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Whatever stirs you to action, to hope, to move onward and upward, do not allow the cruelty of this administration to stop our forward momentum. Congressman John Lewis would remind us to get into good trouble. Congressman Lewis’s life’s work provides numerous examples of campaigns fought—- some won, some lost, and some yet to be fulfilled at this juncture. A fundamental shift has occurred, and in this new era, we must learn how to compromise as we stand for justice and principle.
The United States of America is shifting ideologically, whether consciously or unconsciously. The unconscious will be swept up in the tide of fascism, oligarchy, and totalitarianism. We cannot continue to rely on social media postings and biased media. Instead of talking and working across lines to open up real conversations about the issues facing us, working toward reasonable solutions will assist in making meaningful changes.
No one benefits from the current posturing of #47… and if we’ve learned anything since our struggle beginning in 1619, there will be compromises along the way, hard-fought campaigns, and a strengthening of our resolve to secure our place in this flawed democracy.
We must seek out nuanced information by asking fundamental questions about the shifts in this country. A few people control the narrative through news outlets, social media, or talking heads. There is not a consensus or even serious dialogue about the shifts in economics, classism, declining quality of life, and structural racism. The outcome of the 2024 US election was the culmination of years of disinformation, lies, pitting groups against each other, and a sharp decline in civility or ethics.
Facts became optional. Truth was replaced with disinformation, grievances, and petty gamesmanship. When I was a student (a long time ago), we delved into how Hitler, his confidants, and his army were able to convince a country that their way forward could only occur if the Master Race annihilated another race of people. There could be no compromise, just animosity, and nullification or elimination of groups who disagreed.
Open your eyes and pay attention to the similar stirrings today. It started with division, rumor, isolation—-all the things we’re witnessing again. No one in Germany believed it possible until neighbors, friends, and family members disappeared. Few believed in 2016 that America would embrace lies, distortion, virulent racism, and a retreat from civil rights. Yet, here we are.
Black people in America have endured 400-plus years of national opinion shifting and stirring rebuke of our humanity. When the task of answering the question of slavery seemed impossible, God raised up unexpected and often untried leaders to shift the collective thinking and stir up and clear out the naysayers. Voices of enslaved and freed persons spoke up, organized, and appealed to the humanity of the republic.
And America rose despite the compromises and unresolved questions at the end of Reconstruction. Ending chattel slavery stirred up the status quo, and in some instances, we stopped working and talking together. We became complacent and, in some cases, complicit in not tackling the unfinished work of the United States of America.
The work of equality, justice, and mercy is unfinished. The singing group Sweet Honey in the Rock always stirs my soul when they sing, “We who believe in freedom cannot stop until it comes.” Freedom requires us to clear the path for forward movement.
What we’ve learned is when and how to compromise. We haven’t yet learned how to ensure those tenets are lasting instead of convenience markers. When we become complacent and don’t rigorously seek to strengthen and include more citizens in sharing the benefits of that compromise, new issues that destroy weak structures arise.
God still reminds us that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. We must stir our hearts, minds, and collective will to fight, reclaim ground, and always keep our eyes on the prize—until freedom comes. Compromise when we can. Fight when we must. Push forward at all costs.
Joyce A. Brown is a motivational speaker and author who uses her creative energy to give voice and meaning to women's challenges in all walks of life. She grew up in Rockford, Illinois, in a household of strong women, but her professional career expanded her reach into Peoria and Battle Creek, Michigan. She is a proud Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. member and has served as a direct services worker, executive director, program director for a major foundation, and entrepreneur. Joyce has experienced many uplifting moments as a professional and dedicated parent and strives to bring those events and lessons to life through her characters in the contemporary fiction novels she pens. Visit her Author’s Page.
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