By Brad West
Over 240 years ago the people of the 13 Colonies did not enjoy liberty. They lived under a tyrant who denied them the right to free speech to hold him and his government to account. They slowly carved out their own freedoms but were officially denied access to certain books which may have influenced them to rebel. They did not feel safe in their person nor were protected from warrantless search and seizure at any time. They did not have the right to privacy or their property.
The list goes on. Because of their awareness to those injustices and courage to stand up to them, we enjoy those rights today codified in the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights because our founders were woke.
Until 1865, the institution of enslaving human beings was legal. It was because of Abolitionists who fought decade after decade against that injustice, and the bloodiest war this continent has known, that our nation finally passed the 13th Amendment to end that inhumane atrocity that denied Black Americans their liberty.
Once the South erased the progressive achievements of Reconstruction, it was not until another century until the civil rights era–the Second Reconstruction–finally afforded Black Americans equal protections, including the unimpeded right to vote. Those major milestones in civil rights in the United States was because of those who were, and are, woke, and had the courage to act on their convictions.
It was not until 1920 that women across the United States were afforded the right to vote (they’d gained it earlier in some states). Until then, women were denied their liberty to have a voice and say. But it was not until the 1970s and the Women’s Movement that women received protections against discrimination, affording them what may seem the simplest of things today, like having their own bank account–or to have autonomy over their own body.
It was another two decades until women got protection against sexual harassment or protection from not being fired simply because they were pregnant, and it was only in 2009 when they won the right to equal pay. Again, those major milestones in civil rights are the achievements of those who were, and are today, woke.
It was not until recent years that Americans who identify as LGBTQ+ were afforded the protections to be their authentic selves openly in our free society, and no longer have their identity and liberty to express it denied. Those gains are in retreat, but that’s what same-sex couples, transgender individuals, and all of those who identify as LGBTQ+ are battling for, as anyone who identifies as American ought to be battling for: to enjoy life openly in communities where they live, work, and contribute, like anyone else. Again, those major milestones in civil rights, those ongoing struggles, are the work of those who were, and are, woke.
Woke is not “indoctrination.” Woke is literally defined in the dictionary as “alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination.” It is the very reason we are a nation and enjoy the liberties we enjoy today. Woke is to be aware of injustice, to speak out and take action when our own principles are violated, and to continue to make our nation great.
What is truly perverse today are those who actively seek to infringe upon the liberties of others while masquerading as defenders of liberty: Those who actively work to ban books, denying students access to materials that may expand their minds and help them ask critical questions. Those who attack people who identify as LGBTQ+. Those who seek to suppress our racist history and the contribution of Blacks Americans, without which there would have been no America.
It is perverse and un-American to applaud legislatures like ours in Florida that seek to pass laws suppressing rights and restricting popular power to challenge injustices. It is perverse and neither just nor American to applaud a state that literally budgets tax dollars to mislead and traffic human beings who are strangers to our country. And it is perverse to claim to do these things because of Christian values, when Christian teachings demand that Christians to be attentive to and stand up against injustice.
To be Christian is to be woke.
One cannot expect others to have respect for their liberty without having respect for the liberty of others. In a free society, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not just for some. Listen to those words you Pledge time after time: with liberty and justice for all. It doesn’t mean you have to embrace another’s difference. But a truly free society demands respect for difference. Intolerance and indifference are the enemies of liberty and justice for all.
I, for one, am thankful for all of those who have been woke throughout our history, are woke today, and have had the courage to stand up and effect change even in the face of the enormous costs and hardships. They are our American heroes. We should never forget what they have endured and done for us. To me, to be a true American and enjoy liberty, one must be woke. Anyone telling you otherwise is more likely seeking to deny someone, somewhere, their liberty.
We are not perfect, and will always be a work in progress, even in wokeness. But we get better because of those who have been, and are, woke. We have liberty because of those who have been, and are, woke.
Brad West is a Palm Coast resident.
Atwp says
Good story. My question is why do white men always try to keep other people from having the freedom they say this country offers? White men are the worst of the worst. This will never happen but it would be nice for people of color to rise up and lynch white men and the world see it. It would be nice for white people to feel the pain they caused my people to experience. It would be nice if the evil spirits of hell would come and take every white person to the hot abyss. I don’t believe what I wrote will happen, but I want white people to hurt and pain the way my fore fathers did. They murdered the Indians, lynched, burned, castrated, denied my people. They raped my fore fathers and my fore mothers. Yeah white men raped black men. The white people sexaully assaulted black men. No doubt the white people killed black women when they gave birth to the white man child due to rape. No doubt black men and black women were killed after the white men raped them. Don’t forget about the children getting raped and killed by the white people. I will not forget about the murderous atrocities against other people of color. Oh God why did you create the white people, oh God why?
