Dear American friends
Oct. 4th, 2005 02:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcI've been meaning to write for some time, but it's never been a good time to set these words down. And that's important, because I'm afraid that some of you won't like what I have to say--so saying it right is doubly important. And it boils down to this: enough with the whining about Bush and the Republicans.
Please. Instead, do something about it. Something that involves more than bleating. Something active.
Since 2000 most of US-based friends have been wailing and railing about this guy and his ilk. And for the most part I don't disagree with your concerns: he's more theocratic, artistocratic and dogmatic than I thinks suits his high office. And while the circumstances under which he was elected back then were more than a little suspect (in FL especially), the cold stark reality is that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats campaign for a majority of US votes in a presidential election. Instead they try to garner enough Electoral College votes: Gore was wailing about Alaska and Bush didn't cry about Rhode Island--they were both busy with Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And in 2004, though there wasn' the high drama of "dangling chads", the results seem to be no less satisfactory, even though both parties (again) campaigned to win the White House, not a majority level of support from all Americans. Bush, however, did win both: enough Electoral College and a majority of the popular vote. In fact, he got more votes (raw votes or percentage-wise) than Clinton did. You might not have wanted him, but clearly most of your fellow citizens--those willing to vote--did.
Since then...more and more it seems...a lot of you have used your blogs (and email) to express your frustrations, fears, pains. And that's not merely OK, that's a good thing--to a point. My concern is that the degree of outrage I see here doesn't correspond to the degree of outrage I see in the press, nor the degree of action taken by Americans to effect substantive change.
To some extent I mean political action: organizing, campaigning, even standing for office to make things different. And for those with a distaste for party politics--understandable in a 2-party, centre-right versus right-wing political system--there are all sorts of other organizations doing political organizing. And if you're concerned about ideology, pick an issue. Talk to your friends. Organize to take action yourselves; there's nothing to stop any group of concerned citizens from working together in a democracy, save time and resources. Very few of my friends here live in abject poverty; most find the time to have rich and full personal lives. Consider taking 5 or 10 hours of your month and dedicating to change.
But even if the the whole "political" thing leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, there are many other ways to help out. A lot of really good programmes sponsored by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have had their funding cut since 2000. In particular, programmes regarding sexual and reproductive health, antipoverty, HIV/AIDS and public education have been decimated--if not in raw dollars available, via "donor constraints" that require certain narrow ideological perspectives be the focus (or sole message) of said programmes. As an example, some states--like Minnesota--have been able to make do without federal funding for their sexual health programmes in high schools--but many haven't. One way for them to deliver such vital assistance is through volunteers--in many cases, sustained, long-term voluntary commitments by skilled and knowledgeable persons could return these programmes to some level of viability. Sadly, it's just not happening.
So I encourage you--no, I implore you--the next time you feel like letting rip against the Way Things Are in the US, find a way to take action to make Things the Way They Should Be. And tell us about it--what you're doing, who it helps, how others could help as well. You can make a difference. Some of you already are. And the reality is that in other parts of the world, often in places where our assumptions about democracy just don't hold true, others are doing in much more dangerous and challenging circumstances.
I generally loathe platitudes, but one of my favourites is and old "Quaker" saying: when you pray, move your feet. And if you don't pray, move 'em anyway.
Please. Instead, do something about it. Something that involves more than bleating. Something active.
Since 2000 most of US-based friends have been wailing and railing about this guy and his ilk. And for the most part I don't disagree with your concerns: he's more theocratic, artistocratic and dogmatic than I thinks suits his high office. And while the circumstances under which he was elected back then were more than a little suspect (in FL especially), the cold stark reality is that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats campaign for a majority of US votes in a presidential election. Instead they try to garner enough Electoral College votes: Gore was wailing about Alaska and Bush didn't cry about Rhode Island--they were both busy with Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And in 2004, though there wasn' the high drama of "dangling chads", the results seem to be no less satisfactory, even though both parties (again) campaigned to win the White House, not a majority level of support from all Americans. Bush, however, did win both: enough Electoral College and a majority of the popular vote. In fact, he got more votes (raw votes or percentage-wise) than Clinton did. You might not have wanted him, but clearly most of your fellow citizens--those willing to vote--did.
Since then...more and more it seems...a lot of you have used your blogs (and email) to express your frustrations, fears, pains. And that's not merely OK, that's a good thing--to a point. My concern is that the degree of outrage I see here doesn't correspond to the degree of outrage I see in the press, nor the degree of action taken by Americans to effect substantive change.
