<html> At 09:23 AM 12/3/98 +0000, Alex LoCascio wrote: > >On Thu, 3 Dec 1998 09:51:46 EST Apsken@aol.com writes: > >>He followed this swinish insult with crap that identified activism with >>reform, and that, "Organizers don't talk about capitalism because they >know >>full well that many of the people will stop listening to them. Or, >>alternatively, organizers, viz. their middle-class comforts, are not >>interested in doing the really hard work required to make serious >>idealogicalstruggle in this country possible." ... >Hell, I don't have all the answers, but I think it's time for the "Left" >to start thinking in terms of long-term, concrete change (sometimes >involving reforms, naturally), rather than having another demonstration >every few months or so. Alex says it right. These days, I'm in "greed" mode so I can manage to lift my income into the middle class, and have become an armchair leftist. I want two things: first a long term agenda that works for my soul, and a short term agenda that deals with day to day economic needs. These plans need to be laid out, plug-and-play, so I can mindlessly plug my finances, donations, and so forth into these plans with some confidence that I'm doing the right thing. What I've seen here and there just don't suit me. There's a strong yuppie/boomer bent to the marketing material. There's too many angry ranters. There's too much lifestyle leftism that, frankly, I could never afford and I sometimes find repellent. There's too much entertainment. I don't take echinecea, and I don't drink organic coffee grown on progressive cooperatives. Sorry, but I'm trying to save money. What do I want? More power to workers. More education and training programs available for free. More library access. Less crime. Less traffic. More retirement saving options. Unemployment insurance. Free health care. Free day care. School choice, universal testing, less emphasis on grades. What could I get behind in the long term? Food subsidies for nutritious staple foods. Regulate bioengineered foods. Serious reductions in urban and suburban pollution, to the point of outlawing some kinds of businesses. Decriminalize drugs. Outlaw prison labor competing with workers -- everything they produce is given away for free or at cost. Fund mental health services again, so we don't have so many homeless sleeping in doorways. Shorter work week, and more vacation!  And, more legal support for more types of alternative business models that are not so unstable and profiteering. All these things, in the long run, would improve my life and lifestyle. They'd stabilize work, and make it easier to earn money. <div>John Kawakami johnk@cyberjava.com</div> <div>URL of the moment -- <a href="http://www.riceball.com/quote" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://www.riceball.com/quote</a></div> </html>