Day 27: Power
#evolving40 Day 27: #Power
We’re living in a time when the balance of power is shifting under our feet. White patriarchy is finally beginning to crumble, in spite of those who benefit holding to it fast with a death grip. Countries led by women are faring remarkably well against COVID. Diverse groups of TikTok teens and K-Pop stans are mobilizing with lightning speed to derail Trump rallies. Young people of color led the charge for Mississippi’s Black Lives Matter protests and the removal of our racist state flag.
The pandemic has changed power in business nearly overnight, with mass layoffs at companies like Yelp and Eventbrite that relied on in-person activities, and skyrocketing stock for online collaboration companies like Zoom and Slack. Small, scrappy businesses can pivot more quickly than huge, unwieldy ones.
Even before COVID, the internet has been empowering everyday people to find ways around the former gatekeepers of power. They can publish their own books and music, start businesses from scratch, learn just about any skill imaginable, and generally advance in life without taking the trodden path to success.
Images of power in media have begun to catch up to reality, too. When I think “power” today, I do not think of the president or the military like I might have 25 years ago. I think of AOC, Malala, and Stacey Abrams, of Oprah, Beyoncé, and Lizzo. I think of my trifecta of literary activists -- Elizabeth Gilbert, Glennon Doyle, and Brené Brown -- who can raise millions of dollars for the most vulnerable in a matter of days and deploy it to them swiftly.
Darren’s favorite show, The Expanse, is trailblazing in its representation of power. Much of the onscreen action in the futuristic space drama is driven by female characters of color: a savvy world leader, fleet commander, ingenious engineer, or highly trained Marine. The show redefines the idea of male power, too. Ship captain James Holden is a great leader because he can de-escalate conflict and unite factions around a shared goal, using force as a regrettable last resort. This is a far cry from the Rambo model of power that many of us grew up with, and it is the kind we need to progress as a society rather than destroying ourselves.
As individuals, we are each needing to find our own internal sources of power to cope with the uncertainty and suffering of this time. I’ve been thinking a lot about neurologist/psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” a memoir of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. Frankl writes about the human power to adapt to the unthinkable, the inherent meaning of life even in suffering and death, and the freedom to choose your response to any situation -- something that can never be taken away.
Though it can be unsettling that we can no longer count on the structures we’ve relied on for so long, it also presents an opportunity to completely rebuild them from the ground up. As many think pieces have suggested, let’s not return to normal on the other side of COVID, because “normal” was working well for only a small percentage of privileged people. Instead, let’s build systems that benefit us all: where safety, health care, and education are universal human rights. We can channel our shared suffering into collective power; we can transform our country into a true and active democracy.
* How I’ve evolved: Reframing my images and ideas of power, from power-over to power-with.
* How I’m evolving: Realizing that dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy needs to be a conscious and ongoing set of actions.
Links:
- Why are Women-Led Nations Doing Better with Covid-19? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/world/coronavirus-women-leaders.html
- Viktor Frankl on the Human Search for Meaning: https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-search-for-meaning/
- Together Rising: https://togetherrising.org
- Powerful speech by Captain Camina Drummer to her crew on The Expanse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7HexX3Oxso
- Opinion: We shouldn’t want to return to normal after Covid-19. Let’s invest in everyone’s health https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-We-shouldn-t-want-to-return-to-15237826.php
- Opinion: The United States Has Never Truly Been A Democracy: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/opinion/democracy-electoral-college.html
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If you’d like to join me for The Evolving 40:
- All are welcome. Jump in at any time.
- On the daily theme, think: “How have I evolved? How am I evolving?”
- Length and format are up to you.
- Post in the comments below or on your own social with the hashtag #evolving40.
- Whatever comes up is what’s meant to be.
