THIS… “But you know the damndest thing about the future? It hasn't happened yet. It will come in due time, much too fast, but never so soon that we don't have a chance to build it.”
Thank you for this!! We are the architects of our future. We have agency. We must not despair. As Ben Wikler (WisDems chairperson) recently said at an event in Wisconsin, “You aren’t able to wring your hands when you’re rolling up your sleeves!”
I am tired of getting stuck in a doom scroll loop looking for soothsayers who will tell me the future. Nobody knows the future! And even if the bad thing happens, how it pans out and who will push back is all unknown! Being anxious about "inevitabilities" is just making me exhausted, and I wish it wasn't this omnipresent thing in the back of my mind. The only thing I know for sure is that I am most likely going to keep living for the next few decades, as will a lot of other people, and the game doesn't just end when bad people make big gains, or when the "good" people do either! Like, we have to still live our lives and do things about it! Anyway, I am trying to stay off of Twitter, et. all, where the prognosticators seem to thrive because I find this hopelessness very immobilizing. But it seems to be absolutely everywhere I look right now.
Isn't it exhausting? Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin (Resistance Live) maintains (and I agree!) that apathy and despair are forms of voter suppression. It's what people creating the chaos want for us. I'm going full Bartleby — I prefer not to do that for the chaos makers.
My slogan (an annual anti-resolution practice I have) this year is "If nothing is certain, everything is possible"...true to slogan practice form, I hadn't thought about it in some weeks. But it's still there in the background, thanks for the reminder :)
What a great slogan! And what a great practice of forgetting it for stretches at a time! If it's a strong enough slogan, it'll forgive you for not repeating it constantly.
I'm trying to find a good transcription of the Swahili lyrics online so I can get a good translation by my mom (who is fluent), but not having any luck. Anyone?
A translation of the song (for those that are interested), via my 83-year old mom who then passed it to my Kenyan niece because there was slang and such that she wanted a Kenyan eye on it for context:
Ati kuna boy alidedi manze juu ya change
(Apparently there's a boy that died due to change)
Say his name rex alikua only 29
(Say his name Rex he was only 29yo)
Future got robbed at an early age
Juu ya hizi tax MPigs wetu wanaraise
(Cause of tax being raised by our MPigs)
If the bill was normal hatungekua hapa
(If the bill was normal we wouldn't be here)
But sasa ni abnormal ndio maana tuko hapa
(But then it's abnormal that's why we're here)
Walishasahau kenya inakam kwanza
(They forgot that Kenya came first)
Ona sasa kumbe walikua wanatupanga
(Now look, they were lying to us)
Tuliona mlivote
(We saw you voted)
Na hii sio threat
(And this ain't a threat)
Ni either muriject bill ama tumueject
(You either reject the bill or we eject y'all)
io kidogo yenye wananchi wanaget
(The little that the citizens get)
Ndio gava inataka yote kucollect
(The government wants to collect all of it)
Come 2027 mtataka tuwaelect
(Come 2027 you'll want us to elect you)
But itakua ngumu ju mlituneglect
(But it will be hard cause y'all neglected us)
Endeleeni kutusnob hatutastop,
(Continue snobbing us we won't stop)
Tutawalk hizi streets tukisema tena
(We walk these streets saying again)
Zakayo zakayo zakayo zakayo (rResident Ruto's nickname cause he's a tax collector)
Shukisha tax shukisha tax shukisha tax
(Reduce taxes x3)
Kuna watu wana confuse this
(There are ppl confusing this)
Si ati tunachukianga polisi
(It's not that we hate the police)
But Last Tuesday sikubambika
(But last Tuesday I wasn't happy)
Vile Manjege walikua wamezua vita
(The way police caused war/frackus)
Teargas every end
Mabaddies wana represent
(Baddies are representing)
Wanadai kutuend
(They intend to end us)
But bado si tunareject
(But we still reject)
Na Huyo devo amedunga kaunda suit
(And that devil wearing Kaunda suit)
Na Hii kiburi si ni ya muda ni muda tu
(Isn't this arrogance just for a while only a while)
THIS… “But you know the damndest thing about the future? It hasn't happened yet. It will come in due time, much too fast, but never so soon that we don't have a chance to build it.”
Thank you for this!! We are the architects of our future. We have agency. We must not despair. As Ben Wikler (WisDems chairperson) recently said at an event in Wisconsin, “You aren’t able to wring your hands when you’re rolling up your sleeves!”
