The [proposed] strategy advances both Democratic Socialists of America's short-term goal of defeating Trump and its long-term goal of building a base that can sustain a grassroots mass movement for socialism and a left-wing party, both of which rely on empowering the same constituencies. "Whether we want to elect people inside or, depending on local conditions, outside the Democratic Party, we need to focus on organizing in black, Latinx, and poor and working-class white communities," says Maria Svart, National Director of DSA. "To build a viable party nationally, we can't skip the step of building a base, and that's not going to take just a year."
This evening I continue my series documenting my recent visit to Australia.
Tonight's installment features photos and commentary from my time spent in Melbourne (May 10-14), where my older brother and his family live. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)
As Part 2 of this series documents, just prior to my visit to Melbourne I spent time with my younger brother and his family in the little New South Wales town of Morpeth. I view both visits as wonderful gifts of "family time" – gifts I will always treasure.
Left: With my brother Chris and sister-in-law Cathie (who's holding Poppy the dog) – Friday, May 13, 2016.
I've been very fortunate to have visited my family in Melbourne three times in the last three years. Last year, my good friend Joan from Minnesota accompanied me, with the highlight of that particular visit being my eldest nephew's wedding.
Right: With my eldest nephew Ryan and his lovely wife Farah – May 11, 2016.
Of my four nephews, only Liam was not in Melbourne at the time of my visit. He was, of course, greatly missed. The good news is that he continues following his dream of being a pilot . . . in far-off Coral Bay, Western Australia.
When I was visiting my younger brother and his family in Morpeth, just prior to my time in Melbourne, I was reintroduced to the artwork of Ainslie Roberts. (For some stunning examples of his work, see Part 1 of this series.)
My sister-in-law Cathie still has her copy of this book from her childhood, and I think that either it or another book that had some of the same illustrations was at some point at my paternal grandmother's house in Gunnedah. I say this as I've definitely seen some of the illustrations before . . .
. . . including the one at right for "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," and the evocative one above illustrating the nursery rhyme, "The Beggars" (more popularly known as "Hark, Hark, the Dogs Do Bark").
Here's the text of the nursery rhyme as it appears in Dean's Gift Book of Nursery Rhymes:
Hark! hark! the dogs do bark,
The beggars are coming to town;
Some in rags and some in tags,
And one in a velvet gown.
And here's that part of the rhyme not included . . .
Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown,
And some gave them a good horse-whip,
And sent them out of the town.
Wandering minstrels or troubadours and beggars went from city to town singing their songs ("some in rags and some in tags and one in a velvet gown"). Messages of dissent to the common people were often found in secret meanings to the words of their ballads and rhymes. The famous Peasant's Revolt of 1377 against the state was encouraged and inflamed by the rhyme that went "When Adam delved and Eve span - who was then the gentleman?" In this way the propaganda of the day was safely passed from one community to another. These secret messages could lead to plots and uprisings against the royalty, clergy and politicians of the day. Strangers were never trusted in communities. Dogs barking alerted the townspeople to strangers in their area, hence the words "Hark, hark the dogs do bark."
I should say that, as a child, I received for Christmas 1973 from my Aunty Fay and her family, a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. I treasure this book to this day. Indeed, it's now with me in my life here in Minnesota. One of my favorite illustrations from it is the one below. It is, of course, from Anderson's famous story, "The Little Mermaid."
Above, left and below: The beautiful (and uniquely Australian) terrain of Bushy Park Wetlands, a 30-hectare (74-acre) conservation park in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley – May 11, 2016.
I want to thank Bernie Sanders. Bernie, your campaign inspired millions of Americans, particularly the young people who threw their hearts and souls into our primary. You've put economic and social justice issues front and center, where they belong.
And to all of your supporters here and around the country: I want you to know, I've heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That's the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America. We wrote it together – now let's go out there and make it happen together.
– Hillary Clinton Excerpted from her presidential nomination
acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention
July 28, 2016
Perhaps, like me, you felt somewhat dispirited by the news last month that Hillary Clinton had been declared the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee over Bernie Sanders.
Much to the chagrin of a number of my friends, I simply cannot celebrate the prospect of Hillary Clinton being the Democratic presidential nominee – even as I acknowledge that I may well vote for her in November so as to ensure Donald Trump comes nowhere near the White House.
Yet the ugly reality remains: Both Clinton and Trump champion neoliberalism, an economic ideology that has proven to be terribly destructive and dehumanizing. Author George Monbiot contends that neoliberalism is at the root of many of our social problems; he describes it as a "self-serving racket" that sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations and which redefines citizens as consumers whose democratic choices are best exercised by buying and selling. Neoliberalism, Anis Shivani reminds us, dictates that "persons have no status compared to corporations, nation-states are on their way out, and everything in turn dissolves before the abstraction called the market."
