The Shape of Society: A System of Coercion, not Creativity
One of the most entrenched and harmful societal illusions we have as a country is that we are “the land of the free.”
Whatever personal freedom we each have is largely dictated by our social location and capacity to accept “the world as it is.” People of color, women, trans folks, neurodivergent thinkers, and people with disabilities know at a visceral level the damage of this illusion.
1.9 million people are incarcerated in the United States (with an estimated 2-10% being innocent.)
1 in 3 women live in states where abortion care is not accessible.
People who are LGBTQ+ are 9 times more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to be victims of violent hate crimes.
People who are Black are 12 times more likely than white people to experience police misconduct.
84% of children in poverty will still be in poverty in adulthood. (We have 11 million children in poverty, as of 2021)
Americans are 26 times more likely to be killed in a gun-related homicide than in other industrialized countries.
Pause.
If your eyes just glazed over or you rushed past the statistics above, I invite you to go back and read each in an intentional way. Read them slowly, one-by-one, take a deep breath for each, and seek connection with the humans and stories behind the numbers.
Here is a framework that partially visualizes the shape of “freedom” in this country:
This image is based on the work of Brian McLaren and is presented in my book, Unmasking the Inner Critic.
Our personal freedom, to whatever extent we have it, is situated only within the context of structural constraints.
These constraints deem what is worthy and what is not in our society. They are the rubric by which our humanity is assessed. Our survival and ability to thrive is largely dependent on whether we “stay in our box” and accept the rules of the structural constraints that lay claim to us.
Some examples:
Capitalism deems us worthy based on our salary, movement "up the ladder," and employment.
White Supremacy deems us worthy based on our relationship to the self-deemed "supreme standard," as Resmaa Menakem calls it, of the white body.
Dualism deems us worthy based on whether we "fit in" or don't, act "right" or don't, stay "in line" or don't.
Patriarchy deems us worthy based on our adherence to gender norms, roles, and the illusion of the man-woman binary hierarchy.
If we go against these structural constraints and their rules, the system seeks to limit our personal freedom even further until our bodily autonomy and life itself is at stake.
Pause.
Think about the different structural constraints you’ve experienced in your life and how they have operated to keep you “under control and in line.” If one specific memory arises, try sitting with a pen and paper and telling your story to the page.
(Some other constraints you might reflect on: ableism, heteronormativity, cisnormativity, religious doctrine, educational privilege, geographical privilege.)
Structural constraints are enforced in numerous ways, including through our laws, policing systems, cultural traditions, institutions, and through our own relationships.
Here are several pervasive narratives you have likely heard/thought/used to keep people (and yourself) within a box.
“You are personally free BUT:
don’t speak about racial justice too often or we’ll write you off as ‘that person.’”
make sure you have a husband or we’ll think ‘something’s wrong with you.’”
avoid dancing or singing in public, and if you do, it must be at a concert.”
make sure you work 35+ hours a week or we will ostracize you as ‘lazy.’”
refrain from sharing your political views if they differ from the group’s.”
you better fit into ‘traditional’ family structures and expectations.”
keep your sexual orientation and/or gender identity to yourself.”
don’t wear pink shoes or a dress of any kind if you’re a man.”
To paraphrase gender rights activist Alok Vaid-Menon, the architecture of this reality is based on coercion, not creativity.
And certainly not freedom.
📝 Questions:
What is your embodied experience and relationship with “freedom?” How is your intellectual concept of freedom similar and/or different from your lived experience of freedom?
What is your relationship with the structural constraints of our society? Which structures do you reject, deny, or fight against? Which do you accept freely? Which have benefitted you?
🧰 Resources:
"Living in the Box," by Brian McLaren (video)
"The United States’ ‘Independence’ is Masked in Genocide and Imperialism," by Daisee Francour (article)
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