I have been radicalized

I mean it, I have.

You might be surprised to know what did it was becoming a mother. I'm guessing it's common in some regard, the question is in what direction. Do YOU see what's happening in the world and think, "oh my god, we are destroying the very place we live through capitalism and climate change?" If so, we might have a lot in common. And yet, it's at this moment where we start to parse out blame, that we might shift into radically different directions.

There is one mom I know, who went in the opposite direction from me. She had her son many years before I had mine, and she decided that vaccines were problematic, and big pharma was trying to control our lives. More recently she thinks local governments are against you because you can't import certain plants she wants to grow in her garden.

I went in the opposite direction. The birth of my twins was traumatic, (a story for another time) and I started to question how risk was communicated. I also gave birth at the beginning of a still to this day, ongoing pandemic - and felt a chill for how little communities and individuals cared about the most vulnerable. I've watched air quality turn on a dime from far away fires, flooding of epic proportions and I've watched legacy media and politicians falter in the face of vested business interests.

I saw my kids begin to learn about the world around them, and I began to question what parts of this planet would be gone by the time they are old enough to investigate it themselves.

I've been radicalized about pollution, climate change, abortion, economic, social and racial inequality. I've begun to question systems and the roles they have on limiting our freedom and our survivability, rather than supporting us.

I feel far from answers, but I also feel urgency. I don't want a survivable and better world just for my children, I want it for everyone. And so, I am going to pledge to do more work. I will not let the current systems and the inevitable worsening systems that are about to begin force me into tradwife existence. Yeah, sure, I am making my own bread now - but because it's become too damn expensive for my family of five to purchase it from the grocery store.

So I ask you, if you feel like you have been radicalized - tell me about it. Tell me how. Tell me why. Tell me what you are willing to do to work with me, and others to make this world a better place. Let's not look ahead like there is an end to our radicalization. Four years is not enough. Let's take it day by day, conversation by conversation. What's next?