The importance of hope and pragmatism

Rebecca Solnit, in her article "The Rain on Our Parade: A Letter to My Dismal Allies" points out the importance of recognizing reality and celebrating the gains that we make. It was a good reminder for me - it's too easy for me to be down on Obama because he's not doing everything I'd like him too. But he has made progress in some areas and we need to acknowledge that and focus on accomplishing more rather than complaining that he's not doing enough.

The article starts:

Forgive me if I briefly take my eyes off the prize to brush away some flies, but the buzzing has gone on for some time. I have a grand goal, and that is to counter the Republican right with its deep desire to annihilate everything I love and to move toward far more radical goals than the Democrats ever truly support. In the course of pursuing that, however, I’ve come up against the habits of my presumed allies again and again.

O rancid sector of the far left, please stop your grousing! Compared to you, Eeyore sounds like a Teletubby. If I gave you a pony, you would not only be furious that not everyone has a pony, but you would pick on the pony for not being radical enough until it wept big, sad, hot pony tears. Because what we’re talking about here is not an analysis, a strategy, or a cosmology, but an attitude, and one that is poisoning us. Not just me, but you, us, and our possibilities.

Read the full article at:

https://truth-out.org/news/item/1181...-dismal-allies

~Cascade

`
I found this reply to Rebecca Solnit worth a look. I have appreciated many of the things she's written about Occupy! and other matters over the years (haven't read her books but I've read many of her essays). I know her two brothers and have organized with them on separate occasions. We're part of the same movement, but I disagree with her on this recent call to quit complaining and to vote for The Obamanator. Rob Urie explains why.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09...dismal-center/

`