Baltimore IMC : http://www.baltimoreimc.org
LOCAL Commentary :: Miscellaneous
Battle Cry & Hope
Author
Date Created
- 07 Nov 2004
Date Edited
- 07 Nov 2004 11:43:27 AM
License
This work is in the public domain.
How are mainstream Americans reacting to a nausiating electoral outcome? I share the "battle cry" from my sister, a 47 year-old mother of two, who has evangelical christian leanings. I share my sobering assessment, and call for building lasting institutions to roll back the take-over of the extreme right.
.
Letter from my Sister
November 3, 2004
OK, so Bush will be Bush for four years ("I say what I mean and I do what I say! And I do what I mean and I say what I do! And I mean what I do and I'm mean....what'd I say?")
But watch out Bush fans -- the Dems have a glorious, godly, articulate man coming to the fore!
Give it up now for Barack Obama -- who won a Senate Seat in Illinois last night by 61%!!!
Huzzah!!!!
(It's been awhile since I looked forward to being four years older!) ;-)
love, Neecy
=====================
Commentary
Personally, I could do without the "godly" part, and the Dem part, and the Obama part. So what's my purpose in sharing this letter?
If a white, 47-year-old, suburban, evangelical-leaning, mother of two can "get it" AND come back with a "battle cry" after our nausiating defeat on November 2, there is hope.
We must build on this hope. "Fighting back" is not about winning future elections, though we must do that. Stolen and supressed votes aside, the result of the November 2 2004 survey of American culture (AKA the election) is real.
I remember 1980 when Reagan came into office. I've watched the center of the country slide from conservative to extreme. Tangible, intentional steps were taken that pushed the country to this point. Tangible, intentional counter-steps must be taken to push it back.
The extreme right set a long-range agenda and slowly took hold of the reigns of real power (media outlets, educational curricula, elected and appointed offices, laws, judicial posts, community-center programs). They've taken over because they have harnessed the power of tangible institutions to their advantange.
We used to be able to say, "They have the money on their side, we've got the people on our side." Folks, that ain't true anymore, and that's what scares me the most.
They have taken over because they have the raw power to do so, because the institutions that could stop them have been weakend, and because they have enough popular support.
So, what do we do? We must build tangible, lasting institutions of power (money-making coops & media outlets come to mind for a start). We must identify ways for ordinary people to "plug in," and we must recruit people to be "plugged in".
The good news? Middle Americans, like my sister, are out there and ready for the long slog forward.
.
Letter from my Sister
November 3, 2004
OK, so Bush will be Bush for four years ("I say what I mean and I do what I say! And I do what I mean and I say what I do! And I mean what I do and I'm mean....what'd I say?")
But watch out Bush fans -- the Dems have a glorious, godly, articulate man coming to the fore!
Give it up now for Barack Obama -- who won a Senate Seat in Illinois last night by 61%!!!
Huzzah!!!!
(It's been awhile since I looked forward to being four years older!) ;-)
love, Neecy
=====================
Determination
Commentary
Personally, I could do without the "godly" part, and the Dem part, and the Obama part. So what's my purpose in sharing this letter?
If a white, 47-year-old, suburban, evangelical-leaning, mother of two can "get it" AND come back with a "battle cry" after our nausiating defeat on November 2, there is hope.
We must build on this hope. "Fighting back" is not about winning future elections, though we must do that. Stolen and supressed votes aside, the result of the November 2 2004 survey of American culture (AKA the election) is real.
I remember 1980 when Reagan came into office. I've watched the center of the country slide from conservative to extreme. Tangible, intentional steps were taken that pushed the country to this point. Tangible, intentional counter-steps must be taken to push it back.
The extreme right set a long-range agenda and slowly took hold of the reigns of real power (media outlets, educational curricula, elected and appointed offices, laws, judicial posts, community-center programs). They've taken over because they have harnessed the power of tangible institutions to their advantange.
We used to be able to say, "They have the money on their side, we've got the people on our side." Folks, that ain't true anymore, and that's what scares me the most.
They have taken over because they have the raw power to do so, because the institutions that could stop them have been weakend, and because they have enough popular support.
So, what do we do? We must build tangible, lasting institutions of power (money-making coops & media outlets come to mind for a start). We must identify ways for ordinary people to "plug in," and we must recruit people to be "plugged in".
The good news? Middle Americans, like my sister, are out there and ready for the long slog forward.
.
Views
Information
Search
This site made manifest by dadaIMC software