035: fuck the stars✨
by all means, please, do look u🅿️
Now that I have your attention...
I wasn't kidding about the stars. And that goes for the sun too.
Actually, espera un minuto....
I guess the sun's alright in my book. Nobody's actually trying to reach the sun. If anything, we're advised to stay as far away from the sun as possible. Pretty ironic if you think about it: The thing that gives this planet life…
But if we get too close to the ☀️ or the ☀️ gets too close to us, that's it. Life is over.
That's what's happening right now. That's why I'm beefin' with the stars. Everyone's looking to the stars for an escape. It's like a billboard for a new neighborhood:
The Stars: Endless Possibilities & Opportunities
3 beds, 3 baths, starting in the low $875's
Reach them before your planet burns up 🔥The stars. A place where today's problems don't exist.
If you ask me, looking to the stars to avoid the problems of Earth is a bitch-ass move. You're giving up. But we paint it as something extraordinary, a higher calling. And that makes the excuses sound even better.
"Imagine all the possibilities!"
I'm worried about what's happening right here, where people don't get enough to eat, where the prices are going up, where it’s getting colder (and hotter), and there’s a new form of suffering every day. I don't think leaving a mess we've created to start a new one from scratch is what we should be worried about right now. And I'm scared it's a distraction that will only make our problems worse.
Not just my problems. Your problems.
Because looking to the stars can mean forgetting what's right in front of us. And sometimes, the things that are right in front of us are so scary that we'd prefer to look anywhere else. But closing your eyes to something doesn't make it go away. No matter the size of the problem.
And I'm scared that we've already gotten too used to that idea. So everything we create, and everything we consume, convinces us this is the only way to go.
"The problem is too big to fix."
"Difficult decisions have to be made."
"It's X and Y's fault."
"It's always been like this, and it's worked. It's part of the cycle."
I get it. It's easier to pass the problem down a few generations. Or to decide there's nothing you can do to fix it.
But I'm not with that.
I don't want to give up. And I don't think the same way of always doing something is the only way of ever doing something. We've gotten to where we are today because we've dared to question, analyze, understand, and evolve. In all areas of life, from health to science, technology, communications, transportation, etc.
So why did we all of a sudden decide this was enough?
Why is where we are now as far as we can go?
Why are some problems too difficult to fix?
What are we doing with all this advanced technology?
"David, that's life, and it always happens no matter the technology or age."
There you go, looking at the stars again. Using what was and what will be as an excuse to ignore what is. The many things that are and are wrong today.
And you can go through life looking at the stars surviving, having fun, and doing absolutely nothing for the planet or its people. And that's fine. That's your right. It's a shitty decision, and it's super selfish.
But, fuck it, go for it!
Or you could not. You could figure out a way to do something differently. And maybe help someone, or help yourself! And when you help yourself become better, you can better help someone else. It's a difficult process, but it's worth it.
If this all feels overwhelming, I feel you. It is. I can't promise you anything with 100% uncertainty. But I'm pretty sure none of us as individuals will change the world. Because it takes a shit ton of people working together in unprecedented ways, or one really-really-rich dude to do that. And those rich dudes don't give a fuck about us (they're busy with the 🌟).
I think you should at least try to change one thing. Find something right in front of you that scares you or upsets you or has potential, and go for it. And keep doing that. And one day, you'll have been doing that thing for so long that you didn't realize everything changed. And it was because of you.
So, by all means, go outside and look at the stars and the full moon. They're spectacular and one of the most beautiful sights we can witness as humans. But don't get too caught up. Because your feet are still planted on 🌍🌏🌎, and we've got things to take care of here.
Happy belated MLK day 🖤