What We Have is Much More than They Can See: The Value of Consideration in the Wake of America

By Idia Enadeghe

I just want to start by saying, I am no expert on anything. But with that being said, from the book Circe by Madeline Miller, "Yet because I knew nothing, nothing is beneath me."

Things I do know:

• The value of consideration (In Idia's words: YOU NEED TO CARE)

As days have gone by, I have been thinking not just about the murders that have occurred at the hands of ICE's abuse of power, or the vague dialogue on the evil that is billionaires, or the general cluster of feces that is this nation. I have also been thinking about the consideration that needs to be given, so that the change that feels stagnant can move.

On a very small, very simple, very I'm not an expert but a human being level...

Protesters gather at U Street and 14th Street in Washington, D.C

I just want to say I'm anxiously afraid of the powers that be, like I'd like to believe others are. No, I'm not talking about Donald 'Dump.' I am talking about the individual power that you and I possess to voice, very subjectively, what we know to believe are the rights and wrongs in this world.

Now, at this protest, I ran into an individual who stood out from the rest of the crowd because he shouted, "But we can't talk about Sudan and Congo?!"

Now, I do want to be clear that this is like someone talking about cancer and a person shouting in the crowd, "But what about AIDS?" But when he said it, I paused the conversation with my friend to see what he had hoped and wanted all of us to hear.

Now he was right, although it was the wrong but emotionally right scenario. We don't talk about Sudan and Congo, and we need to. We don't talk about the cruelty of war, the effects of imperialism in Africa, genocide, ethnic cleansing in exchange for resources, and the corruption that takes place, slowly poisoning the people. But that's why I want to bring in this idea: the value of consideration.

It must be acknowledged that the price we pay for being American is the blanket of selfishness and arrogance, and the price we pay for being African American is this shield of survival. (But that's a whole other tangent.) We've become so comfortable and confident in the idea that all is unknown that we never push to see how what we do know in our hearts could impact the next person.

-not an expert

For the guy, it wasn't his actions, it wasn't the specific words he had said, or the passion he had in saying what he believed. What stood out for me was the thought that may or may not have crossed his mind, that it all had to be considered.

What is scarier than the things happening around us is the empathy that is being lost in its path. It is a sprout that constantly needs to grow, but it can only do so if you make the choice to water it.

At this time, we are all primary sources to the history that envelops us.

We are the active listeners.

We are autonomous walking agents.

We are the spirit of all the virtues and morals we wish to hold on to and see.

To keep it real, I don't believe we are all meant to be the voices, but we are the echo.

So with all things considered, have the thought, choose to learn more, water your compassion for others, and choose to realize that although it may feel bigger than you, it could be you.