Woke – Memphis Flyer

Visit a Park. Follow a trail or a path until you are immersed in nature. Stop for a moment and listen. Take in the bird-song, the whisper of the breeze through the trees. Breathe in the wood-smell. Feel the earth beneath your feet. (The Japanese call it “forest bathing.”) Then give thanks that some woke folks once had the foresight to preserve the corner of nature you are now privileged to experience.

Read a Banned Book, maybe even one you’ve read before. There are now hundreds to choose from in the U.S. And support your local libraries and independent bookstores. They are an endangered species in many parts of this country. Reading is fundamental. So is the right to choose what you want to read.

Be a Voice for Choice. Never forget that abortion services and pregnancy counseling are also healthcare, and all women deserve the right to make their own medical decisions without government direction or interference. Religious beliefs and political ideology do not trump core human rights in this country.

Consume Real News. Don’t be fooled by websites and “news” organizations that exist only to excite your confirmation biases. While no media organization is perfectly neutral, the reporting in most major newspapers is relatively free of bias. Some of the most balanced news (not opinion) sources, according to the AllSides Media Bias Chart, are AP News, BBC News, NPR News, PBS News, Reuters, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

Don’t Spread BS. This could be considered a corollary of the preceding commandment. Before posting something on social media or otherwise amplifying any content, google it and check the source. If it seems too good to be true or perfectly aligns with your own beliefs, be suspicious. Mark Twain, for example, did not say all things the internet says he did. Be a spreader of truth, not, er, bullshit.

Speak Your Mind. State your political views freely and clearly when asked or when otherwise appropriate. There’s no need to fear offending others if you speak the truth. In fact, polite silence in the face of racism, homophobia, misogyny, lies, or hate-speech indicates that you are okay with it. Don’t be okay with it. Also, it’s okay to say, “Happy Holidays.”

Don’t Fear History. The saying goes, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” These days, too many people are trying to bury history so they can freely ignore it. Or repeat it. They want to suppress any portion of the past that makes them uncomfortable, like slavery, lynchings, and segregation, to name a few things some white folks don’t want to talk about. Being uncomfortable with parts of our past is part of the process. Otherwise, yes, we are doomed.

Stand Up for Gun Reform. The United States is a scary place, a civilian battlefield where innocent people are being gunned down by military-grade weapons so often and in so many places it’s become a mind-numbing parody. Too many of our legislators are in the bloody pockets of the NRA. It’s long past time to pass sensible gun legislation, including reinstating the assault weapons ban. We can’t give up this fight.

Do Say Gay. It’s getting hard out there for LGBTQ+ folks, so show your support for gay-friendly businesses and organizations. Hey, maybe drink a Bud Light and go see a drag show. And let young people know, as soon as they are curious about it, that being gay isn’t scary or something to be made fun of. Introduce them to your Aunt Peg and her wife. Take them to Disneyland.

Believe in Science. Climate change is real. The oceans are rising. Temperature levels that used to be unusual are now the new normal. Severe weather events are more commonplace. Floods and droughts rack the globe. Coral reefs are dying and ice caps are melting. Your beachfront property may soon be worthless — or gone. Also, vaccinations are not a government plot, tobacco can give you cancer, and you should go ahead and schedule that checkup with your doctor. Trust me on this.

Here’s the latest news from Florida, the cutting edge of “conservative” politics, where Governor (and GOP presidential candidate in waiting) Ron DeSantis is determined to stamp out “wokism” in all its terrifying forms and get his name in the news as often as possible.

Last spring, at DeSantis’ urging, the state passed its own version of the “Don’t Say Gay” act, which bans mentioning sexual orientation or gender identity in any manner deemed to be against state standards in schools, and prohibits public schools from adopting procedures that maintain the confidentiality of a disclosure by a student of their sexuality or gender.

Last week, because DeSantis was apparently not content to limit his interest in harassing transgender students to undergraduates, the governor requested data on the number of students who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who have received treatment in university clinics across the state.

Also, last week, in an even more stunning development, Florida banned the teaching of AP classes on African-American history in the state’s high schools. The department of education said the curriculum “is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

So, to review: In Florida, you can’t say gay or Black in schools because teaching about LGBTQ+ issues or Black history is “woke” and might make straight white people sad. Or have to think. Or learn something.

DeSantis is also now pushing for a bill that would give discounts to those wanting to buy a gas stove because gas stoves were a momentary thing that woke people were supposedly woke about last week, due to a study that revealed gas stoves can leak methane into people’s homes. It was all over Fox News, and Tucker Carlson made hay with the “issue” for several nights. Conservatives went on Twitter and dared liberals to come and take their stoves. Liberals were like, “What? Nobody wants your stupid stove, gas boy.” So the issue went away after a few days.

By the way, if you want to see what DeSantis is going to be outraged about next, you can just watch ol’ Tucker. Unbelievably, in recent days, Carlson’s been saying how good cigarettes are for America, how the country was built on smoking. This was in response to House Republicans opening a smoking lounge in the Capitol building. So maybe DeSantis will put gas stoves and cigarettes on a plane to Massachusetts. That should trigger the woke folks, right?

I know, I know, it’s hard to keep up with these fools, but here’s a handy list of woke things conservatives are (or have been) worried about in recent times: the feminization of Mr. Potato Head, the feminization of M&Ms cartoon characters (a Carlson favorite), Dr. Seuss’ Sneetches, gay Teletubbies, drag queens (including, amazingly, the movie Mrs. Doubtfire), litter boxes in schools for students “who identify as cats,” the word Latinx (banned in Arkansas by new Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders), the emasculation of alpha males by aggressive liberal women, bare arms on females (banned in the Missouri legislature), and, of course, the all-time woke pisser-offer — pronouns.

To be accurate, these are usually the kinds of trendy topics that get a lot of air-time in the right-wing news silo for a while, then fade as they lose their usefulness — or people finally see through the charade. (Is “charage” a word? It should be.)

There is, of course, a more durable outrage list that gets tapped when the base rubes really need an anger fix. These include: abortion (and nonexistent “post-birth abortions”), the morning-after pill and other contraceptives, immigrants (non-white), Covid vaccines (they kill people), crime waves (in Democrat cities), gas prices (Joe’s fault), books about sex or race, the “myth” of global warning, and “Critical Race Theory” (which isn’t taught in public schools and which no conservative can actually explain but is really scary).

So, that’s a lot of woke stuff, right? What does it mean if none of it scares or triggers you? Are you still woke? I’m pretty sure I am, but maybe it’s because I’ve come to think being woke simply means that you believe in science, medicine, education, research, fact-based reporting, and the importance of being open to new information. Honestly, I think being woke is what we used to call “normal,” before so many got sucked into their own social media bubbles by charlatans and grifters. At its heart, maybe being woke is simply being unafraid to call “bullshit” when you see it.