Conversation About 11/3

written by: SAH

THE LETTER THAT STARTED IT ALL
(I forwarded this to Jeff from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous)

Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 14:30:25 -0500

What are we talking about when we talk about this election?

We're talking about Supreme Court Justices and the future of American jurisprudence; we're talking about teaching hateful and hurtful things to our children; isolationist and propagandist world politics; we're talking about continued siphoning off of the poorest in our country and abroad just for an extra buck; we will see the most vulnerable turned away from programs designed to keep communities safe and healthy and functioning; we're talking about watching already over-burdened and depleted local and State governments sink further; we're talking about mandated testing so that our children learn how to fill in bubbles, but not how to think critically, creatively, or independently; we're talking about spending on prisons and machines of war instead of education; we're talking about denying inalienable rights to citizens of our country.

I am enraged and I am humbled.

I am proud to see that the Kerry states are historically progressive states with a commitment to those in need and the homes of innovative programs that benefit all citizens - places that embrace religion and religious expression, but do not use religion as a vehicle to preach intolerance and hatred. I am proud to be from the little island of blue in the sea of red (though it was far too close for comfort). I am proud because even though we are living in dark times, and make no mistake - we are, half of the votes out there were votes of hope and help and heart. And it is clear that we have a lot a fighting left to do. As educated, able-bodied, able-minded people, we must not see this election as the death knell for progressive politics, but as a call to action. It will be one of the great challenges of our generation to refuse to follow blindly and instead, to lead from below.

I do sincerely feel that today is a day of mourning and I feel physically and spiritually diminished. And I am going to be upset and unsettled and I'm going to cry and shake my fist, and yes, drink in a dark corner by myself. And then tomorrow, I'm going to roll up my sleeves and go back to work.

JEFF:
This is beautifully written. She's absolutely right, and this is identical to the conclusion being drawn today by a lot of my and my wife's progressive friends. In fact, some of my friends perceived this call to action quite awhile ago, and have spent the better part of the last couple of years actively pursuing the deposal of the Bush Dynasty. I can only imagine how crestfallen they must feel today; undoubtedly even more devastated than I, who only "did my part" and not a whole lot more.

And that's kind of the problem. Twenty years or so ago, I was a dedicated activist for a number of left-wing causes, including the fight against Selective Service and the Nuclear Freeze movement (seems like ancient history now). I was, as they say, full of spit and vinegar, and my energy -- both to kvetch about the prevailing state of things and to act selflessly in the interest of toppling it -- seemingly knew no bounds. But even then, I learned the hard way just how deep a commitment is necessary to meaningfully alter the course of history -- and the hard truth that no matter how much of oneself one sacrifices, no matter how right and righteous the cause, there's never any guarantee of victory. With each defeat in matters of passion comes a palpable diminishing of the spirit, a progressive attrition of self that eventually trumps even the support and fellowship of other true believers. At a certain point, I just lost the will to continue, and became (I regret to say) the worst kind of hypocrite -- the guy who believes without question in certain human truths but fails to summon the commitment to actually do anything about them, content to live in the modest-but-comfortable circumstances afforded me mostly by luck and birthright.

My guilt tells me that somehow, I and others in my situation will have to shake off the familiar complacency and find the strength to fight back, despite the fact that I'm twice the age I was when I reached the end of my rope the first time around. I'm not sure where that energy is going to come from, though. I'm feeling awfully drained and hopeless at the moment.

SAH:
Well said.

It’s fairly clear that “liberals” need to quit being slackers. We as a group need to have the organized strike mentality of the right. The problem is that that kind of focus is inherently difficult for a group of open-minded freedom lovers (which the right can make sound like an insult). We’ve unfortunately gotten to a point in this country where intellectualism is mocked and idiocy revered. It chills me to the bone. And every time I see some sort of parents group asking us to “think of the children” so they don’t have to, or a new reality TV show or an even more blatantly slanted news report it sends a shiver up my spine.

JEFF:
Open-minded freedom lovers = godless heathens with no sense of morality.

I think the thing that further complicates matters for "ex-radicals" (well, sort of) like me is that my views on the whole have been tempered by age. I'm still a liberal at heart, but I'm no longer so single-minded that I can't see the logic (twisted though it may be) behind a lot of opposing political philosophies. At times, I almost consider myself a Libertarian (except that I don't want to be associated with a lot of the people who claim that label -- Lyndon LaRouche and his ilk come to mind). I don't know that I can still summon the degree of fanaticism that's necessary for the "strike mentality.” That battle requires that its soldiers be zealots, because only zealots can tap into the kind of boundless energy that's necessary to win a war of ideology. And the truth is, left-wing zealots have come to annoy me nearly as much as right-wing zealots.

