It's a pleasure to read fine writing and a substantive and penetrating analysis. David. Having seen peace and social justice activism here in Iowa in decline during the Obama years for the reasons you mentioned, and having watched the confusion and divisiveness of the Trump years, I think it is a mistake to underestimate the role of neoconservatives and their media operatives who so largely shape the narrative. The success of controlled media outlets in obscuring and marginalizing dissent, coupled with the efforts of social media platforms to marginalize and digitally isolate activists at the behest of government has had enervating effects on activism generally. And too, the pandemic hit older activists especially hard. Iowa had a vibrant peace and social justice activism community during the Shrub's two terms. Obama took much of the wind out of those sails. Crypto-neocon skullduggery masquerading as opposition to anti-Semitism has been plainly evident in the administration of one major national peace and social justice organization in recent years. The result of all of this has been a severe reduction in peace and social justice activism generally here in Iowa. Especially discouraging is the absence of young activists coming along as the older generations age out.
Even so, there are some encouraging signs of life. And just as important, the proxy war in Ukraine is bringing a lot of things into focus. The neocons in the Biden administration have, characteristically, overreached. The collapse that is coming may well result in new opportunities for activists across the nation and around the world. We need to be about the business of creating a sustainable future. That will be possible when the neocons have been disabused of the notion that war is the path to their revanchist dreams.
The labels, left and right, imply ideology, a couple of hundred or more years old at this point. There are too many tendencies left and right to continue with this shorthand. What we need to cut through the inculturated political ideology are very simple goals and principals. These goals and principles should be our new banner, and our new goalposts. Things like direct democracy, horizontalism, self-determination, cooperation, civil liberties, private production by worker owned and democratically managed coops, a national non-profit bank, an expanded social safety net, a wealth tax to flatten out the income spike between classes, and nationalization of all natural resources besides personal water wells, etc.
We can skip on all the political parties, their game of controlling the narrative and the playing field, small r republicanism and its concentration of power in the Congress, i.e., no more special super-citizen class status for Representatives. Congress critters should only get one vote like any other citizen on any proposed legislation. And of course, yad.1, and yada.2.
Excellent points. I am 5 years older, just a little more of the positive international solidarity before it all evaporated in the 1990's. I remember fondly the Central America Solidarity work, how people traveled back and forth to Nicaragua and El Salvador and Guatemala. The excitement of the Sandinista government, the person to person connections that were made. 1992, The fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the significant counter narrative, "end of of history" Suddenly things started to go very sideways. 1999 the protests against the WTO and the beginning of the extensive use of crises actors i.e. "black block" i.e. antifa. Israeli involvement in the attacks of 9/11 and the massive gas lighting that followed, where opposition to Israhell and it's global supremacist agenda began to manifest, only to be hunted down by the modern Irgun terrorist groups posing as antifa. With the actual destruction of Palestinian Solidarity, international solidarity with any other people of any kind was effectively stopped. And now we are here, feeling more and more like we are all living in the West Bank.
It's a pleasure to read fine writing and a substantive and penetrating analysis. David. Having seen peace and social justice activism here in Iowa in decline during the Obama years for the reasons you mentioned, and having watched the confusion and divisiveness of the Trump years, I think it is a mistake to underestimate the role of neoconservatives and their media operatives who so largely shape the narrative. The success of controlled media outlets in obscuring and marginalizing dissent, coupled with the efforts of social media platforms to marginalize and digitally isolate activists at the behest of government has had enervating effects on activism generally. And too, the pandemic hit older activists especially hard. Iowa had a vibrant peace and social justice activism community during the Shrub's two terms. Obama took much of the wind out of those sails. Crypto-neocon skullduggery masquerading as opposition to anti-Semitism has been plainly evident in the administration of one major national peace and social justice organization in recent years. The result of all of this has been a severe reduction in peace and social justice activism generally here in Iowa. Especially discouraging is the absence of young activists coming along as the older generations age out.
Even so, there are some encouraging signs of life. And just as important, the proxy war in Ukraine is bringing a lot of things into focus. The neocons in the Biden administration have, characteristically, overreached. The collapse that is coming may well result in new opportunities for activists across the nation and around the world. We need to be about the business of creating a sustainable future. That will be possible when the neocons have been disabused of the notion that war is the path to their revanchist dreams.
Correction: "That will be possible when the RUSSIAN Putintates have been disabused of the notion that war is the path to their revanchist dreams."
Well said, David.
The labels, left and right, imply ideology, a couple of hundred or more years old at this point. There are too many tendencies left and right to continue with this shorthand. What we need to cut through the inculturated political ideology are very simple goals and principals. These goals and principles should be our new banner, and our new goalposts. Things like direct democracy, horizontalism, self-determination, cooperation, civil liberties, private production by worker owned and democratically managed coops, a national non-profit bank, an expanded social safety net, a wealth tax to flatten out the income spike between classes, and nationalization of all natural resources besides personal water wells, etc.
We can skip on all the political parties, their game of controlling the narrative and the playing field, small r republicanism and its concentration of power in the Congress, i.e., no more special super-citizen class status for Representatives. Congress critters should only get one vote like any other citizen on any proposed legislation. And of course, yad.1, and yada.2.
Excellent points. I am 5 years older, just a little more of the positive international solidarity before it all evaporated in the 1990's. I remember fondly the Central America Solidarity work, how people traveled back and forth to Nicaragua and El Salvador and Guatemala. The excitement of the Sandinista government, the person to person connections that were made. 1992, The fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the significant counter narrative, "end of of history" Suddenly things started to go very sideways. 1999 the protests against the WTO and the beginning of the extensive use of crises actors i.e. "black block" i.e. antifa. Israeli involvement in the attacks of 9/11 and the massive gas lighting that followed, where opposition to Israhell and it's global supremacist agenda began to manifest, only to be hunted down by the modern Irgun terrorist groups posing as antifa. With the actual destruction of Palestinian Solidarity, international solidarity with any other people of any kind was effectively stopped. And now we are here, feeling more and more like we are all living in the West Bank.