We are the Inheritors

My dear generation, inheritors of this broken system; Do not despair. This chaotic world has not forsaken you. It is lying quietly, waiting for you to wake up. Waiting for you to rise in defiance of the machine.

Your faces are tired, alcohol heavy, weary with uncertainty, terrorized by tyranny. You have been made to believe your only value is in being a busy worker bee. It is time to lay down the lie. We are not lazy or selfish. We are not uneducated or apathetic. We do not have to live in this state of learned helplessness. We are inheritors of this earth. We are the guardians of future generations.

To those who came before us, who gambled with our futures for their gain: we did not ask for it, nor were we made equipped to deal with it. But it is ours to carry none the less. So do not call us self-serving, weak, or in need of coddling. We have different standards. Standards that don't view war as a necessary evil. Standards that require we don't simply accept what has always been, just because it has always been. The state of our planet as it has been left to us gives my generation no choice but to grow beyond what even we perceive to be possible. So if we get prickly around your criticism it is for a reason. We have mountains to climb and not long to do it. Your encouragement would be appreciated.

We are the last line of defence. We stand together or fall. No one is exempt. It means our responsibility is enormous. With fewer resources and less support we must turn the tide toward equity for all. White people must acknowledge that the odds have been stacked in our favour. We must give up the simplistic divisions through which we understand our world: black, white, religious, terrorist, left, right – holding onto to them is wilfully choosing ignorance. They are ever the excuses for holding onto prejudice and hate. EVERYONE must rethink how they live and consume. EVERYONE must change their habits if we are to avoid suffocating in this plastic world. There are simple changes you can make. They're not that hard. They just require a bit of thought.

Thought. Who has time these days to really think? Sometimes it seems that we are all working so hard just to survive under the weight of the current system; a system which cannot function without inequality and exploitation. It is designed to stop you from thinking. Let your thoughtfulness be an act of defiance. The system is broken. No longer try to thrive in it. Do not try to fix it. Burn it. It is already dying, and no single ideology or group has the solution for ushering in the new one. It will be ushered in through you, and your willingness to do things differently. There are ways other than violence, fear and separation. There are weapons that we can take up which do not break bodies and terrorize minds.

This is a call to arms: arm yourself with integrity and vision. Shield yourself with health and a willingness to change. Consume less. Fight less. Speak your truth. Support others in speaking theirs. Say no to the status quo. Don't accept that this is just how things are. Don't believe the lie that it is the best system we have despite its flaws. A system that requires the exploitation of other humans for cheap labour and the complete rape of the earth for its advancement is not a system worth saving. It is a cancer that has infected mankind. It is a soulless machine demanding our submission. It has stolen our health and vitality, our free time and sense of security, our intimacy with others, our liberty to rest. Do not believe the lie. The truth about your humanity is that that which is inside you cannot be controlled by their machines. We are in paper shackles, willing to give up our creative fire for security. It's time to set yourself ablaze. Burn this empire of possessions to the ground. The revolution is within you. The revolution is within you. The revolution is within you.