Maybe I'm just a misanthrope masquerading as a humanist...

SAH:
The humanism that thinly masks my own misanthropy is quickly dissolving.

I was never a radical in anything more than speech, but I hear you. I don’t have that kind of energy and I’ve always been more able to see the other side of arguments than a zealot can afford to be. I also more or less like my cushy life of complacency.

The problem with the fight is that you can’t show understanding or agreement or you lose. We need an army of young people who will do what they are told (which sounds eerily familiar) and they need to be sent to their own destruction for the cause. This sort of dare I say “terrorist” mentality is something the right has been able to embrace (Christian fundamentalist nuts not being that far off from Islamic fundamentalist nuts) and which is very difficult for the left. The right can base their crusade on religion and a perceived moral superiority (fighting the godless heathens). The left does not have a unified “god is on our side” mentality because we tend to be more reasoning and accepting and able to see the nuances of social issues (i.e. weak).

Zealots on both sides are very annoying, but in a fight against crazed hypocritical, single-minded loons, you need a few nuts on your side. The problem is that this seems to bother the lefties far more than the righterinos.

JEFF:
Very well observed.

You and I are on a roll today. We oughtta publish this stuff.

SAH:
You know that energy we were talking about lacking... we would need some of that to publish this.

However, as I mentioned before, I do have a website with a smarter than average readership, so if you have any interest in summing this up, or even converting it into some sort of publishable conversation, I would gladly post it. A guarantee it would be read and appreciated.

And yeah, we’re on a roll. There’s something about the potential systematic dissolving of America and it’s freedoms that really puts a fire in the belly.

JEFF:
Proof positive that you’re younger and more energetic than I am.

I don’t know how to sum it up. A publishable conversation might be fairly enlightening, though…

SAH:
I'll put it together and post it on Monkey River Town.

SAH:
I want to add a little more to the conversation. I think America has been brainwashed into believing liberal = Democrat = evil and conservative = Republican = evil. The words "liberal" and "conservative" are loaded. In reality, there really isn't anything wrong with being either of those things. The problem comes when people automatically associate the words with Democrats or Republicans and on top of that associate only the most extreme and radical of those representing each with the parties as a whole. The word "left" and "right" in philopolitical jargon are also loaded.

The problem is that liberal and conservative can mean so many different things. I think most people are actually fairly liberal socially, but would like to see the government exercise more conservative fiscal judgment.

However, there is no question that intolerance is on the rise and disrupting people’s general comfort levels tends to spark a more conservative reaction. It seems natural, if a little sad. Obviously if people are scared they want security. Obviously if "truisms" people hold dear are challenged, they flinch.

I think what happened in this last campaign and over the last 3 years and undoubtedly over the next 4 years is that these predictable social reactions are being exploited and used as distractions by the powers that be.

How may people on 11/2 voted Republican not because they think Bush is doing a good job, but because they are homophobic and have been convinced the institution of marriage is under attack. How many voted Republican not because they like Bush but because they were scared that if they didn't more harm would befall the country?

Safety is an illusion. Take our military action in Iraq and the future military action that is to inevitably follow. Even at its most successful (installing democracy in every country around the world) it is utterly ludicrous to assume that this will bring an end to terrorism and violence. It is naive to believe that America can heal wounds around the world that are thousands of years old. And even more naive to believe that we can do so by exerting military force on other countries. At best you can only hope to drive dissenting groups under ground and make them more desperate. Desperation is globally dangerous.

If this "free the world" mentality is played out to its end, what you ultimately end up with is an America that has dictated to the world the "best" way to live and enforced this way of life under penalty of death.

So-called conservatives in this country are often fearful when so-called liberals do something to expand the social acceptability of something previously considered taboo. What these "conservatives" need to see is that to much of the rest of the world, they are the liberals inflicting their views on other people.

In America it should be acceptable for people to believe what they want. We should have more, not less, freedom. We should not be a shining example of hypocrisy to the world. And we should try practicing some of the freedom and tolerance we claim to be promoting around the world.

To contribute to the ongoing conversation, visit the Monkey Mumblings forum.

This article has been viewed 2073 times.