Pathless
Fiercely Interdependent
A thread dedicated to discussion of political issues, grassroots organizing, direct action, and other means of democratic change that have nothing to do with punching a hanging chad in November. If I wanted to see a f'in horserace, I'd go to the goddamn racetrack.
Yesterday I was arranging some books for sale on a table--Barack Obama's books, Hilary Clintion's books, books about MLK, Mike Huckabee's book about how to lose weight--that's right! Presidential superstar hopeful's book is about how to stop eating your way to the grave. Now I know that obesity is a real and serious problem in America, but I still find it surreally stupid that one of the books that one of the serious Republican contenders wrote has to do with food. Lest I soon become guilty of the same kind of stupid distractions that I am railing against, let me shift my focus.
How is it that we get caught up in a media blitzkrieg every fourth year, with morons and corporations shilling presidential candidates that don't represent us? Do we even need a president?? Maybe that is the burning issue of the good ol' US of A in the good ol' 2K. Maybe we need not one president, but five. Ten. Maybe we need a council of freakin' elders in this country. I'm not talking crotchety old white men, neither, but a vast spectrum of regional leaders brought together to discuss the long-standing and burning issues in their communities and nation. Wait, wait--you say we alread have that? Congress?? Hruuumph. Congress needs a rehaul, then, I'm guessing.
Back to superstar presidential politics. What about the issues?? I don't want the media to tell me Hilary Clinton cried and then, later, hear from another media source while I am driving that indeed, she did not shed a tear, but got a little choked up... WHAT?? Okay, okay, but what about the ISSUES??!!
How long, Lord, how long??
Barbara Ehrenrich said:There's a problem too, of course, with the conventional abbreviation of the Civil Rights Movement into two names - Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. What about Fannie Lou Hamer, who led the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's delegation to the 19464 convention? What about Ella Baker, Fred Hampton, Stokely Carmichael and hundreds of other leaders? The Great Person theory of history may simplify textbook-writing, but leaves us with no clue as to how change actually happens.
Women's rights, for example, weren't brokered by Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem over tea. As Steinem would be the first to acknowledge, the feminist movement of the 70s took root around kitchen tables and coffee tables, ignited by hundreds of thousands of now-anonymous women who were sick of being called "honey" at work and excluded from "men's" jobs. Media stars like Friedan and Steinem did a brilliant job of proselytizing, but it took an army of unsung heroines to stage the protests, organize the conferences, hand out the fliers, and spread the word to their neighbors and co-workers.
Barbara Ehrenreich: Hillary's Real MLK Problem - Politics on The Huffington Post
Yesterday I was arranging some books for sale on a table--Barack Obama's books, Hilary Clintion's books, books about MLK, Mike Huckabee's book about how to lose weight--that's right! Presidential superstar hopeful's book is about how to stop eating your way to the grave. Now I know that obesity is a real and serious problem in America, but I still find it surreally stupid that one of the books that one of the serious Republican contenders wrote has to do with food. Lest I soon become guilty of the same kind of stupid distractions that I am railing against, let me shift my focus.
How is it that we get caught up in a media blitzkrieg every fourth year, with morons and corporations shilling presidential candidates that don't represent us? Do we even need a president?? Maybe that is the burning issue of the good ol' US of A in the good ol' 2K. Maybe we need not one president, but five. Ten. Maybe we need a council of freakin' elders in this country. I'm not talking crotchety old white men, neither, but a vast spectrum of regional leaders brought together to discuss the long-standing and burning issues in their communities and nation. Wait, wait--you say we alread have that? Congress?? Hruuumph. Congress needs a rehaul, then, I'm guessing.
Back to superstar presidential politics. What about the issues?? I don't want the media to tell me Hilary Clinton cried and then, later, hear from another media source while I am driving that indeed, she did not shed a tear, but got a little choked up... WHAT?? Okay, okay, but what about the ISSUES??!!
- Is Hilary going to get our soldiers out of Iraq? Is Obama? I'm not asking about the Republican candidates because it's clear that they, except Ron Paul, will not.
- Can we reduce some of that bloated military budget and work on education in this country? Huh? Can we?
- I want to hear Obama talk more about universal health care. I want to hear everyone talk more about universal health care. As a matter of fact, I can't subject myself to the psychic and intellectual violence of wading through the superficial Brittany Spears-laced and Presidential Two Ring Circus media to hear about it. I want these discussions on the FRONT PAGE of every major newspaper that I pass in a glass box on my way to work. I have the audacity to think that there should be at least some major media outlets out there who report what happened, not which candidate farted or wore the wrong color tie considering their political party.
- What is happening in New Orleans?? The devestation and gentrification that Hurricaine Katrina brought is not going away by itself. I want fallout from this and other natural and humanitarian disasters brought back to the front page of the newspapers, too.
- What about gay marriage?
- We're not actually going to build a wall between Texas and Mexico, are we?
- We're not going to go to war with Iran, are we?
- What about jobs?
- Can someone please talk about the problem of continuing colonization in a world that is plagued with racism, sexism, ageism, and capitalism??
- Oh and by the way, what does my dollar actually stand for?? I would like to know what the economy that I support and that supports me--that I am embedded in like breatheable air--does to create sustainable and stimulating conditions for all life--human, animal, plant, mineral--on this planet. Can we talk about the politics of economics?
How long, Lord, how long??