Armchair Activism

"I'm desperate for some leadership. Clamoring for it, really. I want more Arianna's. Not just a policy wonk or a pundit or a talking head. I want some real down in the trenches work for the future.

I want somebody to make me pay attention. To get me up out of this arm chair and act."

You summed up my deeper feelings pretty well. I don't want to be apathetic, I don't want to be one of the "Don't Cares." I want to do something and I want to do something better and I feel like I'm looking for it but there's just nothing there.

Let the real Truth be known. I've been reaching out to people outside of my circle in search of inspiration. I need new blood to oil these joints of mine.

But did you just write "In these difficult times"?

I'm feeling the same things for the same reasons, but my thoughts are running towards actions that are angry, violent and illegal. I think we've all been passified into thinking we must either work within the system or throw our hands up and do nothing.

What do you want? A TO DO list?
I think you are being a bit of a reductionist....and a lazy reductionist. I love you J, but............

I don't see this as reductionism, I see this as realism. Not a to-do list, but a spark, a twinge. Somethin'. Apathy pulls us down. I can't afford to be in a quagmire.

Okay, but why is everyone waiting for this to be handed to them on a silver platter? That drives me crazy. If you want a change in your life, if you want to move, if you want a new car, do you wait for someone to come up and hand you the keys?

Yes, it is reductionist. It is like walking up to a river and staring at the part right in front of you and saying, with a bit of disappointment, "Oh, it's water." Rather than looking upstream to see where it is coming from and downstream to see where it is going, or putting a toe in the water to feel the force of the river.

And as much as I see here that everyone is looking for that little "something," everyone seems to be very vague about what that is. Usually, that means they are never going to be satistfied when a couple of "somethings" present themselves.

Forget about relying on someone else to provide this for you. I think that's lazy. J knows I am not trying to be disrespectful. Don't you J?

hey, just found your blog with great tracks and thinking by the side so i'll dare to join!
seeing it from a distant point of view (france) i'm afraid that once again people seem to focus more on the buzz than the facts...of course michael moore sure won't save america but maybe it helps some people put things (not war itself-but what's behind this one, behind all wars in fact) in perspective, then maybe get some self-consciousness about the changes to be made politically (get rid of bush first for sure) and personally (you'll sure have to fight some habits to keep this cheap gallon of oil... but it's better to fight habits than foreign countries, isn't it?
and miss mahoney, i like the way you think and write!

OK let's talk specifics. I want a leader that's actually going to make a difference in my life. A leader that is actually going to make a difference in the lives of the general American public. A John Kerry presidency may have a huge effect on the lives of people in the military and their families because of a different military agenda but can any of the rest of us honestly say that John Kerry being president is really going to make a large difference in our lives?

To be more general can any of us here say that the Democratic party really represents us anymore? So what exactly is it we are supposed to do? If we don't vote for Kerry then we're labelled apathetic and "part of the problem", if we discuss how the current political systems and players aren't moving us or hell even speaking to us we're being "reductionist."

So I'd like to know what it is we're supposed to do. If you've got the plan that will help us find the mythical political players that actually care about people instead of winning elections and people that are speaking about real issues instead of the generic "I'm pro-choice, anti-"this war", anti-Bush."

If I want to buy a car I can go to the car lot. If I want a leader that's actually doing something for me and that I can believe in tell me where I go to get that.

I will talk in specifics as well.

I understand the difference I make in a local sense. I can join community efforts and make a significant change in my immediate community. When I ran and raised money for AIDS Marathon and Revlon's Breast Cancer Research and for the Arthritis Foundation in the last year, I knew exactly what I was working for and what I personally and the community at large was getting in return. These organizations earned my support by following through on what they claim to do.

On the National stage in our political process, I get none of that. We live with this whackjob political system where we have to make a choice often between two people who haven't so much as earned our votes but have made me say, "well, I can't vote for that guy, he's fuckin' crazy, so I guess I'll vote for this guy whose not really saying anything."

The Democratic Party, John Kerry, John Edwards, whomever they throw out there isn't doing anything to earn my vote. I want to vote for someone and not against someone.

And I know this isn't the right election to do the Brewster's Millions "None of the Above" thing because there are such larger things at stake but, damnit, I shouldn't ever have to feel like that about our political process. If it's really an inclusive process, a great process, the best government in the land, then why am I continually feeling like there is no real place for my voice?

And that's not reductionism. If I was being reductionist, I would be able to simplify our political landscape into a framework I could work in. The current complexities of our system and the political games that the democrats and the republicans play don't allow for new voices at the table.

