(To listen to me read this post, please visit the podcast link on my Substack)
I was listening to an audiobook on my walk today, by one of my favorite authors, Arundhati Roy. In My Seditious Heart, she details the brutal tactics used by the Indian government to quash dissent, bulldoze human rights, and catapult the very rich far into the stratosphere, beyond the reach of everyday humans like you and I.
At one point, she separates power into “the State” and “the People”. She frames the State as the machinery that comprises the prevailing systems of our time: capitalism, patriarchy, imperialism, white supremacy, misogyny, etc. And, of course, the People then are those who must navigate those systems for survival, happiness, safety, stability, freedom, belonging, etc.
As she was saying that the State “never tires”, but the People do, I was thinking about friends and acquaintances who have, over the years, admitted (voices heavy with embarrassment and shame) that their father fought on the side of fascism, or their brother is a card-carrying member of the MAGA club, or their mother secretly donates to conversion therapy organizations.
I thought of my own family members who uphold, whether intentionally or inadvertently, systems of oppression and subjugation. In India, caste oppression is the ugly underbelly of the “progress” machine, but there are other deeply rooted systems that prop that up, such as patriarchy, misogyny, and religious supremacy, just to name a few.
And then I thought of how I, myself, am part of the very machinery I often rage against. Although I make changes where I can and do my best to stay aware and vigilant, I also take flights, consume goods made in countries with human rights abuses, eat food cultivated on lands that are being eroded because of unsustainable farming practices. When these human rights abuses come into my awareness, I boycott and apply pressure for change however I can, but how many abuses and violations occur without my awareness?
This is what happens when entire systems are founded in the subjugation and diminished humanity of others, and the reducing of nature, animals, and the environment to profit-making ventures. We can fight individual abuses here and there, but the machine continues to generate them…that’s what it was designed for.
I know that transformation has to be on a larger scale, and that people who have the power to enact fundamental, root-level change have to initiate actions that impact entire swathes of the globe. They are the State, and on an individual level we are the People. But the State is still made up of our fathers, brothers, grandparents, mothers, partners, spouses, and friends. People we love. People who’ve raised us, people we trust…people who are brilliant, talented, brave, and creative in many areas of their lives.
Change can also happen there. The State is peopled by our loved ones. It is peopled by us. Change happens by challenging, having the hard conversations, sitting in the discomfort of conflict, braving disapproval, grappling with not being liked, standing firmly rooted in storms of triggers and emotions. Change happens through relationship and trust, through healing ourselves and, by extension, those around us.
The emotions of conflict and tension transform and then pass. Emotions can sometimes shake us to our core, but they move through. They are e-motions; they come around to tell us something and then they go. I think of them as units of information. When we allow our higher Self to stand rooted in what we know is true: that all life, in whatever form it takes, is precious, is sacred, and that those of us who have the power to protect the more vulnerable among us have a responsibility to do so…that is when things that haven’t budged in decades or centuries can suddenly leap forward beyond our wildest hopes.
Most of you reading this are already on board. I am not telling you something you don’t already know. What I am pointing out is that even within us there are interwoven, inextricable strands of the State. We inherited them, we swim in the waters that create them, and most of the time we don’t realize they are there, as part of us.
Our work is to learn to identify those leaden strands, and—carefully, patiently, lovingly—transform them…spin them into gold. Those strands are carriers, allowing poisoned beliefs to seep into our words, our actions, the ways we open to and shut out love. They stop us from expanding and connecting with ourselves and others.
I know that this is definitely part of my work. To keep seeking, within myself, the ways I perpetuate what doesn’t work, and to transform it into something more life and love-affirming.
May the light of this full moon illuminate what needs healing and transformation in the shadows of your awareness. Once you see it, you can work with it, and once you’ve worked with it you are no longer afraid of it. And when you are no longer afraid of it, it holds no power over you.
That is when you are deeply rooted in your own truth. That is when storms or poisons cannot uproot you.
And then the hard conversations are not that hard, and transformation begins.
Much love to you all as you map the unique terrain of your hearts and do the intricate internal embroidery required to open, heal, and connect.
Neesha, this is a powerful bit of writing. And it is in such a alignment with thoughts and beliefs that I have on a regular basis as well. I think one of the real difficulties is that we each have different versions of the truth. Some may be informed by the State and some may be informed by resisting the State.
My son graduated from University of Massachusetts in Amherst a few weeks ago. And I'm very proud of him. And one of the things that I wasn't expecting was that at each graduation ceremony, and he was part of four of them, began with a statement recognizing the native peoples and the native lands that we were on and the history of them.
I was deeply moved by that. I've been recognizing the ceded lands and the indigenous peoples in a great deal of my work over the last few years, but I've never seen it on such a large public and overt scale.
And sadly the first thing that went through my head was how unlikely it would be to hear this kind of a statement or acknowledgement at most colleges in Florida or Texas for many other states given the kinds of laws and bills and edicts that have been presented ruled on and voted for over the last year.
That was also sad was to realize that it's so likely that this next generation of young people will be raised on an education that was even more devoid of facts than you or I experienced. Especially facts about indigenous people, people of color, and people who I likely to have missed some crucial information in their education and personal experiences.
It seems clear to me that not only do we need to keep fighting this good fight and working hard to push against what you've referred to as the State, we also have an obligation to make sure the real information is visible accessible and part of our daily conversation.
My other child my daughter is transgender. And while we are fortunate in that regard to be white, she's an activist and anarchist and works hard to keep the voice of Truth in front of other people. And as a dad I have to say that frightens me, because it doesn't always keep her safe.
This is all such a balancing act and I admire your words and the clarity of them. Keep it up...