Liberals must break the chains of comfort

[dweller]

Joe,
I have enjoyed your writing for a long time now, but I have refrained from contacting you because beyond praising your abilities, I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to say. I think I have figured it out, but it turns out to be a question rather than a statement. Go figure...
Sincerely,
Mollie
Liberal Girl Next Door

<snip>
Dear Mollie:

First, let me say that I love your blog, your idiosyncrasies and unique personality and truth to power. I have only visited your site one time because, well, I work 55 hours a week (counting the commute) at a straight editorial gig and almost never cruise the net. Anyway, you are truly our liberal girl next door. We need more of 'em out there.

As far as freeing our working brethren from ignorance and the hate that always accompanies it and is utilized by the power elites, that is a tall order. Yet we have no choice because the other option is to assume they are unredeemably evil and hateful as human beings. I refuse to do that because I have never met ordinary people in any country who wanted misery for the world (though I meet plenty every day who unknowingly and knowingly help create it!). The driving forces behind our working class culture's dark side are deep and historical and stretch back at least to Europe, which, despite the media portrayal, seems to be solving many if not all of those very social problems, despite setbacks, even as we sink deeper into our own.

In America we had a chance, and we may still yet, to break the chains of class. To my mind, what it will take is for liberals to break the chains of comfort, and divorce some of the ill social advice of even a liberal education (your prof was probably a classist, no matter what he told you or what he thought of himself) and supposedly liberal media -- break the chains of consumerism, quit looking to media for guidance about anything, much less the hip consumer identities it serves us fresh minute by minute. Get back to the roots of compassionate liberalism. I think we need "liberation liberalism." We need to get back to the roots of Gandhi and King and Roosevelt. We need to go back and put Eugene V. Debs into our history books. But I am sure that's due to the politics of the comfort zone. For three generations since WW II Americans have been misled about consumption, the planet and their own supposed exceptionalism and worth and entitlements. Liberals included.

The piper is at the door. He has come to collect and he is 14 years old and has a bomb strapped to his chest. Sometimes I think America is going to have to be bombed or bird-influensaed back into the Stone Age before global balance can even begin to be established.

Anyway, both educated liberals and working class mooks need to get on the same page to save our republic, not to mention our very asses or the asses of our children and grandchildren, from what is surely coming -- the eventual enmity of the entire world and a war-based struggle for resources. It's gonna take organized street action and door-to-door work by hundreds of thousands of liberal minded people of good will. Wake from the dream, turn off the computer and walk through your city, all of it. Over and over again. Sit down with those people we are naturally repulsed by. And just offer friendship. Period. And listen to their stories. And a plan will emerge. . .

http://www.joebageant.com/joe/

..............
because i can, One Last Kick at Liberal Dogs
dp

[Demit]

1. Your One Last Kick link doesn't work

[dweller]

2. hmm. appears i can't after all...

odd, that link was fine last nite. :shrug:

http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2005/05/one_last_kick_a.html

thanks
dp