I keep going back to the opening of Michael Moore's film. If the congressional black caucus, people who have earned the right to be at the big table can't even get a debate started about the basic structure of our system, an election, then what real chance do minority voices, progressive voices have to be heard, and not only heard but reacted to on the national level.

Why should I care about that process anymore when I can focus my energies elsewhere?

That's what I mean, specifically.

And, of course, Shannon, I know you're not being disrespectful.

I was going to declare my love, but thought that was a bit much...so let me just say you've summed up so many of my frustrations. Farenheit 9/11 had the ability to bring so many issues to the table, and I think it did, but the public attention span is ridiculous. I think most people were moved for 24 hours after seeing it, and then just figured it would be too much of a damper on their lifestyle to actually try changing anything. I don't give a rat's ass about Kerry or Edwards. As long as the people believe that some rich dude is going to represent them, well, how much change can we really expect?

But, Michelle, the leader doesn't make the difference in your life. YOU are making the difference in your life. My question simply is "Why is everyone looking for a LEADER to do this, when the most immediate results you can see, touch, taste and feel are the ones you make on your own?"

Jason, you have obviously made a statement with all the things you have participated in and Michael Moore is simply doing the same thing. You have both used a medium (film, running, walking, voting...whatever) to bring attention to a cause. I had no idea before F9/11 that the black caucus ran up agains that huge obstacle in our government.

What I was specifically referring to as being reductionists is the "yay, we're liberals" segment of your post. Because you are focusing on that one event rather than the larger components. So I guess I was accusing you more of compartmentalizing, But I will reiterate what I had said to you privately earlier, which is that activism is built on synergy.

I actually did vote FOR someone in the primaries and they lost. So, I'll throw my support behind the party because sometimes we have to work as a team.

Michelle, if you want someone who actually works for you, I would focus on your representative rather than the president or any national "leader". Reps, most of the time, actually listen to their constituents and our vote makes a hell of a lot more difference at that level. I think a lot of the "leaders" that you are looking for are people who can inspire you at a smaller level. I've met people who run the register at the quickie mart who are the most inspiring person I know. So, he's my leader, so what. (Also, I NEVER meant to address the discussion itself as reductionist, I was talking about something specific -- see earlier comment).

Also, if anyone cares to know. JT and I hashed this out months ago and had similar views on the same topic. But I lost all hope for a while when I lost my candidate and started over again from scratch.

I'm getting the idea that we are not going to come to an agreement on this any time soon. That's fine with me. I also don't want to pretend that I have all the answers, because I don't, and the "leaders" don't either. So why the hell would I listen to them? I might also add, that I think that there are powerful speakers out there who we have limited access to because of censorship.

What good does a powerful speaker do me? If I want entertainment I'll go watch a movie or play fucking cards. You all need to get the fuck over it, figure out what you believe in, vote for the person who fits those beliefs, and go about your life in a moral way. If you want more than that you'll have to DO FOR SELF.

I'm going to write a song called "get the fuck over it" that I'll sing every time someone comes to this space and tells me that's what I need to do and then I'll do a little jig...

Standard retort: What exactly do I need to get over? Where did I, or anyone, suggest that I wasn't already doing for self, that I didn't already have things I believed in, or went about my life in a moral way (whatever that may mean)?

The question still remains, in a two party system in which money talks more than votes, what in these two Americas (to quote John Edwards) does the disenfranchised do to get their voice heard on a national level and why should they care on a national level?

What is the incentive to participate in the process when you don't feel represented?

That some dumbass would type "You all need to get the fuck over it" and leave no verifiable contact information as useful as pissing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Jason, I have been lamenting over the inefficiency of a two-party system for some time. As an increasing amount of people are claiming to be "independent", we need a better way to represent alternative choices.

I also agree that to get the most satisfying results from the existing political process, you may want to start at the municipal/local level. Something happens as candidates climb the political ladder that brings about a shift in priorities. I'm no longer sure if anything can be done to counter it.

My question is "How is a 'leader' supposed to make each individual in the United States feel represented when we all want different things?" That is kind of my point when I say that you represent your interests best and you can invest your time in the things you want to.....No one will represent me 100%. Oh how I long to see an atheist, pro-choice vegetarian woman as president. Oh that is my dream. How many people are going to vote for her? No one. When I feel represented, someone else has to undergo the sacrifice of not feeling represented.

On a related note, I wanted to be sure and post an apology to JT. JT, I in no way intended to be disrespectful to you. You invest a lot of time and energy into causes you believe in and my "lazy" comment was a "heat-of-the-moment" post which was too curt without any explanation and left the wrong impression. I want to apologize to you. I am sorry. You host one hot blog baby that gets people talking.

