Blog: [dis]_enTpowered

Finding Empowerment Through Dissent

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

–The Buddha

Finding Empowerment Through Dissent

[dis]_enTpowered:

1. (n) a collection of thoughts and reflections on the role of power in history-culture-society.
2. (v) the process by which a person who has been disempowered regains their power.

What?

Starting this blog is my endeavor to finding empowerment through dissent and thus explores themes of power and the role it plays in shaping individuals and society. Specifically, I seek to understand the ways in which power (both private and public) is gained, maintained, and/or lost; the complicated interplay between our internal selves and the outside world; and the tensions that exist between personal autonomy and social membership.

Especially, I want to investigate the mythologies and conflicts that exist between fundamental principles of human rights and unalienable personhood, and contradicting philosophies of human organization and categorization (constructs which have been entrenched within the fabric of human experience and into which we must all be born and to which we are all currently moored) that, by definition, are dependent upon the creation and propagation of belief in ideas of inclusion and exclusion, of belonging and not belonging, of empowerment and disempowerment.

Why?

I started this blog because I believe in the power and importance of dissent as a historical record that can drive critical thought and help shape social-cultural discourse.

I am interested in these ideas because of my own personal story and journey. As a refugee BIPOC trying to navigate and untangle the complexities of my own diaspora and intersectionality (and striving to build a life in which I am neither defined, confined, nor consumed by my various states and/or levels of disenfranchisement and marginalization), I have had to climb many mountains and walk through many fires in order to find my sense of power and voice on the other side.

Ultimately, I believe that the lessons that I have learned and the knowledge that I have gained have given me a unique and valuable perspective. As such, I want to use this blog as a platform for critical thought and dissent that is motivated by a deep and enduring commitment to truth and love (of self and of others), that encourages radical hope and optimism in the possibility of change and progress, and that reminds us of our shared humanity and common destiny. 

This is my goal as a writer and as a person.

What about you? What are your goals?

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