1. Notes: 3 / 1 year ago 

   Fight the System! (Or Maybe Not)

   I am a born activist, and love to “fight the system”. I grew up listening to Rage Against the Machine, toting a “Free Leonard Peltier” sign. However, I’ve learned that sometimes there’s a much more effective way to provide a solution to a problem.
   
   I spent years lobbying for women’s rights, fighting governments for more action and accountability, and so on. Consequently, I garnered lots of high powered enemies and landed myself in jail more times than I can count. I did manage to pass some a pretty significant bill for the “criminalization of the solicitation of prostitution”, but passing a bill and actually enforcing the law are two very different things.
   
   I thought, “Ok, if I’m doing this to protect and empower women, am I really achieving that through my actions?” The majority of what I was accomplishing was making myself a martyr, and the women actually became more of a target than they were previously. Not cool.
   
   So, I created KEZA as a way to provide a way out of prostitution and legitimate income to women that would, as a result, never have to enter into prostitution as a way to survive. Better to be pro-active, as opposed to reactive anyway, right?
   
   Now we our program provides these amazing women with lucrative careers and a path to dignity. And all of those high powered people that I would have been going toe to toe with are singing our praises and supporting our work instead of trying to haul me (and the women) into jail.
   
   Sometimes fighting the system merely serves the people fighting the system, not the people that they’re trying to help, which sort of defeats the purpose. There’s often a better, more sustainable and impacting way to serve the people, but it typically requires more though.

2. Notes

   1. jaredmiller posted this
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These are my thoughts, and more likely my agendas. Let’s call a spade a spade. I want to inspire people to treat each other with love and respect, and to live each second as if it were our last.

At the end of the day, I appreciate the journey, good and bad. I believe there is purpose in everything; literally everything. And the more I embrace that, the more I truly live; the more peace I have.

I believe in the social entrepreneur model, as opposed to the traditional forms of aid that have crippled developing nations for decades. And on top of that, I believe the fashion industry is one of the best industries to leverage as a tool to combat poverty and help restore dignity to developing nations. So that's my thing. If that's not appealing, you might want to read a different blog.

I believe in the power and importance of ubuntu. I aspire to do more…more than I have to. I won’t "change the whole world", but I intend to make some significant improvements along the way as I try. And I’ll fight for all sorts of justice, up to the day they throw dirt on me.

I thank God that I get to live this life. Carpe diem.

+ Comments are welcome. I'd love for this to be a two way conversation. +

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