what motivates me is the fight for the mental terrain

because we are all soldiers on the mental terrain

whether or not we know it

every morning when we open our eyes, we strap into our armour and wonder how we will move through the world today

how will we read messages from every direction and every facet of our life?

every tab on our computer is a different noise for us to navigate

every tv channel is a new narrative

we hear and read who we’re meant to be, how we’re meant to organize, and how the world should be

 

we see the silly human interest stories of the war criminal president turned happy-go-lucky painter

we read emails from university presidents about living wages, healthcare, and childcare being too big of a demand for a grad student union

and we’re met time and time again with the same argument of this is just how it’s always been so it’s how it’s meant to be
 

the battlefield is 

our hearts

our minds

our thoughts

we’re fighting for how we think
 

willie baptist always says we have to end poverty in our minds before we end poverty with our hands

we’re in a fight for the narrative--how things will be seen, perceived, and how we will proceed

 

so never lose sight of the battle for your mind

a lifelong battle, a never ending process

everyday we make our way through the jungle of a thousand different terrible narratives;

narratives of individualism, american exceptionalism, or mobilization without organization
 

and everyday we’re in a battle for our hearts and thoughts

but we must believe that what we are fighting for is possible, and powerful, despite everything that tells us otherwise

the battle is in the streets

but it’s also on our tvs

our computers

and in our minds. 

how will you fight?