An Introduction

The modern American world, for all of its infinite possibilities, has few actual forums to debate its merits. During the latter half of the twentieth century for the first time our country saw an increase in the civil rights paired with a decrease in civil society. This kind of match obviously completely turns the traditional view of culture on its head. So far, the young twenty first century has seen an even worse though predictable trend, with civil rights as well as civil society under attack. Political dialog has not simply been suppressed, it has become seen, for the most part, as a subject non grata for the average American. For every Tea Party or Amnesty International activist there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of Americans who shy away from political and civil discourse of any kind. They fear ‘unnecessary’ arguments, or feel a lack of knowledge or simply a lack of interest. These attitudes, particularly that last one, are not simply dangerous for Democracy, they are antithetical to its very purpose. The maintenance, upkeep, and stewardship of a Democracy lies not within the hands of powerful families or vast corporations but within the hands of its citizens. Active civic participation is the bedrock of the modern Democratic system, yet we have allowed a political and cultural establishment to develop that actively seeks to limit such activity. If we are still committed to the values this country was based on and those which have defined it as a leader of the Democratic world this is an unwise and, frankly, unpatriotic path to tread. 

Though many factors have contributed to the development of our current culture and though many of them are out of our control, the first step is accepting some degree of personal responsibility for the current state of affairs. No, you did not create the conditions under which the world operates, and no, you do not have the sway of Rupert Murdock or William Gallacher. But you do have some control over your little sliver of our world. All too often is the statement ‘but what can I do, I’m just one person’ used as an excuse for inaction. This is not a call for gigantic structural change to your life. It is a call to do what you can, however minutely, to influence and involve yourself in the sociopolitical world we live in. Perhaps this means listening to the old ‘in a capitalist system you vote with your dollar’ idea: If your politics agrees with mine, the changes you make might include carpooling to work, eating more local food, or trying to not support the organizations that rely on child labor. However, in our capitalist system, there is more than enough on the shelves to help reflect any political bent. Perhaps it means the more ‘old school’ methods of being heard: running for local election, writing petitions, joining marches. These methods too are not only for lefties. The opposition to this kind of call to action is not Democratic Conservatism. It is Authoritarianism, Despotism, Anarchism, or Stalinism––basically all of the types of governmental structure we have supposedly rejected in favor of Democracy. Yet the activism that we objectively view as necessary to Democracy has been actively restricted by our government and discouraged by our media and popular culture. 

Individual lifestyle change alone is not enough. It must be joined with an eagerness to continually educate oneself, a commitment to community,  and a belief in the power of collective organization. Congratulations! Simply by skimming over this blog you are taking part in that first step and may be contemplating ways to accomplish the other two. It does not require reading thousands of pages a week. Maybe it means clicking around on news sites rather than clicking ‘stumble’ every so often or listening to a podcast on your way to work rather than to the same top 40 hits that will be playing at your office. While it is true that the mainstream media has, like our politicians, been bought out by corporate interests, the internet provides an opportunity to level the playing field. Much has been made of the internet’s ability to help unite people from all around the world. However, it can be used just as well for helping kickstart local campaigns in your own particular neighborhoods, towns, and cities. The internet has the ability to be a publicly controlled medium that we can use to circumvent the increasingly corporate controlled television and radio airwaves. What I hope to do with this blog is to be a small part of continuing that movement and to try to encourage more active citizenship. Now is not the time to forget the lessons of history. 

Sometimes in the blog I will discuss a specific news story, sometimes I will respond directly to a comment on a previous post, and other times the topic will be somewhat more philosophical. I hope to encourage as much active dialog here as possible, so if you have a strong opinion, or any kind of opinion, about anything you read here please share it either in a public comment or in an email. If you are driven to write a detailed response and would like it posted on its own, I will, most likely, be more than happy to do so.