[lbo-talk] Woj & America

[Dennis Perrin]

> I feel the same way sometimes, but as I've said to you many times,
> those yahoos aren't the whole story. There are all kinds of humane
> and interesting people in the U.S. The ruling class and their
> cheering section exclude them from the "real America," but there are
> a lot of us. And I've got to second the things that Jenny Brown said
> - we're greatly overworked and constantly lied to.
>
> Doug

We just moved to a new neighborhood (a bit more working class than the last
one), and I've started talking to the neighbors about Bush, the war, etc.
This older guy across the street, a former school teacher and present member
of the Gray Panthers (didn't know they were still around), and I got into a
long conversation last weekend, and he said he was as dejected as he's ever
felt in a lifetime of activism. He can't even watch TV anymore because of
the propaganda barrage. And something from way back just clicked in me, back
from when I spoke to dejected activists in church basements in Brooklyn and
the like, and I gave one of the most animated pep talks I've given since my
FAIR days. And as I spoke, I saw his eyes light up and a smile emerge.
"Thanks," he said, "I needed to hear that. There is hope."

As Noam once said, if you think there's no hope, you guarantee there won't
be.

DP