed.
• Oppression is systemic. As long as our system relies on oppressions, we will continue to learn them.
• We should take no life—human or other animal—needlessly. If survival is not at stake, there is no need to kill.
• We are harming the planet at an alarming rate, which continuing wasteful, capitalistic ways will not alleviate.
• We are stronger together than we are separate. When we work together, we can achieve our goals quicker, easier, and with less suffering.
• Equitable housing, food, healthcare, education, and potable water should be available and accessible for all people.
• Mutual aid is more effective than legislation (as legislation is often the problem).
• We must be aware of how our actions affect others, now and in the future.
• We should focus on education and health services over incarceration and capital punishment.
• All people have inherent worth. We should not be tying a person’s worth to their productivity or to how well they assimilate into the majority culture.
• Those who labor should benefit from their labor.
• We have healthier relationships when we work out our own issues first, both as individuals and as a country.
• Having rich folks controlling the country is bad for poor folks. The rich will always allow into power those who further their own agendas, leaving the rest of us to suffer.
• Police exist to protect the wealthy. They are not here to serve the rest of us.
• Any market with only two major options, neither of which fully serve consumers, is not a free market. Similarly, a government with only two major parties, neither of which serve citizens, is not a true democracy.
• Our government was designed this way. There’s nothing to “fix.” We need change, not reformation.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but I feel it gives reasonable context for what I write. I think it also helps to show how similarly many of us believe, even if we don’t claim the same belief systems. Exploring what we agree on helps us realize we can work together to achieve common goals to benefit us all, regardless of how we identify.

4 for Later

1. A Tale of Two Classes by Monica Moorhead (8-minute read).
2. Vietnam Puts Human Lives Before the Economy! by Luna Oi! (23-minute video)
3. Mutual Aid Is Essential to Our Survival Regardless of Who Is in the White House by Dean Spade (27-minute read)
4. Are You An Anarchist? The Answer May Surprise You By David Graeber (16-minute read)