Let’s work for the world we want to see!!!
YES!!!!
I am tired of getting stuck in a doom scroll loop looking for soothsayers who will tell me the future. Nobody knows the future! And even if the bad thing happens, how it pans out and who will push back is all unknown! Being anxious about "inevitabilities" is just making me exhausted, and I wish it wasn't this omnipresent thing in the back of my mind. The only thing I know for sure is that I am most likely going to keep living for the next few decades, as will a lot of other people, and the game doesn't just end when bad people make big gains, or when the "good" people do either! Like, we have to still live our lives and do things about it! Anyway, I am trying to stay off of Twitter, et. all, where the prognosticators seem to thrive because I find this hopelessness very immobilizing. But it seems to be absolutely everywhere I look right now.
I have to work hard to keep the inevitabilities from being an omnipresent echo in my head as well.
Isn't it exhausting? Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin (Resistance Live) maintains (and I agree!) that apathy and despair are forms of voter suppression. It's what people creating the chaos want for us. I'm going full Bartleby — I prefer not to do that for the chaos makers.
Ooh that resonates
My slogan (an annual anti-resolution practice I have) this year is "If nothing is certain, everything is possible"...true to slogan practice form, I hadn't thought about it in some weeks. But it's still there in the background, thanks for the reminder :)
What a great slogan! And what a great practice of forgetting it for stretches at a time! If it's a strong enough slogan, it'll forgive you for not repeating it constantly.
Oh yes, because we have to forget to remember! Very imp part of the practice!
I'm trying to find a good transcription of the Swahili lyrics online so I can get a good translation by my mom (who is fluent), but not having any luck. Anyone?
Oh! Found them: https://www.boomplay.com/lyrics/172382833
Will report back with a good translation for those that are interested.
oh thank you!!!
Thanks Garrett. I needed to hear this!
A translation of the song (for those that are interested), via my 83-year old mom who then passed it to my Kenyan niece because there was slang and such that she wanted a Kenyan eye on it for context:
Ati kuna boy alidedi manze juu ya change
(Apparently there's a boy that died due to change)
Say his name rex alikua only 29
(Say his name Rex he was only 29yo)
Future got robbed at an early age
Juu ya hizi tax MPigs wetu wanaraise
(Cause of tax being raised by our MPigs)
If the bill was normal hatungekua hapa
(If the bill was normal we wouldn't be here)
But sasa ni abnormal ndio maana tuko hapa
(But then it's abnormal that's why we're here)
Walishasahau kenya inakam kwanza
(They forgot that Kenya came first)
Ona sasa kumbe walikua wanatupanga
(Now look, they were lying to us)
Tuliona mlivote
(We saw you voted)
Na hii sio threat
(And this ain't a threat)
Ni either muriject bill ama tumueject
(You either reject the bill or we eject y'all)
io kidogo yenye wananchi wanaget
(The little that the citizens get)
Ndio gava inataka yote kucollect
(The government wants to collect all of it)
Come 2027 mtataka tuwaelect
(Come 2027 you'll want us to elect you)
But itakua ngumu ju mlituneglect
(But it will be hard cause y'all neglected us)
Endeleeni kutusnob hatutastop,
(Continue snobbing us we won't stop)
Tutawalk hizi streets tukisema tena
(We walk these streets saying again)
Zakayo zakayo zakayo zakayo (rResident Ruto's nickname cause he's a tax collector)
Shukisha tax shukisha tax shukisha tax
(Reduce taxes x3)
Kuna watu wana confuse this
(There are ppl confusing this)
Si ati tunachukianga polisi
(It's not that we hate the police)
But Last Tuesday sikubambika
(But last Tuesday I wasn't happy)
Vile Manjege walikua wamezua vita
(The way police caused war/frackus)
Teargas every end
Mabaddies wana represent
(Baddies are representing)
Wanadai kutuend
(They intend to end us)
But bado si tunareject
(But we still reject)
Na Huyo devo amedunga kaunda suit
(And that devil wearing Kaunda suit)
Na Hii kiburi si ni ya muda ni muda tu
(Isn't this arrogance just for a while only a while)
Kuna siku utashuka
(There's a day you'll step down)
Siutashuka tu
(You'll just step down)
Please thank your niece and your mom! Such a gift to see the lyrics. Really powerful.