Comments | etalia: ...And?

etalia

...And?

Aug 06, 2006 08:20

Trying to think through the current political situation in America is a bit like trying to swim through a flood of molasses: you'll probably be sucked under and drowned before you make any headway. Something terrible has happened, and you can't even run with it, much less try to change it or hold it back; best to wait for it to pass, and take ( Read more... )

Comments 8

anonymous August 6 2006, 16:40:44 UTC

Yea. -ahfukit

The Dissonance jalvascruggs August 8 2006, 05:52:52 UTC

I had some qualms about the electoral stuff. People talk themselves into seeing their candidates as the good or the lesser evil. Plus, those very same candidates work actively against democratic social movements. At the same time, most of those voters are not bad people and many of them are wonderful. I was afflicted with some dissonance over that until I got to your last sentence. They have to have something worth doing that's qualitatively better than spinning their wheels in lesser evilism. Then it will become clearer that political humankind lives not by chittering alone.

Re: The Dissonance etalia August 8 2006, 18:27:49 UTC

I wonder if the real effect of anti-independent and third-party bashing rhetoric isn't to diminish or destroy a sense of political agency except in the voting booth. I'm going to disparge Dems because it makes me feel better, but I'm not going to come down on anybody I feel I can work with on other things who feels the need to pull the lever for 'em. Between the one lousy vote and research and/or community building, what makes a greater difference?

Solidarity anonymous August 8 2006, 17:26:45 UTC

Those who recognize their local conflicts as battles in the global war between the destroyers and the creators will come to value self-reliance and education in the principles of psychological warfare as indispensable weapons of survival. Simply enduring our social disintegration will be a communal achievement.

--Spartacus O'Neal

Re: Solidarity etalia August 8 2006, 18:21:58 UTC

Mr. O'Neill, thanks very much for stopping by; I'm flattered. What you've written in the post I linked to and in other places have influenced my thinking greatly on these matters. When you write that "enduring our social disintegration will be a communal achievement," that's the flipside of my giving up on persuasion: I know there are people out there who share my positions and I need to connect with them more than I need to try to change the mind of someone whose immediate emotional response to me is want to smash my face with a frying pan. I-we-need to connect and work on tangible projects.

Re: Solidarity anonymous August 8 2006, 19:21:26 UTC

If you propose fundamental change in power distribution by either initiating a collectively beneficial project in your community or by opposing a collectively harmful one, you will undoubtedly meet other people--some you may wish you hadn't. If you're fortunate, you will encounter someone who has an appreciation for what we call the top view, an understanding of the conflict based on investigative research ( ... )

anonymous August 11 2006, 03:28:50 UTC

Brutal. Blogged you back at The World We Want.
http://giving.typepad.com/theworldwewant/2006/08/hopelessly_boun.html

anonymous August 11 2006, 17:42:46 UTC

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