Patriarchy & Culture Erasure
(your identity crisis culprit)
Why are all your micro traumas and worries flooding your brain right as you sleep?
When else are you not occupied with responsibilities and requests? When is noise and distraction least threatening, well if you’re not already scrolling on TikTok, that is.
So much creativity and self knowledge has been robbed of us. There’s simply no time. We’ve sold our souls to assimilate the patriarchal manuscript, thinking it’s our only option.
Well I hope what I’m about to say will convince you. There’s a better way to do this. A better version of America. A better version of you.
Our capitalist grind. Our machismo-ness of it all. Our fascist White House. These are the ideals dragging our American nation towards our habitat d-day, another term of careless “leadership” and blind modeling. Why are you allowing yourself to be groomed by the corrupt? Shouldn’t how we act and carry ourselves be precious to you?
Without fearless protest and accountability, how can culture and society evolve to be more inclusive and fair? If we become complacent and show no scrutiny to gun violence, frivolous executive orders and other horrendous behaviors, then we’ll keep living in fear and worst of all, lose our identity.
Min An, Pexels.com
Why is culture and identity important?
Culture and identity can be many things. Indigenous and ethnic. Influenced by our social environment and physical habitats. One’s culture can be shaped by like-minded individuals and interest groups. All these things come into effect in shaping a person’s character, thoughts and actions. What they find beautiful, how they show love and interact within community.
As a people, we’ve spent decades preserving ancestral stories and knowledge. We’ve fought for history to reveal both sides of war and revolution; of racism and sexism. To share and acknowledge all points of view and celebrate the diversity that makes American culture truly enriched.
But what are we to do about those who wish to erase it? Is there a good side to patriarchy?
You might say that the pursuit of entrepreneurship is what’s made America a powerhouse. Yet happiness can’t always be attributed to this dream of franchise domination that we are sold.
Eventually, ambition becomes burn out. Loss of purpose. Fogged by the notion of up-leveling your material success and reputation loses sight of why you wanted to pave your own way in the first place.
Remember the things you desired? Open calendar space to be present with family, time to travel and oh, let’s not forget…the fundamental right to express creativity and think for yourself! When we live to work for someone else or put all meaning in only our work, we become easily malleable to fascist forces. Enterprising and hustling away doesn’t equal the happiness and success those money-ravaged investors want you to think it does.
Don’t you think small businesses are what really keep community healthy and well-rested. Supporting and starting a small business is not only a great way to build a stronger and sustainable community ecosystem, but allows folks to showcase their best talents.
The cost of patriarchy concludes in this access consumerism and erosion of individual expression. How does this relate to over-valuing the hyper-masculine which has severely imbalanced our way of living?
Are patriarchal ideals necessary to create a life of wealth, freedom and liberty? The initial appeal of the American soil can seduce those who long for something better than the quality of life they are sustaining now. But make no mistake, here in the U.S. and around the world, the poison of hyper masculinity slowly spreads in the minds of our youth, directing them towards notions and behaviors that will eventually sicken them.
Like anything in access, power and wealth can destroy our noble pursuits, wash out our kitchens with white marble and replace our decorated walls with beige sectionals.
So pleeassse, have an opinion. Don’t become complacent to these boring, soul-sucking fascist schemes. Take care of yourself. Speak up. Live louder. Tell those brainless narcissists what’s up, keep them in check, ask till they cannot ignore what must be changed.
Famed philosopher, Michel Foucault’s framework believes the only way out the panopticon is by death. Assimilate or detonate. Those who want to maintain their illusion of power want you to think the prison we are held in is controlled by them, whether you are aware of this entrapment or not. Once you are gifted the realization that this is the matrix, you can choose to “die” from it and create your own world. In this world, life is of our making. Together. To create is to claim your right to life.
Go ahead, let nothing stop you.
Seriously,
Melody
