CBrajkovich Ramblings

Hearts howl with pain, or maybe with glee. It depends on which side you’re on. Because that is what we’re in: A Game called Life?!? One winner, many losers. Except this isn’t a board where you chose your piece or the rules.

I want to write a piece here, but my heart and soul finally broke into pieces yesterday.

I am Howling along with those in the street.

I am screaming at the injustices.

I am screaming at the requirements to scream.

I am yelling at the empty words.

I am beating my chest at the savagery.

I am pounding at the doors of Justice which is not here!

I am disgusted of the spilled blood from the innocent and actions of the guilty.

I am amazed that you don’t get it?

. . .

Do you see that violence has a deeper meaning?

Do you get that every action was preceded by a whole untold story?

Do you recognize that thugs are embedded in the legitimate as well?

Do you understand what happens when you make rules but don’t take the consequences from them?

Do you accept a system that has built-in immunity while outside everyone pays with blood?

Do you allow the rules to be conveniently changed to maintain legitimacy of the illegitimate?

Do you hear from authority when it’s not about what they want?

Do you hear and understand the words from someone you disagree with?

Do you think that disrespect will just be accepted?

Do you think that your shield scares others?

Do you wonder why it’s all burning?

Have you ever been pushed into a corner?

It is time for more than words. It is time for more than understanding. It is time to FIX EVERYTHING.

No more empty suits with empty words. No more snappy press releases checked by someone in PR before release. No more stupid pretty commercials that go against everything you’ve ever done. No more generals who refuse to stand against tyranny in the light. No more pundits spinning the world. No more talk about how much will it cost! No more killing nature because it brings you money. No more taking without sharing. No more looting from the public trough. No more watching someone when they are hurt. No more labels. No more levels. No more sides. No more checklists. No more waiting patiently. No more cries from the lost. No more weapons. No more demands to vote. No more empty choices. No more takeovers. No more bankruptcies. No more excusing the inexcusable.

JUST NO MORE…

Do you care if I can’t breathe? Do you care if they can’t breathe? Do you care if they bleed? Do you care when they hurt? Do you care when bullies destroy? Do you care that tear gas is on our streets? Do you care that the military is shooting at you in your home? Do you get that there are no more sides? Do you get that old doesn’t mean you have to respect it? Do you get that there are more than one judging your words and actions? 

Will you care when you can’t breathe?

Bernie Hope (courtesy: David Horsey/Los Angeles Times)

This image by David Horsey from Bernie’s first campaign will resonate with Bernie supporters everywhere. It has helped me through some rough times. We’ve felt it before and are feeling it now. The fight between ideologies is harsh and unrelenting. We all have our own ideals of a world that we can believe in. We all feel like we have the right solutions to fix all that is broken. Or maybe we have the hope for those solutions. I know that I do.

It hurts to be in the same place we were before. The world is in a scary place at the moment, and the solutions are not living up to each new crisis. Nor are the leaders. So, it’s up to us to become the new leaders.

For too long, we’ve been told that dreams are foolish and not realistic. All I have to say to that is: Why doesn’t status quo prove it this time?! Why do the dreamers have to keep proving that their dreams are stronger than our collective realities? Our current lives are showing that dreams have become necessary to stand up to the actual world that we all inhabit.

We’re way beyond politics. We’re way beyond policies. We are now in times that call for visions. A vision for a truly equitable world in which all of us can thrive…EQUALLY. A world that remakes all that is broken by building new structures from the ground up. Not physical structures, but aspirational actions that create new foundations for the world to stand on. Foundations that protect all living things, including this very planet that we all rely upon. Foundations that ensure that we all get what we need without compromises. Foundations that give us respect equally. Foundations that do not split, but gather. Foundations that allow us all to reach for the stars.

THANK YOU, Bernie, for giving many of us the opportunity to be heard. Our ideals are still very much alive, and Bernie is not going anywhere. Neither are we. We have to keep drawing out the world that we want to live in together. Bernie may be stepping out of a light, but he is not stepping out of the light. It’s the light that we’ve shown on his message from Day 1. And that light is only getting brighter as more see where his path is leading. It’s always been about the message. We just need to remember that each and every day we move forward…together.

BERNIE, You continue to be an inspiration. Never stop being you.

We’re all exhausted by all of the drama that just.won’t.end!! But what can we do about it? Important things are forgotten simply because we have to much to cope with.

But the world keeps trying to get our attention by letting the important things bubble to the surface. No matter how much the mundane tries to usurp the light, the incredibly life-changing moments take over the camera frame as they should.

We are seeing another real-life tragedy blossom in front of our eyes, in real-time. No matter how much the system tries to maintain its importance, it is the individual that shows the truly important being ignored because it is inconvenient for the system. It is inconvenient to the system’s schedule, and to the system’s agenda, and mostly to the system’s aspirations.

It is clear that privilege has been given too much room in human society. And by privilege, I mean those who seek to rule the world in their own image. No one person or group of people should have that right, when there are more than 7 billion people on this planet trying to co-exist.

And when did “their” conventions become our life? Why did we choose to make conventions so important when they were meant to be a guide and not a rule book? When rules become the norm, then what is left to inspire?

A few weeks ago, I watched a Chris Hayes special with Michael Moore. He was speaking to a non-voter and amazed (or should I say irritated as so many claim to be) that this man was looking for political leaders who inspire. Chris responded that our current politics was at a critical juncture and too important to look for inspiring, when we should be looking for qualified. But what is the definition of qualified, and who decided that we ALL agreed with this definition?

We have ignored the need for a real definition that has little to do with diplomas, awards, civics, recommendations and the other “critical” criteria that makes one person more qualified than another. THAT was the key message that this man was trying to send when he was to vote, and couldn’t with the current crop of candidates on offer to his access. So many people everywhere are saying the same thing, and yet the majority feels that their way is right simply because they won with their votes.

I am not talking about sides, because both are not only wrong, but also ignoring the crises that are swamping the planet. It is not an illusion that things feel worse. It is not just the ever present media that informs us of the invisible that is coming to the forefront…finally. It is the fact that picking a side without working together is killing our lives.

So when do we actually start to work with one another, without jumping down each other’s throats? When does critical become now or never, instead of being kicked down the road? What does it take to change status quo? It’s obvious that doing the same thing over and over is not working. Voting doesn’t work when we aren’t all engaged, when so many are being ignored, treated as invisible.

But today, the system forced us to engage by showing their stage show in front of our eyes. It is forcing us to recognize that the system is ineffectual, empty, and meant to usurp our attention from the truly important.

But today, the truly important is right in front of us, demanding its time because the messenger is forced to be involved. Maybe today is the day that we can demand better of everyone and not just yell comfortably from our side.