I Don't Have Answers

But I Want Them

This is a rant edition that really isn't in the spirit of what I intended for this newsletter, but the current state of affairs can't be ignored. Our national Situation is the latest example of a history that just keeps playing and replaying. Once again—possibly finally, at least for the health of our particular effort at some kind of a republic—people who really give a damn about what kind of world we want to live in, what kind of people we want to be, need to step up. That means all of us. Because we are watching it drain right through our fingers.

We are all terrified, angry, shocked, dumbstruck, etc. But we need to find ways to contribute, in whatever ways we can, to turning things around. I don't mean "back to normal." I mean something new, something that actually fixes a few things. Which may mean a few steps back in service to a better future.

The epic American collapse we are living in is one we are all responsible for. Yes, Trump and his supporters and their gutless, ignorant sycophants are fanning the flames, figuring out how best to make it worse and to their advantage, but don't ever forget that American fascism, American racism, and American hate exist because of Americans. And not even exclusively because of the fascists, racists, and haters, because I would contend they are a fairly small percentage of the overall population. No, they are just more committed than the average person. The rest of us are too busy binging Netflix, playing video games, watching sports, attending yoga classes, taking selfies and going to brunch to be bothered with the gritty responsibility of actually being citizens. We have gotten complacent. Soft. Addicted to our own convenience, and blinded to the suffering of anyone not like us. Now, still reeling from a wave of realization called COVID-19 (which certainly isn't over yet) that proves just how screwed we average Americans are, recent events around the gruesome public murder of George Floyd are making apparent other horrors certain to derail the status quo.

Plenty folks aren't surprised by any of it, though. Black Americans already know. Indians know. All brown people know. Asians—especially lately, up until a handful of psychotic cops knocked a millions-killing health crisis out of the news cycle—know. The blissful ignorance of the, "But some of my best friends are minorities!" racist might be the most insidious. And don't get me started on the abused and the raped and the sick and the poor. They know how jacked-up the system is. They know the frustration of being ignored by the, "But what does that have to do with me?" crowd. That crowd isn't comprised entirely of the MAGA people either. There are loads of Lexus liberals and NIMBY cowards making life miserable for plenty of people. That ilk pisses me off the most.

It's not entirely our fault. These assholes pulling the cultural levers know the psychology of the human brain and use it against us. To distract us. The machine they operate is what makes us squeak out a little noise at first view of any despicable act by our government, but ultimately roll over and let the tragedies progress unimpeded. A perfect example is the violence and imprisonments and executions (yes, when you let a child die in custody, that is an execution) that continue along our southern border. It allows us to look away when faced with the staggering statistics year after year that prove racism keeps young black men incarcerated. It makes us not even pay attention at the staggering numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. It's what manufactures a cult of "don't question their courage!" reverence around veterans on one hand, but then lets them die homeless on the street from the ravages of mental and physical destruction earned while executing their service. The list is endless and grim.

We don't take care of each other, or really care to. We are committed to our own spurts of pleasure all designed to funnel the fruits of our labor into the pockets of the wealthiest few. We are cannon fodder. Cattle.

It is connected. It is all connected. Everything we choose, every moment of how we spend our time, is connected. The time I've spent staring at my screen in a grubby hovel parked on a shitty lot hammering at the keyboard and trying not to sound too irritated even by my standards is, without doubt, somehow funneling more cash into the accounts of people like Jeff Bezos in ways I'm not even aware of. That's how far it's gotten out of hand. It makes me crazy how ubiquitous it all is.

But goddamn it, this is no time to throw in the towel.

Like asking the tired old question about sound and a tree falling in the forest with no one being around to hear it (though there is always someone around, maybe just not a human someone), I wonder: Is great power still great if it is never used? Of course it is. It lies dormant, waiting for the opportunity to be engaged. Wasn't that—isn't that—the theory behind the arms race, the escalation of world-ending armament? That no matter how much you have, if I have nearly or equal destructive might, we can keep the peace through the assurance of mutual destruction?

Not all power is created equal. Theirs wears body armor and sprays chemicals and disappears people. And key to the game behind those tactics has always been to hide our power from us.

All these young people marching in the streets, betrayed by the relentless might of the State, our ravaging police culture being only the bloody tip of the current incarnation, are inspiring to me. So many, and in every state and around the world! It's glorious. I also worry, though, because what is the end game? There needs to be a plan and there isn't one. The other side has a plan, make no mistake. They are executing it masterfully with gas, clubs, and rubber bullets.

It seems to me the protestors have two options. One, to complete the rising up. Turn their fires and destruction on the State. Overthrow the government and start over. I would happily support that, though it's doomed to failure. What are 1000 fixed-gear bicycles made from salvaged parts against one tank? Against a helicopter?

No, as a group the real power lies in the voting booth. Allegedly this country is still a democracy, right? That is our real power, at least until we let things get too shitty and it too is taken away from us (a very real fear under the current fascist administration and its spineless, enabling Congress). If voting wasn't so important, the powerful wouldn't exert so much time and money to make it more difficult. Especially among people of color.

If all these young people would vote. Can you imagine the change that could happen? I doubt anyone younger than 40 reads this stupid newsletter so I'm just braying into the wind. But how do the rest of us, those who have fucked everything up to the point that the younger generations have no real reason to listen to anything we say, convince them? It's maddening, but it is the task of our age, I think.

We are well on our way to continuing this colossal screw-up. Does anyone who isn't a wealthy middle-ager or over really think Joe Biden has the best interests of anyone but the rich corporate class in mind? No, he's no Trump. But we also shouldn't forget that a ton of nasty shit has been done with Democrats in power, including under the regime of the Obama administration. With Biden we have no hope of national healthcare without an unimaginable amount of effort, but we have to try. Not to mention the other things. A safety net for creative people. Relief of student loan debt while offering free education to everyone. DE-FUND THE FUCKING POLICE. But we have to vote. And we have to defend the rights of everyone else to vote.

I'm reminded of a sign I saw that irritated me today. It was on the window of a coffee shop. It said, "Things will get better." At this point that is touchy-feely, white lighty bullshit to me. How will they get better? Why will they get better? Things aren't going to "get better" unless we go out and MAKE them better. We. Ourselves. Don’t placate me. Tell me what you are going to DO.

I don't know how it is in other states, but in Montana we have some opportunity. We have a good shot at throwing out one of the worst senators there is. We could send a woman to the House of Representatives. We could keep a violent, braindead, assault-happy nincompoop out of the governor's office. But it will take effort. Effort from all of us.

And don’t groan about the uselessness of voting. This is no time to be cynical. No time to be lazy.

I don’t have answers, but I want them.

__________________

Don't just listen to me. Here's Stacey Abrams, who would be the governor of Georgia if it wasn't for voter fuckery, talking about how she knows "Voting Feels Inadequate Right Now."

Here is a report from NARF (i.e. the Native American Rights Fund, the oldest, largest nonprofit legal org asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals) about the obstacles to voting if you are Indian, called “Obstacles at Every Turn.”

The Guardian asks, "Is America a democracy?"

Finally, info on Voting Rights from the American Civil Liberties Union. They are always worthy of a donation too, while you're there....

Just because, as a bonus, "A Faulty Messiah: How Donald Trump Became The Evangelical Right's 'Chosen One'"