Brad W says
Hi, Atwp. I am the author of this piece. I am a white male. It would be remiss for me to say I understand your pain You ask a great question. One I have asked often is why does God allow evil to exist. God and Jesus taught us the relationship between God and us is familial and parental. Just as our parents have free will, God so loves us that he has given us free will. Just as a parent is tortured by any pain brought upon their child, doesn’t God feel the same about His children? Isn’t that what he was showing us in the entirety of the Crucifixion?
I do not understand the hatred that exists simply because of skin color or any other reason to hate. I do think on it actually often. I am not any closer to an answer as it makes no sense to me. But is hatred in response to hatred the best path forward? Sorry, but I can not reconcile that it ishow we move forward. When then does it ever stop?
I am glad you are here. You are important. You are valuable. All because you are you.
Laurel says
Atwp: You are no different from the people of the past that you hate. Not one bit.
Kat says
Do you realize that what you propose is just as bad as what was done to your people? Two wrongs do not make a right, they make more hatred. Hatred and apathy are what allow evil to thrive. Call out evil where you see it and replace it with kindness.
Sherry says
@ATWP Certainly your heart is in great pain. . . pain for the horrendous suffering of your ancestors, pain for the horrific injustices that STILL happen each and every day in our country and around the world. . . even in Africa.
I would like to believe that you, somewhere deep inside, know that even if the retribution you speak of took place, it would not bring you peace. Consider the possibility that some really good counseling just may help sooth those deep wounds in your soul. Try, try, try to rise above hate and replace it with even a small, growing kindness. . . do not go the tortured way of those who committed those atrocities.
Laurel says
Thank you, Brad West, for explaining the true meaning of woke. Yes, African Americans have been using the word woke to mean the waking up to injustice. DeSantis, and the politicians like him, have turned the word into Newspeak. They have used the word, without definition, to mean whatever they don’t like, or whatever they don’t want us to like. It shows the manipulation these politicians use for their own personal benefits, not ours.
The dude says
Craziest thing about Meatball Ron’s human trafficking flights is that he’s using our (the citizens of Florida) money to fly immigrants from another state to another state… none of them have even touched Florida soil. And, he uses private keys to do so.
And MAGA cheers.
The dude says
“jets”… And, he uses private “jets” to do so.
Damn you autocorrect.
NBR (L section) says
Brad, well spoken, having spent 20+ years as a senoir, and 20+ yrs as as Foreign Service Officer with the Dept of State I have seen incredible atracities and poverty that I hope the USA will never see, that said, I do not recognise our nation any more. Certain figures have taken us down a path towards 3rd world nations. The political climate has never in our history been this bad. It will take a few decades to fix, I hope I am still around to see it.
Our Governor is some piece of work, I will leave it at that.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Catholics are not WOKE!!!!! Read the bible… Your 100% wrong.
protonbeamexposure says
I am surprised this nonsense was published, but Pierre has a blind spot for ideological causes near and dear. Society is and always has been regulated, ruled and curtailed – and so have “freedoms” in fact – freedom does not mean FREE FOR ALL. Never has and never will. Founders were not woke – they were greedy and got tired of paying taxes and being told they would pay for the follies of Britain and not have any say in what follies those were. In fact those “rights” Brad describes aren’t really right at all and were principles derived from The Natural Law (an ought to be doctrine) and the interpretation of God’s Law – and they still do not exist in most of the world to this day – because as xenophobic as Brads treatise is, i really comes from a 21st Century Entitled Western World Perspective – I mean a few billion people trapped in the caste system in India would really get a chuckle out of this fairy tale literature.
Brad would have us believe that anytime someone says “no” that is somehow an injustice. Anytime someone draws a line on unacceptable or destructive behavior they are a bigot. That anything is acceptable when hidden under the color of “injustice” – which is pure indefensible and unliveable nonsense.
The last ideological absurdity is Brads line “to be Christian is to be woke” – perhaps that is true, but I would suspect it might be a WOKE that is coherent and consistent with the laws of the Christian religion.
Sherry says
@proton. . . whatever. . . certainly you are entitled to your own OPINION. However, please exercise just a bit of introspection by understanding that simply because you are “a legend in your own mind”, does not automatically make you the absolute authority on what it takes to be WOKE.
Thank you, Brad, for your thoughts and perspective!
Laurel says
Proton: Your last sentence made no sense. What does “… to be a WOKE that is coherent and consistent…” mean?
