So yes, I believe in individual self-improvement. It’s why I bought a bike and try to ride it because walking hurt too much. It’s why I read everything I can, try to learn everything I can, try to be a little better today than I was yesterday and a little better tomorrow than I am today. It’s why every day I try to write code, get out of the house, do little tasks and chores that most of you - even the people who were born without any of the privilege I was - wouldn’t think twice about. Every single day I make myself hold off on taking those pain pills instead of throwing em back by habit just in case I might hurt bad enough today to need them. I push myself in small ways. And sometimes I don’t do shit and some days I gotta chug those fucking pills before noon and some days I can’t even get myself up and to the café a block away.

But on most days I do. And that’s me pushing myself. That’s winning.

I don’t want you to hear things I’m not saying here. I’m not saying that if you’ve got the deck stacked against you that you’re just a whiner and you should man up. I’m not saying you can do anything if you believe in yourself or anything dumbass like that. I’m not saying privilege isn’t real or that I know what it’s like to be a woman in a misogynist society or a black person in a racist society or a queer or trans person in a homophobic society.

I’m saying that in addition to - and, honestly, maybe even before - trying to right the wrongs of all the other people who make up this stupid ass monkey species of ours, you begin by looking at your own situation, what your strengths and limitations are, and work on yourself to build the former and overcome the latter based on the resources you can find both within and without yourself - your community, your family if they’re not shitty, and your own will and skillset and knowledge and tangible and intangible assets you have at your fingertips. Because whatever else might be bad or unfair about your life, you ain’t dead, and that puts you ahead of the 100 billion people who already shot their shot at this world.

So, no, I don’t think we need to cede these beliefs and questions to the right wing. I think there’s a place for us to stand up for young folks and say: yes, you might be society’s victim in some ways, but that doesn’t mean you have to be society’s bitch. You can be better than you could be, be more than the product of your circumstances, and make the world better by working to be a good person and stand up for others and fight for what’s right instead of always and only ever striving for yourself.

And that’s a good lesson to learn no matter who or what or how old you are.

3/3