
“It is what it is” is a nasty little phrase that reveals a growing helplessness. I remember the first time I heard the phrase “it is what it is,” I thought it sort of dropped clarity into a conversation. I hear it too much now and it is used to excuse all kinds of bad things.
- low pay, no raise – It is what it is.
- Our town can’t recover – It is what it is.
- Gun fire ripping through our city – It is what it is.
- Denied treatment by your insurance company – It is what it is.
- Job a lot boring and a little sad – It is what it is.
- Kids kicked out of head start – It is what it is.
- Governor ordering your doctor to shove a stick up your vagina and hand you the bill – It is what it is.
“It is what it is” shows a fatalism and powerlessness that is inhuman and un-American. You are not a young fawn waiting to be eaten by a fox in the wilderness. I am not a citizen of a dictatorship. We are humans, Americans and we each get to pick our life’s course. That’s why I’ve replaced “it is what it is,” with the more annoying but powerful, “Wait…Why?” I feel stronger already. Will you join me?
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