Come the fifth of
November, many people will recite the "remember, remember" line from
V for Vendetta. They'll post movie screen shots and memorable lines. They will
call Guy Fawkes and our favorite dagger-toting revolutionist, V, heroes. Many
will fantasize about what it would be like to be a hero like them - to
singlehandedly be the catalyst that drives their nation toward a truly better
world. A world where politics are no longer filled with corruption. A world
where persecution, racism, and bigotry are truly
things of the past. Unfortunately, they'll probably do all this without leaving
their house. Because, what can one person really do to change things?
We like to
fantasize about being revolutionary figures while we sip our cappuccino at
Starbucks with our friends, who nod along, throwing in the occasional
"definitely" or "wouldn't that be great?" But that’s as
close to change as most get. Despite all of the problems we see in our society,
we consistently fail to act. We continue to fantasize with no real intention of
ever standing up, in the hopes that V will magically appear, and, with the
flick of his wrist and some well-placed daggers, change everything we don’t like
about our society. We keep telling ourselves that someone else will do it, and
we continue to live our nice, comfortable, complacent lives. But this is the
exact opposite of what both of these people stood for. There is no V. There is
no Fawkes (granted, he was a religious extremist, and we’ve got plenty of
those, but that’s not what I’m getting at). Or, rather, we are all V’s and
Fawkes’. If we see an injustice, we
must rise against it. We are the only
ones who will save us. We cannot depend on someone else to be the first one to
act. That is the spirit that we
should be emulating.
Now, I’m not
saying that we should blow up buildings to get our point across. That’s bad,
mmkay? But, we should never hesitate
to act against an injustice. That’s the only
way we can make a change. There is no one single person who can deliver us from
all the problems we see in the world; however, there are a hell of a lot of one
single persons who can stand together
and make a change. And that’s what today should really be about.
So, next time you
see something that isn’t right, do something about it. Write a letter to your
congressman. Be part of a protest. Fight for what you believe in. Don’t let
others take away what you’ve earned; fight for it, with every breath you have.
Stop simply shaking your head at an article you read and start acting on it.
Our interests aren’t
always going to be the same. We’re all going to fight for different things.
Sometimes, or even oftentimes, you’ll find yourself fighting for something that
others are fighting to take away. That’s not a problem with this idea, that’s
the beauty of it. That’s what makes us human. We are all made differently - we
all think and act differently. It is this diversity that makes us one. When you
stop and think about it, a group of different people from all walks of life,
fighting for a common interest is a truly beautiful thing, and we must fight
tooth and nail to protect this beauty.
We cannot be
afraid to stand up and act when we see problems. We cannot be afraid of
competition or of opposing viewpoints. If you believe in something, nothing
should stop you from working your heart out to accomplish it, especially
yourself. You should put everything you have into it. And you should teach the
next generation to do the same. Teach them that one person does matter. That, while one person may seem insignificant alone, when these individuals group together,
they become stronger. But that will not happen if we continue thinking that
someone else will do it – continue believing that, while you find something
utterly deplorable, you simply can’t take the time to act, and your disgust
will have to do.
These stories were
meant to inspire action, but instead, have created individuals who expect a vaudevillian
veteran to come swooping in and save us all. Sure, the Occupy movement was
great. But it only happened because individuals
just like you stood together. There should be Occupy-sized movements every day.
But instead, we give excuses. “Someone else will do it” or “it’s not that big
of a deal” and often “I just don’t have time to do anything about it.” They won’t,
it is, and you do. So get up, put on your Guy Fawkes mask, (literal or
metaphorical), and take action for something you believe in, and, in doing so,
you just may be the exact motivation someone else needs to do the same. And the
next thing you know, there will be an army of masked civilians fighting next to
you. Go out today and start a revolution. Be the next Occupy. Fight for your
rights (and party some, too). And even if you fail, you’ll know that you gave
it everything you had. You’ll know for a fact that it didn’t fail because of
you. That there was nothing more that you could do. Because, even if you fail, every
second was worth it because you fought when you could have not. Fight with
every breath, every word, every ounce of energy you have.
As the hero we
love so much states: “while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will
always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who
will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something
terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice,
intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to
think and speak as you saw fit, you
now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and
soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly
there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held
accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you
need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid.
Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which
conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense.” Take
back your reason. Recover your common sense. Stop looking for a change in the
world, and start being it.
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