The next four years…

Can’t I just spend the next four years at a punk show?
I want to spend the next four years in the front row
Because if the world outside is going to shit
Then you will find me in the centre of the circle pit.

-Frank Turner ‘Sand in the Gears’

Yeah, I’ve been trying to figure out how to deal with a world, in which people believe blatant lies of Trump, ridiculous plans bij Wilders and probably will vote for a Le Pen. A world so hung up on blaming the other for our own misfortunes that we forget that whole enlightened idea of being able to make our own future.

If you’ve sat still for 20 years of-fucking-course you get passed by, by someone who studies and grows. No one is steeling your job, you’re just not holding on to it. Oh yes, I believe firmly that the capitalist system that drives us, is slowly killing us and driving us to leaving life earlier. It also drives some to find solutions, to do things differently. From the tiny house movements, to backpackers and all sorts of free spirits. Sometimes I even find escape in books and by simply making my world as small as it is.

So why does this prospect make me feel so utterly sad? Because I believe that we’ve been making a lot of progress in the last couple of years. Gay marriage, environment politics and much more. Sure, there’s a lot of room for improvement, but we’re atleast going forward. Now the Bible is back as a rule book and that was never a good idea. Standing still is less bad than moving backwards, I think Billy Bragg once sang. I think we’re moving backwards into fear and stupidity.

But maybe this is the four years of shit we’re going to need. Maybe this will drive us back to the self sustained communities that are the backbone of the society as we know it. It’s easier to fear a horde of muslims without names and faces, than to fear your friendly neighbour. Fear mongering depends on the idea that people are masses, not individuals. If you accept that, you need also to accept that Trump is not a monster. He’s just a man who probably is a bit afraid and misinformed.

But what to do? I can’t spend four years in hibernation. And no, I don’t live in the United States, but the Dutch elections are due too and I think that regardles of all the proof that they’re a bunch of useless naysayers, there might be a big white, right win. What can I do in these next four years? How do I make sense of it and survive it?

Some guy at a concert in Area 51 explained to me what a Naysayer is. I kinda knew what it ment, but he fully explained it to me (right before running into a closed door, but that didn’t demean his point). Naysayers are people that will not and cannot help you progress. They will not solve, alleviate, improve or change anything. They just say ‘nay’.

So all you can really do… is say yes. Engage in conversation, take part in things, be out there! There’s a surprisingly small circle around you that you can make an impact on profoundly, by just being there. Embrace the people you care about and be open and kind to others. Don’t give in to the fear and hatred. Don’t use fists and hatespeech, use love and understanding. Compassion and that almost forgotten thing called discussion. Don’t wait for the change, be the change.

We make the world we live in, even in its small scale of close acquaintances. Say no to hatred, bigotry and other ridicuousness.

Be all that you can be, because as Frank Turner once said…

We are what we believe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2220MdXVPGw

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