Reflecting during the ride home from yesterday’s freedom rally, I realized several things:
As authoritarianism rises, I am meeting the most amazing, brave, thoughtful people who are taking great risks and making many sacrifices to fight for our liberties, and I am grateful for that;
I am also filled with gratitude that I did the work and regained my health, and through doing so, made myself capable of sharing the love I feel for the world and *everyone* in it with others;
My personal mantra for the past few years has been “Live Free And Thrive!” Yesterday, hundreds of people chanted this with me during my speech and it filled my heart;
We also chanted “Turn it off! Turn it off!” referring to the legacy news and social media that is designed to divide us. Here’s a short clip of the start of my speech. The battery ran out, but the full speech should be forthcoming soon.
It struck me that during the last days of apartheid, one of my favorite protest bands, Johannes Kerkorrel en Die Gereformeerde Blues Band, had a song called “Sit Dit Af!”–literally “Switch It Off,” and for the very same reason: They are polluting your brain. Here is the original song, in case you’re curious.