Do You Want a Revolution?

Do you want a revolution?
Whoop Whoop
Come on, do you want a revolution?
Whoop Whoop!

Sick and tired of my brothers, killin’ each other,
Sick and tired of Daddys leavin’ babies with their mothers,
For every man who wants to lay around and play around,
It’s important you be man enough to stay around
Sick and tired of the Church, talkin’ religion
But then they talk about each other, make a decision
No more racisim, two face-ism
No pollution
the solution
a revolution

-Kirk Franklin & The Family

Revolution =  a dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized or in people’s ideas about it.

Why do we  need a revolution? Um, hello!?! Have you seen our country lately.  Hot mess. Really, really hot mess.  We can’t agree on anything.  It takes tragedy to pull us together, but that’s only temporary.  As soon as we remotely begin to heal, we go back to tearing each other down.  No one wants to validate or even attempt to see anyone else’s viewpoint, rather they scream, “You are wrong! You are stupid!”.  We are facilitating a really ugly future for our children.

I believe the children are the future… Today, I watched three children around the age of four lead a revolution on the playground.  I thought to myself, “This is where the revolution begins.  Our children are the revolution”.  Now, their particular version of the revolution (streaking on the playground – don’t judge) is not what I am referring to, rather I am talking true, needed change.  How does that happen?  Well, just keep reading.

It starts in the heart (aka the home): We are the gatekeepers to our home.  This means we control what comes into our home and what we allow to take place inside the confines of our family unit. Hatred, bigotry and racism must be eradicated.  The problem with today is so many of us were exposed to these thoughts, ideas, and opinions as children.  While we may not have been indoctrinated with them, we were still ever present in the rooms and playgrounds where these ignorant and ill-intended words were spoken.  This shaped our viewpoints, even if we were not consciously aware of this happening. The circle has remained unbroken, but this circle is no bueno.  It really deserves to be shattered.  How do we do this? We speak life, love and acceptance to our children.  It’s so simple, yet so profound!

Now, I LOVE my family and know without a doubt that I would not be the super awesome, amazing woman I am today without their influence.  However, I was exposed to racial slurs, bigotry and intolerance in my childhood (disclaimer: not all of my family did this, but just one can create a huge impact).  This gave me a biased lens through which I viewed the world.  Once I took off those glasses, MAN, did the world look drastically different.  First, I was saddened by my family’s hatred. Second, I found that diversity is something that I absolutely crave! I love differences.  It is such a beautiful thing to know that everyone and everything isn’t the same.  Same = boring and lame.  Am I right or am I right?!?

Today, a friend of mine told me that his four year old told him, “We have different hair, but when we get hurt we all have red blood.”  WOW! Y’all, this is truth.  We are ALL human.  There is no debating that.  So, let’s find a way to love one another.  After all, it is the Great Commission.

Peace Out. – Erin