“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
One of my tasks here at The R-Word is to conceptually, factually and imaginatively flesh out a space of politics which is neither strictly "public politics" (structured and dominated by the state) nor mere "private politics" -- such as making decisions about what happens in a private club or group in a political culture utterly shaped by the presence of the state and the social and cultural habits of politics which derive from living in a state-dominated society.
To my knowledge, this "third sphere" (with the original two spheres being public and private) just isn't being acknowledged as "a thing" by sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political theorists... or anyone with a university post or published book. So you can see I have my work cut out for me.
I appreciate this post and your perspective, James. I was always more about 'evolution' rather than 'revolution' (whatever/however you perceive it to be). Dropping the 'r' freed me into deeper kinship with all of the living world and patterned myself more closely to it. Do the dandelions revolt? Maybe. Do they undertake revolution? If the answer is yes, it feels to be on such a scale and with such grace that I could only refer to it as evolution. Collective evolution. That softness of graduation I feel is one path we could take - us human kin - towards unraveling our inner malevolent entanglements such that their outer expressions soften, go to nourishing rot, and sprout us collectively anew. One loving shoot at a time.
Revolutionary in loving connecting, Regenerative in all the soils contaminated... education, public policy, governance, art-making, design, public entertainment, spirituality... and in our Earth's soil at multiple levels, Resilient and resistant, never conforming to the cages of interwoven oppressions that keep us caged even when the door is open... s/Self sovereign, knowing that each small one of us is Spirit living a human life not humans living a spiritual life
Omigod! You're not a Neo-Hippy are you ? "We distribute our charisma, our charm, our joy, our love, our revolutionary inspiration. We scatter it everywhere we can like flower petals or pollen." You're like the clean, non-violent version of Just Stop Oil, everywhere and nowhere. Sure, sure, it's all good, we need positive people without a political agenda to grind, they make life bearable. But at this point, in whichever country it takes place, the Revolution needs discipline, hierarchy and the angst that comes with doing what generations have shirked. Put down the Peace Pipe for a bit and take a look at the countries in Africa trying to free themselves from French domination. Their backs are against the wall and they're making it happen. Top regards from Continental Riffs.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
One of my tasks here at The R-Word is to conceptually, factually and imaginatively flesh out a space of politics which is neither strictly "public politics" (structured and dominated by the state) nor mere "private politics" -- such as making decisions about what happens in a private club or group in a political culture utterly shaped by the presence of the state and the social and cultural habits of politics which derive from living in a state-dominated society.
To my knowledge, this "third sphere" (with the original two spheres being public and private) just isn't being acknowledged as "a thing" by sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political theorists... or anyone with a university post or published book. So you can see I have my work cut out for me.
About politics, public and private:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQjcmDGY2vA&list=PLU4FEuj4v9eDFFfwwAcTPMQGuEZxLhtzj&index=15&t=978s
I appreciate this post and your perspective, James. I was always more about 'evolution' rather than 'revolution' (whatever/however you perceive it to be). Dropping the 'r' freed me into deeper kinship with all of the living world and patterned myself more closely to it. Do the dandelions revolt? Maybe. Do they undertake revolution? If the answer is yes, it feels to be on such a scale and with such grace that I could only refer to it as evolution. Collective evolution. That softness of graduation I feel is one path we could take - us human kin - towards unraveling our inner malevolent entanglements such that their outer expressions soften, go to nourishing rot, and sprout us collectively anew. One loving shoot at a time.
Liked Revolution 2.0!
Revolutionary in loving connecting, Regenerative in all the soils contaminated... education, public policy, governance, art-making, design, public entertainment, spirituality... and in our Earth's soil at multiple levels, Resilient and resistant, never conforming to the cages of interwoven oppressions that keep us caged even when the door is open... s/Self sovereign, knowing that each small one of us is Spirit living a human life not humans living a spiritual life
Omigod! You're not a Neo-Hippy are you ? "We distribute our charisma, our charm, our joy, our love, our revolutionary inspiration. We scatter it everywhere we can like flower petals or pollen." You're like the clean, non-violent version of Just Stop Oil, everywhere and nowhere. Sure, sure, it's all good, we need positive people without a political agenda to grind, they make life bearable. But at this point, in whichever country it takes place, the Revolution needs discipline, hierarchy and the angst that comes with doing what generations have shirked. Put down the Peace Pipe for a bit and take a look at the countries in Africa trying to free themselves from French domination. Their backs are against the wall and they're making it happen. Top regards from Continental Riffs.