If I can please ask for permission to sing background in "Get the Fuck Over It" I think we have a hit on our hands.

back here in this interesting debate.
you probably wonder what i'm doing here because i'm french and shouldn't care about kerry or the way you feel politically.
well, first i do care because the u.s government politics has an impact on my life. when GWB administration decides a war for oil, it has a direct impact on the world's economy, my job and my lifestyle.
then we french sure have enough to care with our own sad government but in fact we're exactly in the same position: misrepresentation of the people and worse, the feeling that elections won't change anything anymore.
we naively live on the myth that presidents should be leaders. you had JFK, we had deGaulle... well, it shoul be that way, but it's been 40 years now and it never happened again. then we're supposed to believe it's still working and give the guys the same credit and powers.
we humans love to believe in myths : god(s), santa, elvis, presidents... and evils, too ( you name it)
we created a monster-the system- and unfortunately, we can't change it ... (or at high risk in these troubled times)
as long as a blank ballot won't be considered
as a real voice in the election game ( and i don't mean it's the answer-but at least as the proof a majority exists) we'll have to deal with
the same 2-headed monster.
but then, even for this, you'll have to VOTE and probably fight for it.

i agree that changes or improvments may come from a local level and personal involvment. first it will help you feel that you are
part of something, a community. and maybe find the sparkle you seem to long for.
seeyathere

I think admonishing people who are feeling apathetic to "Do for yourself" is perhaps a sign of privilege. It's like the old "bootstraps" theory of capitalism. Because, really, we can't all do for ourselves all of the time. I think there are significant segments of the population who are being completely ignored by not only the present administration, but the entire political process. And aside from forming an independent nation within the borders of our country, there's not much one can "do for oneself" that would alleviate the problems wrought by this disenfranchisement.

Of course, some people have enough of a buffer to be able to at least ignore this or to make themselves feel as though their actions are having an effect on politics. And perhaps they are. But there are many who either can't afford to act or for whom action garners so little result as to seem ineffective and a waste of time.

I'm not saying Jason is one of these people. I think, relatively speaking, most of the readers of this blog are pretty privileged, including myself. However, being one of the privileged for whom the wolves are nipping at my feet rather than devouring me wholesale does not stop me from having moments, or even extended periods of complete abject apathy about everything.

That said...I don't have a to-do list. But hearing about your difficulty, Jason, in getting motivated to DO something - or even to write about wanting to get motivated to do something....or even in writing about the difficulty in getting motivated to WRITE about wanting to get up and DO something is somehow comforting. I just hope it's not comforting in a "oh, good. Jason's confused and demotivated, too...so that makes me feel justified in being demotivated myself."

Um, I'll have to think about that for a bit. But education and oration are great motivators. And I've been fairly silent on the subject, too. Silent, when really my only outlet for dissent is my voice.

Sorry this is so long. I'm thinking this through. Rolling it around. I think I might come back to it on my site.

I actually think F9/11 took me from armchair activism into something more proactive. Yes, I knew the war was bad and I knew I was against it, but slowly, my emotions, my drive had become detached from the issue. Seeing it all up there again keyed me back into those feelings, and for that, I think the film is very useful. Especially at this time. I haven't stopped talking/thinking about it. A writer came in here for a meeting the other day, and instead of sitting silently and reading the trades, he and I talked about politics. I heard a whole group of folks discussing it at lunch.

Still, despite this newfound energy, the heart of the problem for me is the two party system, which this election will likely only bolster. As long as we are limited to these groups, people will be penalized for being complex, and for having more to say than "your side is bad, mine is good." And I'm not sure how to get at that. We're talking serious revolution to really take that down. So even in my rededication to doing something, there's some sadness that it's not enough.

AMEN!

Kerry/Edwards had a rally in Cleveland yesterday and I didn't even go. I just wasn't feeling it. Why miss work (and not get paid) for two candidates I really can't get behind.

Anyway, I voted for Kucinich in the primary. One, because he saw the problems of this country and thought somebody should do something about them.

I am feeling your cynicism. After Bill Cosby's comments, reading Brett Pulley's book about BET and Robert Johnson and this election that worries me, I can't help but feel cyncial.

That's why I am going to be a teacher. In high school. In math. In the hood. My goal is to tell these kids (which I was 10 years ago) that they can rise up and do what they want to do. They don't have to be the next LeBron James or Kanye West to be good citizens, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends or lovers while showing them math and what doors can be thrown open with it.

That's what I am going to do.

Peace,
Derek

derek, your comment is so positive and living proof there's so much hope 'round here for our future!
you're absolutely right and you're bigger than lebron and kanye altogeher!
peace