PopTech is the coolest thing you have never heard of. Or at least, it was the coolest that I had never heard of until, somehow, I received a scholarship from the Bush Foundation, allowing me to attend and find out for myself what it was all about. I was not disappointed.
I will not attempt to summarize this experience, because the amazing Jennifer Gilhoi has done so in a way that is comprehensive yet artfully succinct. This summary can be found here.
The Poptech Community extends an unforgettable welcome. Everyone sits down for shared meals and is encouraged to connect with new people. That environment provides a place for everyone to feel appreciated and able to contribute.. And maybe that is why I was able to share a piece that I had written on stage. Thank you again to everyone who made this event possible.
Made to Move
The connectivity of the transistor shifted
Us from roads to networks and, as such, we were gifted
With the technology that allowed us to look back
At the world we inhabited, and the impact
That we had and are having as a part of just existing
But if our priorities shift and we insist on resisting
We can make a better world than we ever had before
But we can’t do it if we leave our identities at the door.
We take are whole selves and address this emergency
If we conserve what we have with intention and urgency
And share what we’ve got to rebuild what’s broken
Our dreams can exist, even after we’ve awoken.
Sometimes it feels like the apocalypse awaits
But if we long for the sea, we can change our fates
And we don’t have to bet the farm, in fact, far from it
Just imagine a better future and make the present become it.
All that we consume and the field where it’s created
Can be rejuvenated into something long-awaited
After ancient sunlight no longer shackles us to the past
And our social movements have shifted the power, at last
We can keep creating, all the while looking back
At the people and communities that got us on track
And, like that, we’re blasting past the world that was
And, it seems, that’s exactly what the fuck Pop tech does.
Because we were made to move
Instead of just standing still
We’ve got the thrill of chasing a better world until.
It’s within our reach
And we each have a hand to lend
And in the end, we can prove
We weren’t meant to watch our dreams pass by
We were made to move.
And the people that we learned from instead of about
Are providing the perspective that we can’t live without
We need a groundswell telling us to dismiss hostility
Purely transforming the world of possibility.
But still, we, more than anything need to say
We hear what you’re telling us and help is on its way
And I won’t downplay our desire to uplift
And all we’re gonna gotta do is shift.
Because we were made to move
Instead of just standing still
We’ve got the thrill of chasing a better world until.
It’s within our reach
And we each have a hand to lend
And in the end, we can prove
We weren’t meant to watch our dreams pass by
We were made to move.
The future of movement exists in our imagination
We have multiple modes to get us to our destination.
What do we want to say about what we are creating?
If we listen and collaborate we can focus on relating.
Our stories are the most important thing we manufacture.
Because narratives tell truths that the facts can’t capture.
Allowing us to shift past our present and prove
We weren’t meant to exist in stillness,
We were made to move.
Because we were made to move
Instead of just standing still
We’ve got the thrill of chasing a better world until.
It’s within our reach
And we each have a hand to lend
And in the end, we can prove
We weren’t meant to watch our dreams pass by
We were made to move.
