But it's undeniable you meet a lot of people on this side of the aisle who feel the need, for example, to remind you of the horrors of slavery should you happen to mention the lovely, rolling countryside of the Carolinas. That is to say, the sinister subtext must be kept in mind.
On many levels, this is applause worthy since so much of American life is built upon the idea of forgetting and moving on to the next triumph. And as that victory is won, forgetting the new pile of bones accumulated along the way to the City of Gold.
So a sincere effort to keep the contradictions in mind, to see the bad with the good (or to see no good at all in what conventional wisdom declares to be beautiful) in a nation seemingly obsessed with seeing the sweet lemonade each lemon can become is not a useless or easy thing. In fact, it's often very, very hard and absolutely vital.
Combine this alertness for mephisto's hand with the scars you may acquire from activist work (from battling both external foes and internal rifts) and you're looking at a war hardened mind ready to reach for a rifle at a moment's notice.
It's easier for conservatives or even the apolitical who believe in “the promise of America” and other religious concepts to be cheerful. All they have to do is recite formulas and a vast network of ideological supporters – in high, middle and low places – rally to their side to join in singing the national song. As Morrissey said years ago, “why question life's complexities when the ride is smooth in the passenger's seat?”
Gloominess of some sort, waxing and waning as conditions seem to dictate, is a bit of an occupational hazard. Not that the left is terminally gloomy or depressed – far from it. There is a tremendous amount of energy, a mad, brilliant ball of human fire is on the verge of bursting to full power. But there's confusion right now. Should we press for social democratic style reforms to make the existing system less painful? Should we monkey wrench and otherwise directly resist, creating that possible other world the global justice folks talk about?
Or perhaps there's some combination of the two, or even a galaxy of ideas and tactics unseen and undreamed of, fit for this age of the global frequency.
I don't know right now but I'm confident that if we let the situation dictate both theory and action – if we watch and listen very carefully and note the pattern - we will find our way.
Maybe that's what Zizek meant when he said the following to Doug during an interview:
..
I am still a naïve, enlightened person. One should challenge it, but without illusions. Here I'm in a very tragic predicament. I'm not saying that I have a blueprint for what to do today. My remaining hope is a very sad, pessimistic hope. The ruling system of ideology created such high democratic expectations that it cannot live up to them. Gradually, it will have to violate them. Once people are given certain rights, even if they are purely ideological, it's difficult to take these rights from them. It won't be easy to discipline people, to say, "No, we promised you too much." If you combine this with likely future economic upheavals.... My worry is not the worry of many of my leftist friends, like, "Why are you dreaming about revolutions? The system will just go on." No - I am almost tempted to say unfortunately, because unstable pre-revolutionary situations are not a holiday of history. They can be very unpleasant. But they will compel us to invent new political forms. In a couple of years, we will be literally forced to reinvent new ways.
[...]
full at -
http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Zizek.html
....
To me the hope of the left is that we become like Shiva – creator and destroyer, armed and multi-armed, filled with wisdom but ready for savage action, beautiful and hideous all at the same time.
Our sources cannot be just Marx and the other deep classics but the games Dennis Perrin tells us about, the Buddhism Brian Dauth shares with us, the science curious and working class structural wisdom Chuck Grimes brings to the table, the econ analysis and pop culture love Doug shares, the crazy cool energy of Kelley and I'm running out of people to thank for my Oscar but you all – young and old, gay, straight and bi and.., jew and gentile, human and synthetic, Chuck0 style anarchist and Paul style anarchist – are noisily bringing the collective thing together.
For this century, there cannot be a vanguard, that way's been tried; it leads to ruin. The hive mind must be born, multiplicity must be embraced like a lover on a lazy Sunday morning or a child who has said something mysterious and lovely.
Because if we fail this time, only the rats and cockroaches will be around to discuss our stupidity.
As some brothers say, stakes is high but the possibilities...yeah, the possibilities.
.d.