Letter to a Discouraged Progressive

[seafan]

Sherry Wolf writes in a "Letter to a Discouraged Progressive":

December 17 - 19, 2010

The year 2010 has not been kind to the majority of the world's people. From the streets of Chicago to those of Port-au-Prince, Kabul and Athens, life has gotten harder for ordinary folks, while the ruling elites have become even more tyrannical than at any time in recent memory. ..... No, this is a blunt and urgent reminder that one of the most crucial weapons of the ruling classes of the world is their ability to disarm us—ideologically, emotionally and physically—by pounding into us a distorted and partial picture of our situation.

How else can a tiny class of parasites remain in control unless they convince us that we have no alternatives to the ones their barbaric system puts on offer?
The massive strikes and protests against austerity and injustice taking place in Rome, London, Paris and Athens —pitched in the U.S. media as "riots"—are very real and very encouraging. They are Europe's best hope. But, you ask, what about here?

.....

A strike of historic proportions among Muslims, Blacks, Mexicans and whites has been taking place in Georgia's state prisons since last week. They are demanding pay for their work, opportunities for education, decent health care and nutrition.
These prisoners are peaceful, well-organized and united—in defiance of every expectation and in the face of a thuggish corrections system attempting to goad them to violence. But prison strikers are asserting their humanity in a place designed to rob men and women of their souls.

At Harlem Hospital, 75 percent of 200 unionized doctors voted to strike against pay cuts, the loss of tuition reimbursement and sick days, as well as inferior benefits. The physicians settled without a strike last night, but the proletarianization of their working conditions, like those of teachers and other professionals, are compelling even those we're accustomed to thinking of as above resistance to reconsider their options.
.....

If progressives continue to look upward toward politicians for answers, disappointment is guaranteed. But there are more people than in decades attending leftist meetings, reading left-wing blogs and Web sites and seeking out independent left alternatives to the politics of Washington.

.....

I am certain of two things: 1) The numbers of people wanting to read and figure out a way forward are greater than at any time in my adult life; and 2) The worst thing a progressive can do these days is sit at home, alone, and fret. It only reinforces the isolation and defeat that the people at the top want us to absorb. We have a long road ahead, but there are actions to get involved in and groups to join.

.....

She leaves us with a passage from Howard Zinn's You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train:

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places–and there are so many–where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of the world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

[freshwest]

1. IDK

Only alternatives matter now.

It's hard to hold onto anything that 'was.'

[begin_within]

2. Yeah, but when your "leader" is actively working for the enemy, well...

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AndyTiedye]

5. All a Third Party Would do is Put the Teabaggers Firmly and Irrevocably In Control

In 2000, a third party run by Ralph Nader weakened Al Gore's candidacy just enough so that Bush** and his henchmen could steal the election.

Any kind of 3rd party run from the left in 2012 would have the same effect and we would be stuck with President Huckabee or President Palin.
The nation would not survive that.

[pnorman]

6. I've been a "third party" guy all my adult life, but also a citizen of a "two party" nation.

I almost invariably voted for and supported Democrats, but the exception was in 2000 with Ralph Nader. The SOLE reason then, was to send a STRONG message to the "centrists"/"triangulaters" of the DLC. That was a perfectly "safe" move in a state like WA. It was also a RESPONSIBLE move. But it most certainly was something I would NOT do in a "swing state", and I believe I'm also speaking for the vast majority of fellow Naderites!

But neither "safe move" nor "RESPONSIBLE", would describe anyone from DU who would support either a "third party" at this point, or campaign/urge to "primary out" Obama in 2012!

[AndyTiedye]

7. That is a Totally Reasonable Position

I wish Nader himself had taken it. I might have voted for him if he had.
In fact, Nader campaigned more in the swing states than anywhere else,
running an obvious spoiler campaign.

He said he was just trying to get to 5% for the matching funds, but this was
a transparent lie. He only came to California for money, which he then
took to the swing states to attack Gore. He could have gotten to the 5%
mark easily by campaigning in safe states like California and New York
without any risk of putting a Republican in the White House.

Likely there are a few on the right who feel the same way about Ross Perot
as many of us do about Ralph Nader, since he took some votes away from Bush I
which helped Clinton win in 1992.

That's the trouble with third parties in the US,
they usually end up helping the other side win.

[pocoloco]

4. LOL!

In the meantime a supply of K Y Gel might come in handy...