The name Christ means “enlightened.” Jesus was the enlightened one.
Ray W. says
One of the better recent examples of a FlaglerLive commenter being right and wrong at the same time.
It seems plausible that the debate/fight/debacle over how “woke” is/should be defined, as presented by protonbeamexposure, misses the main point. The purpose of language is how best to convey in whole any idea in one person’s mind to another person.
Some argue that a precise definition of words is the best way to accomplish that transfer. Others (Pirsig, for example) argue that attempting to define a word actually increases a risk of making the definition more important than the actual word.
At this point, it seems to me that no one can precisely define what “woke” actually means, and the moment anyone tries to offer any definition, someone else immediately attacks the definer, because the attacker has his or her own personal definition, which makes the overall effort meaningless in such a caustic atmosphere.
There seems to be a minority-driven definition of woke. There is also a political definition of woke. Then, there seems to be a religious context of woke. A business model of woke. For example, Dennis C. Rathsam insists that Catholics are not “WOKE!!!!!” Out of 1.3 billion Catholics in this wide world, not one is woke? Really?
I am reminded of an assignment in a college English Literature class, in which the professor asked us to comb through a dictionary to find the one word with the most meanings. At that time, the verb “to run” had the most meanings, at 105. Not one of those meanings meant “to stop.” But the variety of accepted meanings was quite broad. While “woke” seems to be ever broadening in its reach, I don’t suppose it will ever get close to the verb, to run in breadth, but who knows? Nearly 40 years after the dictionary exercise, I posed the same question to my fellow appellate public defenders. With the internet, it was easy to find the winning term, which I no longer remember, but the verb to run was in second place, with some 450 or so meanings. I have heard many argue over the years that English is an extraordinarily rich and diverse language; it even encompasses Spanglish (Thank you, Mr. Tristam, for that article).
On the other hand, my Philosophy of Religion professor assigned Paul Matthew Van Buren’s essay titled: The Edges of Language. As I understood the thrust of the essay, he posited that mankind, being finite in its range of thought, cannot ever understand the infinite nature of the divine word of God. However, mankind must forever strive to expand the edges of language in an important effort to attempt to better understand the unattainable divine. Dogma has no place in Van Buren’s world.
While Thomas Reid offered the initial idea, Wittgenstein perhaps said it best when he argued that there are two types of language, natural and artificial. Natural language, per Wittgenstein, encompassed facial expressions, body language, gestures, grunts, hoots, bellows, and all the range of emotions that can be expressed without words. English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, etc., all are “artificial” languages, which are layered over natural language.
To Wittgenstein, artificial languages are imprecise, perhaps for the same reason Pirsig declined to define the term “quality”, the central term of his best-selling Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
I happen to agree with Wittgenstein and Pirsig about the greater accuracy of the natural language form of expression, perhaps due to the influence of a story set forth in Dr. Oliver Sacks’ thoroughly entertaining book, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.” Dr. Sacks, while working in a mental health facility, watched a group of aphasic patients. Aphasia means losing the ability to comprehend words. However, the patients could fully understand natural language. He wrote of a group of aphasics who watched a president give a televised speech. They were howling, hooting, and laughing throughout. They couldn’t understand what the president was saying, but they all knew he was lying throughout the speech, being experts in reading body language. What a wonderful vignette, a wonderful snapshot. We focus too much on the words of politicians and not enough on their body language, gestures, expressions, etc., and thus are so easily fooled. As Wittgenstein argued, one of the most difficult things in life is to not fool oneself.
As an aside, it can easily be argued that our founding fathers were woke. You know, the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness thing. Yes, the original draft had “pursuit of property” in it, but the founders reconsidered and took that term out, perhaps to the betterment of us all.
In sum, it appears that protonbeamexposure presents as more wrong than right, mainly because he insists that his definition of “woke” is the only acceptable one, to the exclusion of any other definition. The English language just doesn’t work that way. That doesn’t mean he should stop trying. Oy vey!
Dennis C. Rathsam, on the other hand, presents as fully wrong. Again! All he has to do to improve his comment is to argue that perhaps, just maybe, most Catholics are not woke, but he apparently lives in an all-or-nothing world. After all, most Catholics live outside the borders of the United States and are not influenced by certain American politicians.
Laurel says
Ray W.: OMG! I’ve stated more than once, here in comments, that I do not understand how people can watch Trump and completely miss his body language, or as you say here, natural language. Maybe if they just turn off the sound and watch him, they will finally get it! Since every damned word a politician says these days is repeated almost endlessly on various channels and social media, the mute button may do our country a world of good.