According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of “Woke” is being aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues.
In other words: Pay attention!
If I’m “woke,” it means that I’m informed, educated, and conscious of the issues that matter to me.
I pay attention to the issues I deem crucial to my life.
Who knew that would become a moral negative?
And my concerns encompass a whole range of issues, including, but not exclusively centered around, social justice or racial equality.
Pay attention. Be informed. Be aware.
Fairly straightforward, right?
And yet, the definition of “woke” has morphed into a no-no, something to be ashamed of, a political faux pas.
Many people (mostly Republicans) use “woke” as an insult against progressive values, or maybe it’s their way of clarion calling racism, white supremacy, and bigotry.
√ Progressive = Developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step.
√ Values = A person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.
Here is a short list of the things I deem essential in my wide-awake life:
- Freedom
- Equality
- Safety & Security
- Dignity
- Integrity
- Kindness
- Truthfulness
- Responsibility
- Inclusiveness
- Creativity
- Identity
- Community
I’m also wide awake regarding religious choice, affordable child care, common sense/bipartisan immigration, women’s rights, eradicating sexual assault, equal pay for equal work, sensible gun control, clean drinking water, equal taxation, affordable health care, saving our planet, bullies, bigots, and bullsh*t.
Do I deserve to be called a Marxist, snowflake, or even a liberal for what I believe to be necessary to live my best life?
I won’t call them friends any longer, but I even had some Facebook people put me down for where I was born and where I currently live.
Excuse me for being born in Connecticut (I’ve been called a Yankee) and relocating to New York (I’ve been accused of living in a Democratic bubble).
Really? You people who call yourself my friend have a problem with where I live?
I don’t put you down for living in podunk nowheresville.
And I never once accused anyone of living in a Republican bubble.
Give me a bubble break.
And FYI: I don’t need your permission or acceptance regarding my beliefs, where I was born, where I currently reside, or my political affiliation (until 2017, I was a registered Republican).
And no pun intended, but wake up “friends” because you are as woke as I am, you just don’t want to admit it and use wokeness as a slur against those you disagree with.
Your so-called anti-wokeness is an unsuccessful attempt to divert you from the reality of the world in which we all live. All of us, not just the some of us you think should exist.
THE ONLY ONE LIVING IN A BUBBLE IS YOU.
And for the record, I’d rather be awake than asleep.