By Ryan Mifflin

In the words of the revolutionary new band the Flobots, “There is a war going on for your mind”.

Don’t believe me? That’s because “they” don’t want you to believe me.

In our quest to change the world for the better, the creators of the Dirty Roots Revolution have intentionally set out to combat the all-too-prevalent concept that one person can’t actually make a difference.

Why do people think this? This is not the line of thinking that affected massive social and cultural changes in the 1960s. For all of its faults, that revolution did at least believe that what they were doing was going to make a difference.

I’m of the opinion that people don’t believe they can make a difference because they’ve allowed the powers-that-be to make them feel that way. “They” want you to feel like the problems of the world are too big. They want you to think that your efforts to change things won’t matter in the long run.

Because once you start thinking that way, you stop focusing on “them”. “They” are the powers that be. “They” are the government. I’m not a conspiracy theorist…well, not exactly, anyway. But I do believe that our government generally has its own best interests at heart. “They” are the large corporations. They need you to need what they’re trying to sell you.

What would happen if you quit listening to “them” and set out to make a difference?
What if you put all of your passion into loving on your homeless brothers and sisters living on the streets of your town? The government might not want you to do that because it would require admitting that there is a problem. And that means they’ve failed. And if you make the streets a better place, what ills would they work so diligently to rid the streets of? Never mind the fact that those efforts never end.

What would happen if you changed your priorities and put more of your time, effort, and resources, into your new outreach to the homeless? You might realize that you don’t need that flat-screen, high-definition, plasma-screen TV after all. And where would that leave Sony?

You might realize that you didn’t need most of the gadgets that you’ve enslaved yourself with. And where does that leave the widget makers?

I believe that it is in the best interests of the powers that be – all of the over-inflated, already-too-rich forces of our world – for you to continue thinking that you can’t make a difference. The problems of the world are just too big. So when you see things that bother you. Things that you know are wrong. Big things like homelessness, starvation, AIDS, children dying from lack of clean water. Local things like loneliness, heartache, despair, poverty. Things that you know deep down inside could be fixed…you don’t think anything YOU could do would matter anyway. So, you turn on that big screen TV, bury yourself in unnecessary junk, and root for the politician that says just the right things you want to hear.

There IS a war going on for your mind. If there isn’t, then why is everyone trying so hard to win your mind? Politicians need you to believe them. Companies need you to think that you need them. Everyone needs something from you. But your efforts don’t count? You say you’re just one person…but the powers that be are sure fighting for the attention of that one person.

EVERY life has value. Every life matters. Every effort counts and every small contribution makes a difference. I believe that if EVERYone could embrace this truth, all of the small contributions that we are all capable of making would add up together to a very large positive impact in our world.

John F. Kennedy said, “One person can make a difference. And everyone should try.”

You don’t need that fancy TV. You don’t need most of what you have. You want to see a power shift in our country? Away from greed and corruption? Against the mentality of bigger, better, faster, more? And toward the good things that every human being deserves? That’s one way to get there. Open your eyes to what is important. Realize that “they” want you to think the way they think. Your life DOES have value. What you do does matter.

We can make a difference in this world. But first, we have to wake up to the fact that we CAN. We must realize that there IS a war going on for our minds.

And when we realize that everyone wants to win our minds…when we realize the lengths and costs they’re going to just to win the mind of little old me…you’ll realize that makes us very dangerous people.

Dangerous because we matter. Dangerous because THEY need US – and not the other way around. Let’s make them think like us, not the other way around. Once we all realize our value, and act in a fashion that shows we realize our individual value, they will listen. And they will do whatever is necessary to keep in our good graces.

That is how our elected officials are supposed to think. They are supposed to represent us, not the other way around.

As I always say…I’m not advocating any kind of a violent uprising. But I am calling for a complete overhaul of the way you think. We must say “enough’s enough”. Once we exercise THAT kind of revolution, a change will come…

Some D.R.R. Wisdom Imparted On Us By Kinky Friedman

Ryan Mifflin hosted Kinky Friedman on the Dirty Roots Radio show last night. Kinky is a singer/songwriter, author, salsa and cigar entrepreneur, animal rights activist, a living legend, and is running for the Democratic nomination for the office of Governor of Texas.

Whether you agree with him or not - and most of us do a bit of both - Kinky has some good ideas and is definitely a uniquely wise person.

Ryan told him about the DRR and what it's all about. Kinky offered the following wisdom:

“Oh, that’s great…That’s exactly wonderful, and that’s what I think Jesus intended. He didn’t really care who won the football game so much, you know, He just wanted people to help other people. And you will find – I’m sure it’s true in Illinois, because it is in Texas – that the people who are really helping the other people are the ones that the state is not helping at all. So if the state offers you some kind of sweetheart deal, Ryan, or they’re offering you some kind of special advantage or they’re really standing by you, you know you’re a bad guy…Remember what Thomas Paine said on his deathbed: ‘The world is my country, to do good is my religion’. That’s a very good religion and revolutions aren’t free, folks.”

