Manifesto #6 When the Going Gets Weird, Just Try Telling the Truth
There’s a well-known quote from the late great Hunter S. Thompson, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” that feels entirely applicable to the historical moment we’re now living through.
For those of us with open minds (let’s start there), and have environmental, planetary, and free-thinking humanistic beliefs and tendencies, things have indeed gotten weird, and so much more.
We’re inside a moment in history none of us were prepared for.
A global resurgence of a toxic mix of authoritarianism, fascism, women-hating, and misguided extremist fundamentalism has gripped the planet.
Deciding whether to be on the right side of history or the wrong side of history is becoming a matter of life and death.
Which side are you on? How do you want to be remembered? Are you a life-healer, or a death-dealer? Are you on the side of the reality-deniers, who stood idly by and let the entire ecosystem of our planet collapse? Or did you strive to create impactful global-shifting solutions, that would save as many lives as possible? Do you think scientifically proven life-saving vaccines contain chips that’ll track you, or are you glad you’ll be breathing and living through the pandemic, and be able to spend time with your loved ones for decades to come?
Our future selves already know, and we’ve learned in the deepest way possible that we’re all one on this blue planet, floating in a cosmic ocean of darkness.
On the other side of the looking glass, the future is inclusive and diverse, welcoming, and pulling us into open-minded inclusivity with intensity and joy.
But for the moment, our going has indeed gotten weird. So, what can each of us do to turn pro?
After a multi-year media barrage of gaslighting and a steady stream of propaganda was the norm, people were hungering for deeper levels of truth. We want a healthy balance of truth and freedom to be washed over our entire being—consistently and constantly.
Lies are no longer considered to be just another form of truth. Why were they ever? Misrepresentation is lying. Constantly railing against a free press for entertainment value is un-American. Lying just to keep in practice isn’t cool. Lying is a dumb choice made by willfully ignorant people. Lying is a failure of intelligence and imagination. Lies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—leads to body bloat. Lying every day all day long is not a winning strategy.
After decades of the dumbing down of the American culture, we’ve reached a turning point. The signs are here, staring back at us. Get smarter everyone, or even darker and dumber times lie ahead. From the age of one to ninety-nine, begin to cherish learning and rewire your brain with everyday reading, associating with other smart people, practicing a creative pursuit of any type, and finding more things you’re passionate about. Whether its writing, art, science, technology, psychology, cooking, coding, farming—you name it—dive in and become who you’re meant to be in this lifetime.
Read. Write. Take a photo. Write a manifesto. Paint a picture. Recite a poem.
Write a manifesto on Love, Creativity, Interplanetary Travel, Animal Rights, Human Rights, Global Freedoms, Intuition, Empathy, Ranting, Randomness, Joyfulness, Universal Acceptance, Dreaming Bigger Dreams.
In this historical time, we’ve been shaken to our core, and we’re feeling new awakenings. We’re waking up to creating a better tomorrow today, where we’ll create a smarter, more inquisitive, and more empathetic generation.
Truth is life and breath. Truth can’t be shoved aside from the everyday dialogue any longer. Truth is how the weather feels on our skin. How we act as a country is created each day with every action we take. Begin in your neighborhood, and then create the city you want to live in, that you can feel proud of for your entire lifetime. Truth is more essential now than ever before.
Words and language and written communication matter. Literacy is a superpower. People are constantly reading online, everything from the daily news reports to novels, nonfiction collections to journals, and political opinion pieces to personal essays.
The history of these vivid years and the decades ahead will be fascinating to future historians, and those of us putting down our experience at this moment in time are adding to the picture of what our world looked like.
All art, writing, music, poetry is essential art, writing, music, and poetry. We’re living through a turning point in history. Document it dearly. Record it daily. Take it in completely. Tell your story. Let the future know which side you were on.
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Fantastic!!! One powerful message with so very many great thoughts. I like the notion of literacy as a superpower and creativity as a lifeline. We are lucky to have your clear voice cutting through the tumult of the times, Russell. Long may you wave.
Agree with almost everything you say here. I think the science of vaccines is not as monolithic as you've implied, and each individual can read the scientific information about each vaccine -- the benefits and risks of harm -- and make his or her own decision about each vaccine.