In the movie Hidden Figures, which was about three Black women in the early 1960’s who worked for the NASA space program, one is told by the head of the Space Task Force group to “look beyond” the math, and instead towards getting a man into space. She indeed does this in her work.
It is that vision that is so needed right now. Right now, so many articles are written about what is bad. Corrupt politicians, a broken school system that indoctrinates rather than educates, children being destroyed by immoral ideas, corporate control over the government…blah, blah, blah. How many times do these realities need to be hashed over, and over, and over?
If we look beyond those realities, what is seen? Group upon groups can be found as the forces behind the everyday chaos. These realities being dealt with right now just didn’t pop out from thin air. They have been carefully crafted to force change upon those who have been blindly sitting at home. Look beyond the daily destruction of our country and instead to those groups, and individuals, who have been grinding away at you, and our country, for decades. Look Beyond.
Powerful groups have been leading this destruction for some time, along with entities that have no purpose other than to usurp control and power. All of the chaos that is being thrown at us right now is a direct result of those entities and individuals carefully crafting how to implement this pandemonium over years and years. Look beyond the daily chaos.
Another movie, The Long Walk Home, depicts the story of a Black maid who participated in the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. It was powerful groups, including the government, that imposed these regulations. In spite of direct orders from her husband to stop transporting her maid to work, the maid’s employer became more active in helping not only her maid, but others who were affected by the boycott. Both women didn’t just sit around and talk day after day about how awful the boycott was, they stood up to the wrath directed at them from their decision to be active in addressing the problem.
So looking at both stories, of individuals that looked beyond and stood up, could it be said that Idahoans are doing the same? Or is it easier to just continue the blather about what is wrong and pointing fingers at who is at fault? How long did the woman mathematician ponder before developing the solution that achieved the goal of getting a man into space? Or how long did people blather about the segregated bus problem before taking action?
During WWII if a squad came upon a nest of Germans, would the squad leader sit and discuss the situation with his unit over and over, hour upon hour? Or would he be devising a plan to take the nest out, then direct his men to do it?
Who is being responsible for taking action against today’s chaos? It can be done by both individuals and groups. There are multiple groups to join for specific causes, are there any specific causes that Idahoans want to fight? What if there is no group, are Idahoans willing to form a group to fight against a specific cause? In doing so, will they look beyond the daily chaos and focus on where the chaos originates? What are you willing to risk? There is at least one area in your life that you know would be at risk if you chose to stand up. Your job, your family or friends, your reputation, or maybe something else. What are you willing to risk?
What is stopping you from bringing your ideas for a solution to the table, whether it be as an individual, in a group, or by forming a group? Will educating others and encouraging them to join you be too much of a risk for you? Are Idahoans actualizing steps that can be taken that involve no risk?
It is said that it takes courage to do the right thing. But in reality, taking a stand and doing the right thing feels good. There is no shame.
Some hold the belief that 2024 will be a rough and rocky year, with 2025 being a disaster. Time is running out. It is time to quit blathering about what is wrong, how it violates the Constitution and rights, and start doing something about it. Waiting years between elections is wasted time without any guarantee of the desired outcome.
Don’t be afraid. Bring others with you. Look beyond, stand up, and assault the origins of the problem. Be the squad leader.
