A lenghty letter to the documented immigrants of the Americas
Dearest children of the “New World,”
As we all know from civics class and from the famous manuscripts of the Athenians, the most important task we have as citizens is to be active political members of our polis. Today, it is the world polis. But we have failed at that. We keep busy producing stuff and consuming stuff. None of which contain ideas, critique, or creative endeavor. We are compartmentalized. We remain simple members of a highly complex international society.
I will say it again. We are shamefully lacking on political participation. We think it is not our task. “That is why there is a government representative in office to vouch for us,” we tell ourselves. This is foolish to say the least. Every action, even inaction, is political. By not engaging the corrupt, the schemers, and the pathological leeches you are just filling in time until you are no longer here. Whether you are rich or privileged, poor or marginalized, or an average lay person too busy to care, you are all responsible for each other.
Societies cannot and will not become more just, more democratic, or more livable if people do not engage in political deliberations. So, I say to you:
Protest in the streets, meet more with your friends, go on adventures for more than a day’s length, break the rules more often, be critical to authority, innovate social relations, squat together, create monasteries, have more lovers, be sincere, take more time to think, forget about sports craze or super heroes, be more giving, don’t dwell too much on getting back what you give, consider the Other, care for non-humans, be artistic, have fun being weird, do drugs, own your body, and know that all these things are political acts. Be hospitable too.
Learn to suffer profoundly, experience disgusting moments, read and write on philosophy, expect very little, try to confuse things, deconstruct ideas, rejoice in disorder, walk more, listen more, try getting out of your comfort zone every month or so. Be honest and flexible and try to convince others of this too.
For my own part of the world, the Americas, as it is called, I suggest we go even further. A nessessary threshold to be overcome, perhaps a higher duty and intellectual challenge than being political, is for the citizen of the Americas to learn a native language. This is the passport to becoming a true local. Until this moment we can be think of ourselves as ungrateful guests. We owe it to our new home, to engage it with curiosity.
A language is the symbolic organization of the world. It is an ontological window. Don’t you want to experience your home through a language that formed there? Forget the “West,” forget Europe for a while, stop looking at them with awe and create your own place, fill it with beauty from your surroundings. Language is the way to start looking at the same place, with new categories, knowledge, even a different philosophy. Don’t be afraid to move on.
Segismundo Del Nuevo Mundo