To some extent I mean political action: organizing, campaigning, even standing for office to make things different. And for those with a distaste for party politics--understandable in a 2-party, centre-right versus right-wing political system--there are all sorts of other organizations doing political organizing. And if you're concerned about ideology, pick an issue. Talk to your friends. Organize to take action yourselves; there's nothing to stop any group of concerned citizens from working together in a democracy, save time and resources. Very few of my friends here live in abject poverty; most find the time to have rich and full personal lives. Consider taking 5 or 10 hours of your month and dedicating to change.
But even if the the whole "political" thing leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, there are many other ways to help out. A lot of really good programmes sponsored by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have had their funding cut since 2000. In particular, programmes regarding sexual and reproductive health, antipoverty, HIV/AIDS and public education have been decimated--if not in raw dollars available, via "donor constraints" that require certain narrow ideological perspectives be the focus (or sole message) of said programmes. As an example, some states--like Minnesota--have been able to make do without federal funding for their sexual health programmes in high schools--but many haven't. One way for them to deliver such vital assistance is through volunteers--in many cases, sustained, long-term voluntary commitments by skilled and knowledgeable persons could return these programmes to some level of viability. Sadly, it's just not happening.
So I encourage you--no, I implore you--the next time you feel like letting rip against the Way Things Are in the US, find a way to take action to make Things the Way They Should Be. And tell us about it--what you're doing, who it helps, how others could help as well. You can make a difference. Some of you already are. And the reality is that in other parts of the world, often in places where our assumptions about democracy just don't hold true, others are doing in much more dangerous and challenging circumstances.
I generally loathe platitudes, but one of my favourites is and old "Quaker" saying: when you pray, move your feet. And if you don't pray, move 'em anyway.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-10-04 10:00 pm (UTC)The degree of outrage in the press (or at least the established old-boy press) is not really an accurate barometer of how many citizens feel, is it? That's part of our outrage right there.
And as for "most" Americans voting for him? There are still many questions about that, amigo.
Kinda hard to maintain outrage for 5 solid years, when the admin keeps topping itself.
Freaking Canucks
Date: 2005-10-04 10:05 pm (UTC)We have been fighing for 5 freaking years.
Please play ice hockey or figure skate to techno music.
where the rubber meets the ass
Date: 2005-10-04 10:05 pm (UTC)What I mean is...
Homosexuals and other sexual minorites can no longer afford to be complacent about their civil rights. If you're not politicizing your life - and that has to include working for change - somehow somewhere sometime, but real work in the community - in addition to expressing your outrage - you're not helping anyone else and you're not helping yourself, for sure.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-04 10:09 pm (UTC)this is the surest sign you've become a canadian: advice to foreigners about how to run their nation.
can a condo in hallandale be far behind?
on a less cheerful note: my belief is that the 2000 and 2004 elections were both stolen: '00 in tallahassee, miami and at the u.s. supreme court, and '04 in columbus, ohio. that is a different scenario than simply one in which a misguided plurality controls the fate of almost 300 million people.
on the other hand, we may simply be living through a rehash of the 1950s, in which case the '60s are a-comin'.
Let's get fuckin' REAL, people
Date: 2005-10-04 10:17 pm (UTC)What the fuck are *you* doing to change the political climate.
Not many of the bloggers who respond negatively to your post will put it in terms of their personal volunteer political work. Because they can't. Because they haven't done anything themselves other than whine about it in snippy catcall responses.
Re: Let's get fuckin' REAL, people
Date: 2005-10-04 10:22 pm (UTC)hearts and shotguns,
A Founding Member of Queer Nation a million years ago who still does political work.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-04 10:25 pm (UTC)Even seemingly laudable causes, like environmentalism or breast cancer research, have become to a great extent self-perpetuating machines that parasitize activism and drain its energy for naught. Personally, I don't even know what cause I might support, other than the negative anti-Bush cause which might not solve anything at all. Nobody has any credibility anymore. And nobody wants to be another "Hanoi Jane" - good intentions seem inadequate against the threat of involuntary foolishness.
I'm not sure that Bush is the problem. I think America is the problem.
Re: Let's get fuckin' REAL, people
Date: 2005-10-04 11:24 pm (UTC)I'm not making any assumptions about anything, escept what has been written on J's blog about this issue. If the cockring doesn't fit, don't wear it.
