I must say, I92m glad to see that there are discussions going on
that finally get beyond the tired dualities that generally pervade
US political discourse (sic). As a foreigner used to slightly more
nuanced politics, my eyes tend to glaze over when the good guys vs.
bad guys / liberal vs. conservative/ Democrat vs. Republican
rhetoric gets trotted out again and again and again. This doesn92t
really get anybody anywhere.
What I find really hopeful about this particular moment -- the
reactions to the war, the protest, the discussion, and even the
despair 96 is that it seems like the questions and the emotions may
begin to move a critical mass beyond the blind alleys of the usual
narratives. There are a lot of people wondering. And I think they
suspect that electing the 93right94 Democrat just ain92t gonna do
it.
I feel hopeful when I come across discussions like this one, that
ask the right questions, like what do you do when your political
system totally doesn92t serve you? It92s useful to look around and
see what others are doing. Real interesting things going on at the
local level in Argentina right now, for example. And I have been
surprised to see the emergence of a new political party in Canada
whose platform is quite explicitly a critique of economic
globalization and domination of society by corporate interests. I
don92t think the answer is to dismiss electoral politics
completely, but to be realistic and recognize that the current two
party system in the US is unproductive. Sure, when you have
multiple parties the thing has to start to shift and have some
actual content and begin to address real issues. Right now, that92s
just not the case.
It92s important to broaden our imagination of political life and to
know that it does go way beyond ballots and campaigns. The notion
that the electoral dimension is all there is, that it is the only
legitimate arena, is a fundamental part of what neutralizes people
and fuels despair. Changes will happen at that level, but they will
not be sufficient. We need to think about what democracy and
justice mean on the deeper, fundamental level of everyday life. How
do we democratize our economic systems? Educational institutions?
What kind of food systems do we want to create? Etc. I think people
understand more and more that the Dem vs. Rep narrative is
ultimately not helpful, and this opening in the culture92s
consciousness is extremely hopeful because it will help generate
alternatives and drive people to work on this stuff at many
different levels.
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