Wokedom: Be Woke About Being Woke

The term ‘woke’ has gained prominence in the last few years and being ‘woke’ itself is a desirable attribute to human beings. Given that being woke is defined as being “alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism” and noting that “…Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism…” it has become more important for us to stay woke.

Being woke alone does not cut it though. One cannot just be woke and end there. There is really no power in knowing that there is prejudice and injustice going on in the world. It is akin to being hungry and knowing that there is food in the cupboard. With such knowledge one must arise, make their way to said cupboard, get the food and eat it to rid themselves of hunger.

This brings us to another word that has been used much of late:

Progressive.

This word is normally defined; among other things; as “…(a person or idea) favouring social reform” or as a noun, “an advocate of social reform”. This means that after noting or observing social injustice, one has to raise their voice not only to condemn such practices, but to lobby or encourage those in spheres of influence to put in place measures that bring about change. All this is well and praiseworthy. A few examples of progressivism include the demolishing of a patriarchal society and, advocating for LGBTQ+ (I may be forgetting a letter or two) rights.

On the surface everything seems pretty much straight forward. It seems to be a simple chain: you see an injustice, you call it and the perpetrator out, a solution comes about; right?

Erm, I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple.

You see, humans beings are generally influenced by two categories of data: scientific and non-scientific. I know many might quickly point out that there is also a third category called pseudoscientific data. I personally put pseudoscientific data in the same bucket with non-scientific data because opinions play a bigger role in pseudoscientific data as compared to scientific data.

The aim is not to bore you with all this scientific and non-scientific business, I just want to lay a foundation and a background for the crux of this article. Scientific data is that information that can be verified scientifically. These are hard unchanging facts that have been tested and found to be true. If you add one and three you get four. That is a fact you cannot argue against regardless of which country you come from. Scientific facts tend to be objective.

Non-scientific data on the other hand tends to be subjective. It is that information that is based on opinion and feelings. This is usually determined by a number of factors that include culture, levels of education and at times, religion. It usually comes out as views and opinions and it can change with time.

Now then, how’s does all this tie up with woke-ism and progressivism?

Remember we said being woke is being alert to social injustice and we also said being a progressive is being an activist against social injustice. So what all this seems to suggest is that ‘social injustice’ is at the centre of these terms, and this brings me to the question: what is social injustice?

This seems like a question with a pretty straight forward answer. Generally, social injustice can be called a violation of one’s civil rights that could inhibit their ability to realise full potential to the point of impeding one’s success.

…a violation of one’s civil rights…

That piece of the definition of social injustice can be a bit difficult to understand at times depending on a number of factors because for the most part it falls under non-scientific data. We may agree that violence against children, gender discrimination and racial discrimination are social injustices, but there are some things that we do not easily agree on. Because non-scientific data is based on opinion, whose opinion must we use?

There are some issues that are a bit more controversial depending on who you ask. One such issue is marriage (between a man and a woman) and the roles played by each partner. I will dwell on this one because it is the one that i am more knowledgeable in.

With the ‘world’ trying to create equality between men and women, the ripple effect on marriage cannot be ignored. For purposes of this article, the marriage I am talking about is one between a man and a woman. There are two views when it comes to marriage: the first one says marriage is not an achievement. This is normally said to women in order to encourage them to chase their dreams.

Dreams.

The second, and less popular view says that a person should prioritise marriage. It is again usually said to women. The encouragement is for them to settle down and raise families early when they still have the energy.

I strongly believe in both views. To each his own.

Another bone of contention is the roles played by men and women in marriage. Some say the man must wear the pants in the relationship while some say it should be the woman. There are some also believe that duties should be shared equally.

My view?

Again, to each his own.

I however have a problem when, in the guise of being a progressive, one tries to intervene in another person’s relationship and ‘direct’ them in how they should handle said relationship. I worry that in our quest to change the world and be woke, we are becoming the monster we are trying to fight. The way people go about spreading progressive views has become toxic-ally intolerant to divergent views. When wokeness and progressivism started out, the aim was to fight for guaranteed freedom for everyone.

The result however is far off the mark from what we set out to achieve. Now the majority (who in most cases are progressives) are killing off the views of those who disagree with them through cancel culture and at times social media bullying (also known as ‘dragging’ or ‘fetching’).

You dare not hold a view that opposes certain ‘influencers’ or ‘faves’ because you will curse the day you were born. As I said earlier concerning most of these views, to each his own. If someone wants a patriarchal marriage (whether male or female), by all means let them have it. To them it might be the ultimate goal but not to you. That may be THEIR dream. As long as that marriage is entered into by two adults who agree on that set up, we must let them be. If it is their definition of love and respect and it hurts neither of them, they should not be made to feel bad about it. Similarly, if the man does certain duties that certain societies may deem feminine, let them be. If consenting adults are doing something freely without being compelled, why should we compel them to do what makes US happy. It’s THEIR life.

Non-scientific data is subjective and everyone’s view is right. At the end of it all, be woke and progressive enough to allow for people who don’t agree with you to enjoy their lives the way they see fit. Do not be a hindrance to someone living their life the way they see fit FOR THEMSELVES.

I really do not brand myself as a progressive though there are some progressive views that I agree with. This whole article is a subjective article anyhow. It’s made up of my views… my opinions.

Feel free to agree with me.

Feel free to disagree with me.

To each his own