STAY READY

“I don’t get ready, I stay ready.”

I grieved. I cried. I ate a Cosmic Brownie (a chocolate fudge brownie with thick chocolate frosting) that also had bonus candy on top. I talked with friends. I avoided television. I played with my dogs. I sat and watched the sunset with my sister.

And then I got to work.

The previous run of this “new” administration is like playing an opponent previously in a tournament. I know your moves. I know your best players. I know your tactics for psyching me out. I know your plays. I know your game plan. I know your Project. I know how you cheat. I’m on to you.

So, thank you.

Thank you for getting me ready all those years ago for what I would face today. Granted, I didn’t think I’d have to do this all over again. I thought my fellow country people already figured out the mess they made before. But, alas, here we are. That’s alright though - because it’s been nearly 10 years and I’m stronger, faster, smarter, and you published your playbook.

So, what now.

Now, I study it. Now, I get to work. Now, I take your playbook and find all the ways that I’m going to outsmart you, out move you, out game you, and outlast you.

I’m a nerd for strategy. I’m a Virgo. I’m type A, overachieving, loudmouth, almost 50-year old who doesn’t give a damn what you think of me … so I’m all in.

We have just about 2 months until the new administration comes in. So, are we going to wait until that day to start training? I’m not. My training started back in 2015 when this whole mess began. (Actually, my training started the day I was born as a little, brown, baby girl in this world). I’m using the next two months to study all the plays and make the moves.

In the meantime, what can we be doing as schools, teachers, leaders, and communities? I got you.

1) THEIR STRATEGY: DEMORALIZE AND DEPRESS YOU.

My strategy: I got the baddest and bestest crew ever. When one falls, we all rescue. When one rises, we pull everyone up. So, you can’t depress me when I’ve got these folks.

2) THEIR STRATEGY: DIVIDE US.

My strategy: Double down on connections. I can choose to hold both of these truths — that people in this country have different stories, experiences, and paths. And also, I can see my own humanity in you and you in mine. We are one. A diverse, different, vibrant community and I hold each one of you as precious as I hold myself. I am choosing to link arms, to lift, and to work from abundance.

3) THEIR STRATEGY: FEAR THROUGH LIES.

My strategy: Truth telling even if your voice shakes. I have seen half a century of people’s experiences - the joys, pains, successes, and failures. I know there is not one story. I know that I can hold complexity. So, I will commit to truth. I do not need to cover up or sugar coat the reality of this country to appease others. I do not need to move at the pace of the least interested and the most resistant. Truth telling guides me. And so I commit to truth.

4) THEIR STRATEGY: DO AS YOU’RE TOLD.

My strategy: Curiosity rules. I am going to ask WHY. I am going to LEARN. I am going to READ. I am going to THINK CRITICALLY. I am going to open myself to other people’s histories from THEIR perspectives and not just from the narrative of those who conquer. I learned a lot about one version of history - it’s clear I need to go read everyone else’s. From their perspectives.

5) THEIR STRATEGY: FALL IN LINE.

My strategy: Make a mess. I’m going to get messy with other people. I’m going to get messy with identity work. I’m going to get messy with cross racial solidarity. I’m going break ranks. I’m going to color outside the lines. I’m going to be in places to be more proximate - closer - to those who I have kept at a distance. I’m going to examine my proximity map and double down on making sure I learn about those who I am not close to. I will blur the lines between what I know and what I do not in an effort to get closer to truth.

I am not hopeless. I am not defeated. I am not willing to be a bystander to this a second time around. I know the game.

I’m ready. Stay ready.

Liza