And we felt EVEN BETTER about the cops swooping in last month. They also did a really slow drive-by this past Saturday, eying us suspiciously...guess we're on the right track.

Concern Yourself With What You Have Dominion Over

By Ryan Mifflin

All week long I’ve been thinking about something a homeless man told me last Saturday (September 12th) on our weekly Homeless Outreach trip to St. Louis.

My friend’s name is “Old School”. He’s 54. Of all the times I’ve visited with him, he never accepts a care pack. He always says he has what he needs in regards to food and toiletries. The first time I met him he said he didn’t need a pack, but asked if we had any work that he could do for us.

On this visit, Old School thanked us for coming to visit him and his peers each week and commented on how much of a difference it can make to just brighten someone’s day. He said such a visit might just be the spark of hope that enables someone to get back on their feet.

I told him that was our goal. And I told him that we understood that we’d never end homelessness, but we just wanted to give someone a brighter day.

His response to my comment about not being able to end homelessness was, “You don’t have dominion over that”.

That seemed like an obvious enough statement and I didn’t give it much more thought. But that line has echoed in my head all week, over and over. “You don’t have dominion over that”.

Wednesday, my wife and fellow Dirty Roots Revolution board member, Amber, and I spent the day at the Greenville College opportunities fair. Among other services, we were there to promote the DRR and what we’re all about.

It had been a while since I had gotten the chance to visit with folks who were unfamiliar with our organization. And, more importantly, it had been a while since I’d had the opportunity to truly talk about our mission and vision.

Above all, the Dirty Roots Revolution exists to empower people with the knowledge that THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. That the small things you do MATTER. Maybe we can’t change the whole world; but we can definitely change it for one person, one moment at a time.

As I was talking to one of the college students, Old School’s comment came to mind. And the beautiful simplicity of it hit me. I was almost overwhelmed with the emotion.

You don’t have to end homelessness. You don’t have to change the whole world. You don’t have to fix all the problems. “You don’t have dominion over that”.

Part of my emotion was validation that the Dirty Roots Revolution is providing a service to our “audience” and supporters. Part of what we do – and are working hard to do more of – is to raise awareness of issues, causes, and organizations that we believe in.

Over time, and as we have more resources at our disposal, we want to share with you ways you can make an impact. Organizations you can follow, donate to, pray for, and help with.

We encourage you to select ones that move you. And get behind them as you see fit.

And never EVER worry that your contributions aren’t enough!!!

If you are a person of any kind of faith, prayer (or meditation, or lighting a candle, or good vibes, or whatever your “thing” is) is a perfectly acceptable contribution. I would encourage you not to let that become a comfortable buffer, though. If you can do more than pray, please do!

No financial contribution (to the Dirty Roots Revolution or any other organization) is ever too small!

For the Dirty Roots Revolution specifically, no amount of donated goods is too small. If you can purchase a couple of 75-cent travel size shampoos that we can put in our Homeless Outreach care packs, we’ll consider you just as revolutionary as the person who’s able to donate $500.

We have a luncheon scheduled on September 29th, which will be an opportunity to introduce the Dirty Roots Revolution to the local ministerial alliance, representatives from various local social service agencies, school officials, and public dignitaries. We have folks who are donated bags of salad, loaves of garlic bread, and deserts. These aren’t expensive items. But they all contribute to the greater cause. This luncheon will hopefully lead to fruitful partnerships for the Dirty Roots Revolution, the other organizations represented, and hopefully for our community at large. And the lady who baked one pie for desert did just as much for the cause as the person who donated stacks of boxes full of items for our care packs.

Your life has value. What you do matters. The small gifts you share, the small actions you take, and the small differences you seek to make, ALL matter. They ALL make an impact. You may not see it, but they combine with others and add up. One pebble thrown into a lake makes small ripples. But a whole bunch of pebbles, stones, rocks, and boulders being thrown into the lake makes WAVES. And waves are powerful. They move stuff.

Nothing is too little – unless you have too much and you aren’t giving/doing enough.

But if you do what you can in the name of things you believe in, you, my friend, are a true revolutionary.

The Dirty Roots Revolution pledges to help you do this. It is our mission, our vision, our dream, and our goal, to enable and empower you to make a difference in this world.

We ask that you believe that you CAN make a difference, and we promise to do our part to help you do just that.

We don’t have dominion over the whole world. So we don’t need to worry about that.

You and I can’t give enough to solve all of the huge problems. We just need to give what we CAN. We can’t do everything. We just need to worry about what we CAN do.

Let’s all go and do what we CAN.

Remember 9-11-2001

Remember:

FDNY: 343
FDNY retired: 3 (assisting the Port Authority)
NYPD: 23
NY Port Authority: 37
World Trade Center: 2,604
American Flight 11: 87
United Flight 175: 59
American Flight 77: 59
United Flight 93: 40
Pentagon: 125
Terrorists: 19 (don’t forget that they died senselessly, too)
24 still listed as missing.

TODAY WE PRAY FOR PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING AMONG ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN.