Phew. Its now 96 hours past the midterm elections here in the United States, and I’m beginning to clear the debris from off my windshield.
I’ve been in a heightened state of awareness this last month in anticipation of the midterms, watching the political blogs and keeping an eye on the Yahoo! front page, which displays the news roundup from the Associated Press — its a good way to see how the right-wing propaganda machine is holding up.
As far as I know, it held up pretty well.
For whatever reason — most usually because of perennial lack of interest in voting during non-Presidential year elections — 40 million Democrats stayed home. The machine held up pretty well in keeping the noise bubble at a deafening roar about the President’s birth certificate, his purported Muslim roots, the feared imposition of Sharia Law on America, and more recently a false report about a $200 million dollar price tag on the President’s upcoming and important two-day summit trip to India to discuss the US role in the global economy.
The machine held up pretty well in keeping old, Southern, blue collar, straight white males hopping mad and anxious to vote to elect the people who will ultimately halve their Medicare, slash their Social Security or dole it out to Wall Street to speculate with. The machine was efficient in keeping us ungrounded, unfocused and therefore terrified, embracing the dark side of ourselves with our guns, racism, homophobia, twitter tweets and Facebook pages joking about assassinating the President, the Speaker of the House and other Democratic politicians.
And finally, the machine was quite adept in making sure it had already poisoned the well of politics completely by the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission, which now guarantees that corporations — even international ones, will dictate the outcome of the US elections vis-a-vis campaign contributions that will not be scrutinized or even found out.
There’s plenty of blame to hand out in the aftermath of this election, including towards the President, who already took responsibility for not getting the message out on what had been accomplished these last two years under a Democratic White House, Senate and Congress. But we cannot stop there, and we cannot continue the path of self-recrimination. We just don’t have that kind of time.
The corporate interests who have planned this entire media and political circus knows what its doing — from the Dixie cup millionaire Koch Brothers who helped fund the astroturf (fake grassroots) Tea Party to Rupert Murdoch buying the Wall Street Journal and CNBC, and now even the suspension of Keith Olbermann, one of the few voices of lucidity in broadcast news. They knew the minute Democrats took the 2006 midterms and the 2008 general elections that they would have to organize and retake the country, starting with the House, and next the Senate and finally the White House — in order to complete what was started in 2000. They are on their way.
But we can stop them. It starts with your pen and paper. It starts with your computer. It starts with going to your school board meetings, city council meetings, and letters to the editor. It starts with keeping the fax and phone numbers for your state assembly and senate members, as well as your state Congresspersons and Senators when the nonsense coming from Congress becomes too much to bear.
It starts with turning off the news, and looking through the sources of the news you read when you do. Its about listening with the “other ear” — the one that senses something is amiss but you can’t quite finger it — for manipulation, subliminal messaging and race and gender baiting that makes you afraid of others, afraid of life, afraid in general. And calling them on it.
It starts with you not getting beaten down, and to help bring others up who are. Its about sharing food with others, giving some of your extra eggplant that you’ve grown but you just can’t eat, to other people who are hungry. Its about helping other people who are in need, who are alone, who are sick, tired, poor and need to be hugged and held. Its about you and your community taking to the streets and to the halls of power. Its not just about the President, or your congressperson or your Senator doing it for you. As far as we can tell, they won’t or they can’t. Not right now.
It starts with you. And you will have the planets and the stars aligned up for you these next few years to do just that.
Luckily, California saw through the noise and all that money pouring in from millionaires and corporations, failing to defeat Jerry Brown (also known as Governor Moonbeam) — our new governor. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, a known protector of the environment, particularly the Pacific coastline, has been elected for another six years.
This week, we also felt fortunate to be living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where baseball eclipsed the midterm elections for just a little bit. The high of a World Series championship dampened the grim prospect of the noise, the oinks and the grunts that are sure to come from the House of Representatives come January 2011. So I think maybe a baseball analogy would be helpful right about now.
The San Francisco Giants’ winning pitcher is Tim Lincecum, a pot-smoking Eurasian kid from the Pacific Northwest who kind of reminds you of Keanu Reeves from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”. Now I don’t usually make a habit of pinning up pictures of sports heroes by my desk, but for Lincecum, I will. The kid is a Cy Young pitching award winner, and looks like he does yoga. He’s slight, unassuming and looks under-intimidating. But every muscle in his body and all his focus goes into every pitch, and the most destructive batters in the National and American leagues have been gunned down by this supposedly physically inconsequential kid.
So take this analogy to heart and keep it there, beating strong: They want you to imagine that you’re weak and you have no power. But you do. Its already there. All you have to do is tap it, put all your energy into it, focus it and use it to defeat them.
Use this time to rest up, paint, dance, be creative and make love as often as you can. Limber up for spring training and strengthen your voice. Reject despair. We’re going to need you. You’ve got what it takes.
Who me? Calling for a revolution??
Fe Bongolan
San Francisco
Fe,
Thanks for being willing to allow others to “steal” your words; I will pass them along to friends and family (with the disclaimer that I stole them from you). I always believe the same so if anyone ever thinks I write anything remotely worth stealing, feel free to steal away. If anything I ever write is that good, then it should be shared. :::laughing:::
PW is truly a wonderful place.
It’s all words – and I would offer that while some words conjure up “being a part of” other words conjure up fire under the ass to take action.
In Rome and in American “free” people were not necessarily Citizens and Citizens did not necessary take Responsibility and Action.
Whatever works it.
Jude:
I was on pins and needles about Boxer’s seat. Believe me, with all the faith I have in the Bay Area, you cannot discount what happens in the Central Valley and the conservative (non-LA, non-Santa Barbara part) sections. Fortunately, Latinos came out to vote. Hilarious too, since Nutmeg and “Babe Bucks” Fiorina thought “outreach” to the Latino community meant taking big shots of tequila at a reception sponsored by Republicans. That was a sobering moment, and not in a good way. For them.
And yes, the revolution has started. We need just to find each other and “bring it.”
=======
“What we have forgotten is that his leading us does not mean that he is on the field alone. And it means we have an agenda. ”
aword:
Totally correct. As eric said in his audio this week about Ralph Nader who said “Democrats are ok as long as you keep their feet to the fire. They will do the right thing.”
That’s where we draw up the big ocean bubbling underneath the country. This is where we need to be.
=========
carly:
Feel free to use my stuff. Actually I know my writing for theater and here are to be used as seeds of beneficial sedition, to be planted in hearts and minds. A little help, my bird, to spread the seeds is always appreciated!!!
ps – for you and everyone – continue to find joy. That is an energy all revolutions can use!
😉
P.S. Forgot to note that maybe “citizen” is a good update of “activist”. “Citizen” implies a commitment to community and country and to neighbors near and far, as well as an obligation and duty to work for the greater good. Taking a page from President Obama’s phrase book, it’s about doing the right thing which is not always the political thing to do.
Hi Fe,
I am with you on the rest up and recharge and re-invigorate tip. I’m swearing off politics for 6 months or so to give myself a chance to clear the debris and find my “Fired up, Ready to go” mojo.
The “fear” machine driven by the power-hoarders was in full overdrive for the past 8-10 years or so and was ramped up to hyper-drive over the past 8-10 months. We citizens need to be able to throttle back the “fear” by actively challenging the mindset that says we can’t change things and calling bullshit every time we see it. It takes commitment and a high tolerance for frustration but it can be done.
Thank you for continuing to point this out. I admit to stealing your stuff to make my point. Please keep helping me.
Peace, Carly
“You are already enlightened, you only need to awaken to that fact.”
Like you say, Fe, it’s something about pushing past the point of being “tired” by it all, being invigorated again, having that small first sensation of life surging through our veins.
It’s something about having an actual agenda, not rising to push back the bully time after time. KO has already taken a huge step in showing us that we must take an Offensive Position. Always on the Defense is no way to play.
KO is a sports euphemism as is your Tim Lincecum – they point out just how much we have not been In The Game. Any game.
First we need to define the game WE are playing – NOT the pub’s game. We can’t beat them at that. We do not want to be just more of the same. We must define Our Own Game and put Them on the Defensive.
The world had this idea that Obama was going to lead us in the game. What we have forgotten is that his leading us does not mean that he is on the field alone. And it means we have an agenda. ( He has (always had a) clear-cut agenda. Where we do not like it, we can voice to change it.) A clear, specific, simple agenda (and better’n’ crap like “getting O out of offce” what an example of an un-useful agenda! BUT it is a good example of ‘simple and specific’.)
OK. You Rock Fe. I say we find a new name for the common-person not ‘activist’. That’s what a lot of people think when they think being a part of politics. And that’s scary. Maybe “participant”. We just need to participate in the game. Like E’s said – this is not a spectator sport. Nor is life.
Your message about what we can do That Does Not At First Glance Appear To Be Political is so important. Indeed, helping a hungry neighbor to eat is why many of us believe politics exists at all.
On to my day –
xo
They want you to imagine that you’re weak and you have no power. But you do. Its already there. All you have to do is tap it, put all your energy into it, focus it and use it to defeat them.
Amen and Amen! The Dems, seems to me, need a narrative and it’s the one I’ve heard Obama express from time to time: Do what’s right, not what’s political. We need to recapture the moral high ground by leaning on progressive principals.
The Revolution has already started. It is peopled by those who miss sanity, feel helpless and are struggling to shake themselves awake. There will continue to be ‘trigger’ moments to pull them toward taking charge of their reality but what they really need to do is learn how to ‘sit with’ a statement they hear or feel, as you indicate with your “other ear” statement.
Oh, and sweetpea, you have no idea how relieved and proud I am of my home state. As California goes, so they say — and let’s say it loud and proud! They beat back the trolls and remained in their power.
Thanks for the encouragement, sister-chick!