I lament that the one presidential candidate who opposed this ideology is now effectively out of the race. For as Shivani writes at Salon:
The reason why Bernie Sanders, self-declared democratic socialist, is so threatening to neoliberalism is that he has articulated a conception of the state, civil society, and the self that is not founded in the efficacy and rationality of the market. He does not believe – unlike Hillary Clinton – that the market can tackle climate change or income inequality or unfair health and education outcomes or racial injustice, all of which Clinton’s impending ‘victory’ (whatever machinations were involved in engineering it) will only strengthen neoliberalism, as the force that couldn’t be defeated even when the movement was as large and transcendent as Sanders’s. Although Sanders doesn’t specify ‘neoliberalism’ as the antagonist, his entire discourse presumes it.
So you can see why I'm not enamored by the idea of "market worshipers" like Clinton and Trump being presidential candidates, and why I'm disappointed that someone like Sanders is out of the race.
Beyond a "status quo corporatist candidate"
And now there's the recent news of Clinton's selection of her vice-presidential running mate, Tim Kaine. I find this choice also to be disappointing, and the following three quotes sum up well my reasons for this.
Underwhelmed, disappointed, actually – betrayed. I'm sure Tim Kaine is a good person. But as this article relates, he is decidedly to the right of progressive values on the vast majority of issues that Bernie backers were energized around. His selection does NOTHING to bring us excitement. NOTHING to earn our vote. From reproductive rights to climate change to financial regulation to trade agreements, Kaine adds NOTHING to the ticket. A good man, to be sure, but his selection reveals that Clinton – in the aftermath of a fierce battle for the nomination (and one that it is now PROFOUNDLY evident the DNC colluded on her behalf to such an extent that it is far from clear she could have won without a very tilted field) – is so arrogantly certain of her ascension to the White House that she can turn her back on the most energized members of her own party. After everything UGLY at the RNC [last] week, Clinton played it woefully safe ... and may have played right into the hands of that ugliness.
– David Weiss via Facebook
July 23, 2016
[Tim Kaine is] pretty much a centrist candidate much like Hillary. And therein lies the problem.
. . . It’s always been apparent that Trump was playing to the primitive lizard brain, and with his fear mongering acceptance speech on Thursday it showed he’s intending to double down on this tactic. It’s classic demagoguery. First, neutralize the press; second, make people afraid. Third, declare “I alone, can fix it.”
Most Americans won’t swallow this swill. But if turnouts are as low as 2014 when only 36.3% of eligible voters showed up, then Trump could win by getting only 20% of eligible voters. And while Trump’s campaign is a study in chaos, the man has proven good at one thing: generating passion; not to mention irrational frenzy. These people may be crazy, and they may constitute a minority, but they will turn out.
Contrast that with Hillary. At a time when people are desperately looking for something other than a status quo corporatist candidate, she's the quintessential party politician, complete with PACs, and dragging her past support for Wall Street, the Big Banks, perennial Wars, and trade policy behind her like a giant buzz kill. The only thing that saved her in the primary was strong backing by the press, the elite party members, and – inexplicably – African Americans. That and her “evolution” to the left.
The only folks who feel passion for Hillary are women over 40 and the elite economic and political establishment. A powerful group, but not big in terms of numbers. After significant concessions in the platform debate, she had some hope of winning over at least some real progressives. Tim Kaine’s appointment will cut that number significantly.
Nominating a political clone is exactly the wrong thing to do if you want a higher turnout. And Kaine is a clone.
But Kaine’s appointment tells us something else – Clinton’s brief feint to the left wasn’t for real. Kaine is obviously a dog whistle to show Big Banks and Wall Street that her tough talk during the campaign wasn’t to be taken seriously.
Now it’s likely that turnouts for a Presidential race will be higher, but by how much, and the real question is how will it be enough for her to win, after this appointment?
The fire alarm that should be going off is that while the average Bernie backer will drag him/herself to the polls that day to somewhat reluctantly vote for Hillary, it will be what’s called a “depressed vote” – meaning the voter doesn’t bring five people to vote with her. He doesn’t volunteer 10 hours in the month leading up to the election. She never talks in an excited voice when asked why she’s voting for Hillary. A depressed voter. Because, when you’re young, you have zero tolerance for phonies and BS. Returning to the Clinton/Bush era for them is like suddenly having to pay for music, or using MySpace or carrying around one of those big-ass portable phones. They’re not going to vote for Trump; some will vote third party, but many will just stay home. Hillary Clinton is going to have to do something to give them a reason to support her — and picking a moderate, bland-o, middle of the road old white guy as her running mate is not the kind of edgy move that tells millenials that their vote is important to Hillary. Having two women on the ticket – that was an exciting idea. But then Hillary got scared and has decided to play it safe. This is just one example of how she is killing the youth vote.
