As you know, I am befuddled by how the MAGA extremists view the world, all Republicans these days to be accurate. Take Ron Desantis … no, really, take him somewhere, anywhere! I used to live half the year in Florida, was even a legal Florida resident for a while. There was a time when I suffered under far right governors in both Florida (Rick Scott and then Desantis) and Wisconsin (Scott Walker). Talk about two living Hells.

Such politicians throw around the term ‘woke’ as if it were the equivalent to being a sociopath or a pedophile. No, they consider it much, much worse than being either of those despicable types. If afflicted with ‘wokeness,’ you are nothing less than Satan’s spawn. That is why Governor Desantis is on a crusade to eradicate this abominable evil from the Sunshine state. Hmm, being one myself (one of those ‘woke’ types), I wonder sometimes what I did to deserve such negative animus. One thing you can say about the contemporary version of conservative values, those clinging to the Republican faith can be nasty, especially since they often brag about being such nice, loving Christians. Perplexing indeed.

How odd that they should hate folk like me so intensly. I’m such a pleasant sort … a virtual saint in my own mind! Okay, perhaps I am not ready to be canonized by the Vatican, but I am reasonably harmless, that’s for damn sure.

But here’s the thing … in my own mind at least. If you look closely, the dispositions and perspectives of all those ‘woke’ types at whom the ‘right’ hurl their invective are rather special and surely pose little threat. Let’s look at some of the attributes associated with these dastardly ‘woke’ blokes.

If ‘woke,’ you are someone who reads books, not burns them. In fact, you revere the classics and hope the young will absorb their lessons, and to think through critically what might pertain to their own lives (or not). You don’t ban the very literature that elevates and educates us and, most of all, helps us to be critical thinkers capable of understanding our world a bit better.

You embrace and cherish science, not reject it and the people who labor to both better comprehend what is all about us and (more importantly) improve our lives. Science is not absolute truth, but the honest pursuit of truth according to rigorous methods that have been refined over a long time. Our journey toward greater understanding is one of the most sacred tasks we have, and is a faciliity which makes us unique as a species.

A malleable perspective on what we know is critical. A ‘woke’ individual is willing to change their minds when new and credible information becomes available. This does not suggest shallowness of thought. Quite the opposite, it suggests an appreciation of the complexity of life, and a desire to pursue more credible truths based on reason and evidence.

You understand and appreciate that most issues are not black and white. We do not live in a binary world. Some things seem set in stone, like the speed of light. Even there, though, quantum physics suggests tantalizing exceptions. That is the joy and mystery of life itself … the joy that comes with discovering new things and appreciating the complexity of all about us in this mysterious and marvelous universe that is just now opening up to our understanding.

A ‘woke’ person believes in equality of opportunity for all people. This does not mean you believe in some notion of absolute equality of outcomes. That ancient Marxist trope was a non-starter from the beginning. But a ‘woke’ iindividual would like to see everyone have a reasonable shot at the starting line of life. The ‘freedom to succeed’ American narrative is largely a joke when our individual paths through life are so hideously uneven. Sometimes, we all need a helping hand.

A woke person has empathy, or at least treasures it. What demarks a ‘woke’ individual from many on the other side is that the strive not to be a sociopath or a psychopath or a malignant narcissist. They can ‘feel’ what others are experiencing and facing. It is not ‘all about them.’ Life is not a Dickensian horror show, or shold not be at least.

Similarly, someone who is ‘woke’ embraces cooperation, civility, and community. We recognize that collaboration is better than unfettered individualism. It is what marks civilization and is responsible for much of human advancement. Margaret Mead, the iconic anthropologist, argued that finding skeletons with serious injuries buried with other members of nomadic tribes was a huge step forward for the species. Our ancestors started to care for one another rather than let the weaker members die alone. Working together helped us advance in the past; It is the way forward in the future.

A ‘woke’ person respects and defends the rights of others. We recognize that ‘no man is an island.’ If we do not defend the rights of others, we have no rights ourselves. We all recall the saying about “they first came for the disabled but I was not disabled, so I kept quiet; then they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist, so I kept quiet; then they came for the Jews …” In the end, if we always look the other way there will be no one left to fight for us when it is our turn.

When you are ‘woke,’ you believe that the arts, our creative impulses, have value. You value both art and artists. Life is more than the mere acquisition of material things, it is mostly about experiencing those perceptions and feelings that elevate our minds and souls. We must encourage and support such activities that explore deeper meanings. He who has the most toys at the end is not the winner in life. He who has experienced life more fully and with deeper feeling is richer by far.

And a ‘woke person’ cares about humanity and the planet. Let’s face it, we are a fragile species existing on a lonely planet on the fringe of one galaxy among billions, or trillions of such worlds. As far as we know, we are special and alone. We have a duty to preserve the human experiment as a whole (not just one nation or race or our own peculiar tribe), and to do our best to be a good steward to this planet on which we live and upon which we depend. Perhaps, if we don’t screw things up royally, we just might be in the process of creating our own form divinity in a way, since we have no way of anticipating where evolution might lead.

There may be more but this is a damn good start on defining what being ‘woke’ is. Call me ‘woke.’ I embrace the label. I really cannot think of a higher compliment!!!!!!!!