Ryuichi Sakamoto Re: Lefty despair

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>It is noteworthy that during periods when the left was most
>successful in the US, there existed broader "countercultures"
>which provided people with relatively enjoyable experiences
>linked to political activism.  For example back in the 1930s
>and 1940s the CPUSA functioned within a broader Popular
>Front culture which encompassed a thriving literary culture
>and a thriving popular culture which included within its scope
>popular entertainment figures like Frank Sinatra (subject
>of an article in the latest issue of Science & Society).
>
>The same also applied for the 1960s New Left.  No doubt
>much of the appeal that groups like SDS and SNCC enjoyed
>back in the '60s was that they were often the places where
>the "coolest" people on campus were to be found.
>
>Jim F.

There are still individual artists on the left who are trying to make 
political statements and nurture politico-cultural pockets of 
resistance.  Check out, for instance, the website of Ryuichi Sakamoto 
<http://www.sitesakamoto.com/> and that of his anti-war intellectual 
pals <http://www.sustainabilityforpeace.org/>.  He edited an 
anthology titled _Hisen [No War]_, in response to 9.11.  What we 
don't have is a vigorous mass movement on the left with which such 
cultural efforts could be cross-pollinated.
-- 
Yoshie

* Calendar of Events in Columbus: 
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
* Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>