Daily Revolution

The little things… sometimes I notice things in interviews that may seem like little things, an off the cuff remark or a keen insight hidden in the midst of a bigger answer to a question asked.

I want to share two of these moments… the first is in this interview by MTV News’ Tabitha Soren with Tupac…. Tupac is answering her question to explain his confidence now opposed to his lack of it as a child, and he says “the money gave me confidence”. It’s such a radical keenly aware & insightful comment. And in Tupacs life the money helped him build his confidence to accentuate the man he needed to become (there will be naysayers who lock him into his Thug Life persona - not willing or wanting to understand who Pac really was - a poet, an actor, an intellectual, a radical, a revolutionary and more) but Tupac cared & spoke up for women & children. He wanted to make changes for an entire generation. And his self observation, the money helped give him confidence, is proof of the radical & genuine genius he was.

It’s too often in our society, people think they make money - not the money making them… but so many of these “so-called self made” folks don’t attribute the wealth of their parents or other generational wealth that allowed them to succeed. Or like in the case of a Joe Rogan type, a change begins to occur when people start to make “f u” money. Joe was always confident in his beliefs but getting paid 100 million can make you start to believe you’re right. Vast wealth can make people think what they’re doing is anointed. They (not out loud - though I’ve witnessed some wealthy people say it out loud) may start to believe / say “How could I be wrong if I’m getting paid this much? How could I be wrong if I’m this popular?”. Believing you’re infallible because of popularity or money is a good time to consider learning history, esp the history of those who convinced nations to commit atrocities or the wealthy who deceived to gain their wealth. Money isn’t justification of being correct or moral. Sometimes people insulate themselves from the world with “yes men” too. But always challenging yourself or having insight like Tupac had to see what helped build you is a rad thing to see, it’s brilliant & humble, it’s a sign of intelligence.

Tupac talks about money building his confidence at 16 mins into interview.

Being Self aware is a radical trait.

The next “little thing” I noticed was from an interview or “dinner with” Abbie Hoffman. I’m not sure how this “supper” interview came to be, the woman interviewing Abbie seems to be very “on-guard” or waiting for a “got ya” moment. It’s a solid interview from what seems to be the lost tapes of Abbie Hoffman. And considering there isn’t too much of 80’s Abbie, I consider this 2 part interview a gem. Abbie always had keen insights, but what struck me was Abbie speaking about himself “not being an addictive person” and how he was proud to have quit smoking cigarettes. These more humanizing qualities & personal struggles of such a “bigger than life” character yet human such as Abbie, sadly make me want to inquire more about those personal trials that helped build him to become who he was at that time.

Abbie discussing addiction is close to the 5 minute mark of the second part of this interview.

Abbie & Tupac are radical teachers, revolutionaries for the people. I’ve continued to learn from the wisdom they shared with humanity. And I’m always inspired when I read their books or hear their art.

Shine your light.