by Fat Lady Singing » Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:21 am
Dream's End said<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I think I'd ask activists to have a look at who is funding a group before becoming involved with them. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>This is a fantastic idea right off the bat for any kind of real change, no matter the political leanings of the activist. But the problem is, okay, you find out who's funding a group...now you have to find out if there's anything suspicious about that funder. So many of these groups have such generic names, like "Americans for a Better America," or some such. It's not like they call themselves "Neocons Promoting Conditions Leading to Paralyzed Masses," or anything.<br><br>So you find out some group or entity is backing another group or entity you'd like to be involved with, and let's say you act with due diligence and try to find out who the funder's funders are. In all likelihood the money has been difused through several filters specifically to obfuscate who's really behind it. It becomes a tangled mess at this point, a mess most activists probably aren't really that keen to try to untangle. And face it, if they did, they'd lose the "active" part of activism anyway. And they'd become so cynical that they'd never be activists again! (That's sort of where I'm at).<br><br>Maybe that's where RI readers and posters can perform a real, valuable service. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Wouldn't it be nice if there was a list of groups that activists commonly become allied with along with some notes about their funding or political/cultural ties?</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> I mean, what if, for instance, you could look up (and this is strictly a rhetorical example here) on a list "PITA" and find out that they get some of their money from anti-Choice groups? That list would be kind of cool.<br><br>Dream's End said:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I'd also ask people to focus on efforts to transform the economic structure of the country. I'd like to see better understanding of class and less emphasis on single issue and identity politics. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>I'm with you there, too, DE! Unfortunately, in this political/cultural climate, you're talking about...OH...MY...GOD!...Socialism! Aren't you? Admit it, you Red! (For the record, I'm lefter than most of the American Left and would gladly welcome Socialism as an ideal and indeed think there are some redeeming features of Communism).<br><br>The trend on the Left is to drift toward the center, which is probably why Big Ed is the only "Leftie" talker with much pull. As the Republicans have shifted the country rightward, they've taken the Democrats and even other people on the Left with them, unfortunately.<br><br>A lot of it is, again, due to cynicism: the pols think it's what the people want because they naively believe that's what the polls really say. <br><br>A lot of it is, I'm afraid, due to the fact that there's not a whole lot of difference between the American "Left" and the American "Right." Hell, I thought that during the Clinton years, even, and boy do I look back on those days fondly.<br><br>Maybe that's why single-issue politics is on the rise? People sense that the politicos aren't much different from one another, so they figure if they put their efforts into one issue that's important to them, they have a better chance of making a difference. Maybe that's not such a bad idea, actually. Hm. <br><br>I guess the question becomes: "Is the world going down the tubes no matter what we do?" I kind of think so, personally, but maybe even if that's the case, we can make our world as comfortable as possible in its declining years. <br><br>Not exactly a rallying cry for ACTION!, I know. But if you take this attitude, maybe single-issue politics is the way to go. I know personally I get paralyzed when I try to think about the Big Picture. That is, I have no problem picturing the Big Picture--it's just that I can see there's very little way for me, Fat Lady Singing, to affect the Big Picture. Maybe bringing it down to micropolitics is the way to go for people like me. <br><br>But then I see the problems with this approach, too, and end up tearing out my hair in frustration and paralyzed anyway. Sigh. Thus I post on RI and in other fora, hoping that some word or two I write will spark something in someone who has the motivation and ability to actually make a difference for the better--better minds, better hands than mine.<br><br>Dream's End said:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>...but let's have a little discernment and let's build a movement that sides with the regular people against corporate excess and the corporate state itself.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Damn! Again, I can't agree with you more, DE. But Damn!(2) I have to again bring in a note of cynicism. The Right has been so terribly, terribly effective against the guy who was probably best poised to make a difference in our culture on this issue, Michael Moore. Say what you will (and I'd probably be the first to agree) about MM, he was at least a terrific communicator. We'll see what happens when his new movie comes out. [Of course, I remember when he said his next movie was going to be about the election fraud of 2004 and sent out armies of people to document it as it was happening...I think they ended up posting a few snippets of video on his site, and that was it. Then he changed course and decided to make this health insurance movie.]<br><br>And the Right(/"Left"?) has also been so terribly, terribly effective in making us love the things that "the corporate state" gives us...all the things we didn't used to be able to afford and now wouldn't give up. It's the paradox of Wal-Mart writ large(r). Yeah, sure, everyone kind of knows that it sucks, but we gotta have our cheap DVD players (because our old ones quickly become obsolete because they're so cheaply made). No one wants to see the slaughterhouse, but they all love their steaks! (I'm a vegetarian).<br><br>So how do we combat that? Hell if I know. Which is why I've all but given up, I guess. (See mealy-mouthed excuse for inaction, above).<br><br>Dream's End said:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I think electoral reform is a great place to focus...in terms of logistics to prevent fraud, instant runoff voting..but also public financing of campaigns and absolute and complete transparency concerning donations. Soft money must die. And this is one area that traditional leftists can unite with people across the politicat spectrum.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>DE, you have once again hit the nail on the head! Except that I'd say that electoral reform is probably the ONLY place to focus right now. I find it ironic that people think that they can vote on measures to combat vote fraud--it happened here in Ohio. What a surprise, the measure didn't pass.<br><br>I just learned seconds ago, as my husband read me an article from The Dispatch, that officials expect 30 percent of the ballots cast here in Franklin County to be absentee ballots. Doesn't that show a complete lack of trust in the system? <br><br>In 2004, I was a little bit "behind the scenes," and saw some stuff that led me to eventually conclude that the reason Kerry lost was because his hackers weren't as effective as Bush's hackers.<br><br>I believe 2006 will be decided not by voters but by hackers, in the "important" races--ones with implications for the political climate in general. The races with less of a national impact won't have enough financial support behind them and the players won't be high enough up in the echelons to make hacking a viable option.<br><br>The question of election reform is SO fraught with...ugh. Yet another really, really tangled mess. <br><br>OK, I've depressed myself enough for one day. DE, please--do what you can to make a difference. You're one of the best and brightest, so perhaps you really can help us. (And that goes of course for Jeff and many, many others who regularly post on RI).<br><br>I'm sorry to be such a downer. Guess I just want someone to hear me singing, even if my song is a dirge. <p></p><i></i>