Princess? How precious. And pretentious. Like I said, get fuckin' REAL.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:22 am (UTC)The whole "activism is hard, let's go shopping" attitidue is not what delivers democrazy. Civic involvement is never ending. And, at the risk of sounding condescending, something I KNOW Americans to be very lazy about.
Re: Freaking Canucks
Date: 2005-10-05 12:24 am (UTC)Now show me some of that good ol' US patriotism!
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:28 am (UTC)I understand how demoralizing it can be for people who feel that their leader has no legitimacy, no credibility, and does not share their values. It is easy to feel that one individual can do nothing to change the overwhelming force of History and Politics.
Maybe the people who think individuals can't make a difference are correct. I don't know, and so I offer no opinion. However, I do think that individuals can make a difference in their own world, even if that is just the "wonderful world-o-me!" People who are actively involved in working for change tend to feel more positive and optimistic than people who are trapped in the paralysis of cynicism. It may be that I have reversed the order here: first you're positive, then you work for change, rather becoming positive because of the working for change, but I think that the train runs in both directions.
So maybe you can't unelect George W. Bush. Maybe you can't even clean up the Democrats in your local community. But doing something will make you feel better. I'm sure of it.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:31 am (UTC)Re: Let's get fuckin' REAL, people
Date: 2005-10-05 12:40 am (UTC)You first.
tell everyone on J's list what YOU are doing to change the political climate.
Tell me why there is so little information about grassroots organizing and activism in the US available to concerned pundits such as yourself that this sort of baiting is the way you feel
compelledentitled to have information made available to you?haha.
Date: 2005-10-05 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:53 am (UTC)I agree that non-stop whining is not the answer. But sometimes making noise is the first step.
Americans, myself included, can be very lazy about civic invlovement, taking for granted much of what others never experience.
I tend to work more surreptitiously. Donating money to politicians and organizations I like, mailing care packages overseas to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also act very locally, working for my local union and staying involved with local government actions.
But your point is well-taken.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 01:03 am (UTC)i have never in my voting life voted for the eventual democratic nominee for president; my vote has always been in the democratic wing of the democratic party, as howard dean put it before the media decided he wasn't the appropriate candidate for america. the political process here is so overlaid with corporate interests (and the mass media are nothing if not corporate) that it takes a political earthquake to effect change.
in part, i hope that the collapse of the political system presages a collapse of the united states' place in the international order. i would like to see my country focus on the problems we have at home, not manufacture ones abroad. i would like to see my country's international stance be one of accommodation and assistance, not avarice and aggression. perhaps it will take the complete success of the republicans' assault on the political and social structures of the nation to make that happen.
all that being said, i lament the fact that all too often our friends on the outside—who justifiably look on with fear and horror at what this president does—take their angriest shots not at the right-wingers and elites who defend and support these crimes, but at their natural friends and allies.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 01:05 am (UTC)There's no shortage of work to be done. There's no queue of people to do it either.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 01:06 am (UTC)triumphalist!
triumphalist!
no, the only ucc i really know, and then at arms' length, is the united church of christ. i don't even know that i know any old boys. my canadian orientation has always tended to center/re in montréal.
(for good measure:)
triumphalist!
Re: haha.
Date: 2005-10-05 01:12 am (UTC)Re: Freaking Canucks
Date: 2005-10-05 01:12 am (UTC)But since you waded in:
1. are you thin-skinned to outside critique in general?
2. If you are a person to whom this doesn't apply (some who takes action) why are you being defensive?
3. Fighting is good. Working on making people's lives better is also very important. Protesting is perhaps half the job.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 01:15 am (UTC)Re: Let's get fuckin' REAL, people
Date: 2005-10-05 01:17 am (UTC)I should have anticipated this: the kind of folks to whom this doesn't apply are in the thick of it: the lethargic not.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-05 01:39 am (UTC)We're all still waiting to hear all the great things you've done lately to influence politics on any level. In a nation where injustice is becoming the law of the land, if you can't find any kind of progressive platform or grassroots activism to hook yourself to, don't blame me for your own intellectual incuriosity. And don't fault some perceived lack of information - it's all out there, plain as can be. And don't blame Jawn for pointing out your shortcomings or plain laziness as an activist. Take some responsibility. Shit or get off the pot.