A perfect day to give up.
There is no more struggle.
RATIONALIZATIONS FOR GIVING UP
a comment from Beth Cioffoletti:
Any actions of resistance and in the future are likely to involve the media, and that confounds things considerably for me. Things become "staged," made for the cameras, and that confuses the authenticity of the action. I'm remembering the weekend before we started the shock & awe bombing of Baghdad -- the largest worldwide protest in the history of humanity -- what did that mean? What did that say? Obviously it had no EFFECT on the powers bent on that particular war. Will that worldwide protest in the major cities of the world be mentioned in history books? Or is the resistance somewhere deeper in the story of humanity to make the news or the history books?
And thanks to Gordon Oyer for these:
Thomas Merton to beat poet/publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 8/61:
"Someday I want to talk to you about effective protest as distinct from a simple display of sensitivity and goodwill. I think we have to examine the question of genuine and deep spiritual non-cooperation, non-participation, and resistance. … [Just] standing up and saying with sincerity, candor, and youthful abandon "I am against it" has the following bad effects: a) it perpetuates an illusion of free thought and free discussion, which is actually very useful to those who have long since stifled all genuine freedom in this regard, b) it flatters the [establishment] by giving them something they can contrast themselves with, to their own complacent advantage."
Thomas Merton to Nicaraguan poet Napoleon Chow, 5/63:
"It also seems to me that the protest of the beatniks, while having a certain sincerity, is largely a delusion. … Yet this much can be said for them: their very formlessness may perhaps be something that is in their favor. It may perhaps enable them to reject most of the false solutions and deride the "square" propositions of the decadent liberalism around them. It may perhaps prepare them to go in the right directions. I think the beats have contributed much to the peace movement in the US, in their own way, and they are quite committed to the only serious revolutionary movement we have: that of rights for the Negro."
Note to He Who Must Not Be Named -- You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Note to some of those I love -- How can you not be deeply ashamed? Or at the very least, embarrassed?
Note to the smart people -- Please stop saying "neoliberal."
My heart breaks because I know Lee's would be broken.
How many people have stopped reading the news? Are clams really happy?
Sometimes leaving, like nonviolence, is the best thing to do.
Busy doing nothing. Old Zen phrase
Greg-- What are your plans?
ReplyDeleteWrite me at
or call 217-369-5471
--Carl Estabrook
No, it isn't ever the best thing to do! It's letting the assholes win and I am profoundly grateful to the people who came before me who went through shit for us and I think we have an obligation to the future to do that too. However shitty it SEEMS. And it's something I've had to grapple with more than once.
ReplyDeletePlease don't make permanent decisions based on a temporary situation. You're needed here, with us.
ReplyDeleteKaren Aram writes, "Greg, don't give up, we need people like you. People with vision, we can't give up the struggle, the struggle whether a success or not, is what life is all about, and it's just now begun. People are waking up, they've been asleep for eight years, now they are awake. It's now or never. We unite and fight, all humanity is at risk. I’m here in Champaign Urbana/Il, where are you? KA"
ReplyDeleteKaren Aram's email is "karenaram[at]hotmail[dot]com"
ReplyDeleteAs long as my name has been invoked... If interested in understanding what Merton was after, this is key: "genuine and deep spiritual non-cooperation, non-participation, and resistance."
ReplyDeleteHe encouraged resistance that exposed and challenged underlying motives and commitments not just criticized specific acts of "opponents." As with most faith-based social critics of that era, true "effectiveness" was tied more to action grounded in connection to what they considered eternal values rather than to joining up with passing superficial fads. Action that resisted and refused to cooperate with that superficiality. But he/they did call for prophetic action.
Perhaps our challenge now is to figure out what actions have that grounding vs. which just perpetuate the illusions that got us here to begin with. Perhaps Greg's choice is one (but not the only) path to do that. Those at risk here and now also need consideration, no?
I have started out in this direction with deliberation. We have seen the result of struggle between opposing factions and the distraction and stalemate (or outright backfiring) that can result. I'm trying something else. The minor ripple caused here is a good sign, I think. I'll continue to post thoughts on so-called giving up..
ReplyDelete