At the very beginning of this piece, I want to express something I think is both true and very important in these times: I believe we can learn more truth about what’s really going on than we now know, and still have joy, happiness and kindness in our lives. We can know more truth, with all of its complexities, histories, problems, and possible solutions; and we can gather with other people to organize for a better world; and we can still be happy.
I often think of one of my favorite political quotes, by Emma Goldman, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” And so, I continue to ballroom dance, play improvisational games, and watch for birds, in addition to organizing for a better world.
My very first campaign slogan was too long but I liked it: “To understand what’s going on, Follow the Money. To know what to do about it, Follow Your Heart.” We’re all different, with a wide variety of gifts and wounds. Lucky for us, there are enough problems and possible solutions in this world of ours to suit everyone’s desire to make a difference.
We in the United States have a special role to play. We are responsible for addressing the actions of our very powerful nation. What are the critical issues to address? Here are two, although there are hundreds of others, many of which are related to these two: acts of war around the world and the climate/ecological crisis.
Are we being educated or “ignorated”? In order to organize effectively it sure helps to start with as much truth as possible, so it’s important to realize that our major media and governments have agendas of their own. Because of their agendas, what they often give us is not education, but “ignoration.” There’s a line in the film Coal Miner’s Daughter, “I may be ignorant, but I ain’t stupid!” When I heard that line it struck me like lightning — I realized I had thought of them as the same. They’re not.
More education, more perspectives, more balance, and ultimately more truth are the gifts I received from these books, videos and articles.
- Rutger Bregman!!! I keep recommending his books and TED talk because his extensive research makes the point that — unlike what we’re led to believe through “ignoration” — most people are pretty decent and life could be much better! In Humankind, he uncovers heartening facts about everything from Lord of the Flies and the Stanford Prison Experiment to Kitty Genovese and Stanley Milgram. In Utopia for Realists he provides great real life examples of universal basic income (UBI), a 15-hour work week, and open borders. Here’s a 15-minute TED talk.
- If you want to hear a relatively short interview that covers a lot of ground and provides some needed balance, this one is worthwhile. Vijay Prashad interview by Pacifica Radio’s Mitch Jeserich.
- Phyllis Bennis lays out “war and peace” in her article. Here’s an excerpt, “We also know, again from too many of our own government’s actions, that imposing broad economic sanctions — the kind that target whole populations — doesn’t work. They aren’t an alternative to war. They’re a weapon of war that hurts ordinary people, while leaders and their powerful cohorts thrive.”
- Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is as thought-provoking as usual in this short piece about oligarchs.
- This enlightening article by Roger Stoll analyzes how divided world opinion really is. Despite what we heard, the “majority” does not approve UN resolutions that align with US wishes on Ukraine.