Yes, there are political commentators such as Michael Moore and Alan Minsky who are predicting that Donald Trump may well be the next U.S. president. From my perspective, this is a truly horrendous thought.
Yet at the same time I'm tired of hearing some Democrats shaming people for considering or pledging to vote for the Green Party's Jill Stein. I've come to the conclusion that if Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump, it won't be because of people voting their conscience but, first and foremost, because the DNC rigged, or at the very least tilted the playing field of the primary system to undermine and defeat Bernie Sanders, the one Democratic candidate that polls consistently and overwhelmingly showed could beat Trump in a general election.
If Trump wins the presidency, it will because the DNC dishonestly selected and ran the wrong candidate in the face of the many challenges before us, including the threats posed by both neoliberalism and the neo-fascism of Donald Trump.
When I recently shared this sentiment on Facebook, along with expressions of my disappointment at the corruption within the Democratic Party and my informed criticism of Hillary Clinton's past record and current platform, one friend responded by declaring:
Yes, but Trump is terrifying. It scares me that anti-Clinton stuff is still being put on Facebook. We need to spend all our energy at this time on defeating Trump.
To be clear, the prospect of a Trump presidency deeply concerns me too. But what's also of concern is the idea of allowing our fears to become so powerful that we censor ourselves when it comes to critiquing and holding accountable any of our leaders and potential leaders. In the realm of politics, no one should be given a free pass.
Therefore, I think it's not only possible but critically important to both critique Clinton in an informed manner and work on exposing and defeating the neo-fascist Trump. I'm committed to doing both these things here at The Wild Reed (see for example here, here and here).
Another friend responded to my critique of Clinton's choice of Tim Kaine as her running mate by saying, "Michael, I have a great deal of respect for your advocacy and activism, but frankly, you come off as a whiny, self-righteous purist if Tim Kaine isn't progressive enough for you."
My response to this charge brings us back to the issue of neoliberalism:
On the crucial and foundational issue/problem of our times, the economic doctrine of neoliberalism, neither Clinton nor Kane can be considered progressive. If being aware of this reality and speaking out about it makes me a "whiny, self-righteous purist" in your eyes, then so be it. As a progressive, I am passionate about identifying neoliberalism is an ideology that must be resisted if environmental sustainability is to be achieved and humanity is to have a future marked by justice, peace and compassion. I don't see either Clinton or Kaine offering the level of resistance that's required. Nor do I see them offering or championing alternatives. I find this to be both profoundly disappointing and troubling.
"Here to improve or damn it?"
Now, don't think for a minute that my informed critique of people like Hillary Clinton or Tim Kaine is, as one acquaintance suggested, an example of "burning it all down." I'm not a slasher and burner; nor am I a cynical naysayer who only ever criticizes and denounces. In fact, I strive to be hopeful and proactive in all areas of my life, including when it comes to talking about the political and social problems and challenges we face.
I also believe we can acknowledge disappointing developments within the political realm without losing either a sense of perspective or hope. Rep. Keith Ellison recently demonstrated this well when he responded to the failure of the Democratic Party to include in its platform genuinely progressive "planks" such an universal healthcare and opposition to the neoliberal-inspired Trans Pacific Pact trade deal.
Speaking on July 12 to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, Ellison said the following.
[The] proposal [to oppose the TPP], which is very meritorious, and which I support, was not embraced. That’s too bad. But, let me tell you . . . I’m an optimistic person. Right? Whenever we don’t get every single thing that we want, it’s not my way to say, pooh-pooh on the whole process. I say we have made important demands and debated this issue. We have made them pay attention to what we’re talking about, and the struggle continues. We’re not gonna stop fighting for Medicare for all just because it didn’t get adopted into the Democratic Platform. We’re gonna keep the fight alive, because people across the country need it that way, because it is a more human, more effective way to deliver health care to the American people. So, I just say take heart in the success that we had. Keep the battle going. Keep the fight up for a fairer, more equal America. That’s what we do.
Planting good seeds
I find I need inspiring people in my life to help me stay positive and proactive. Perhaps you do too.
One such person is Buffy Sainte-Marie, a woman who through her music, activism and life is a constant source of inspiration for me. I've seen her twice in concert, met her once, and am very much looking forward to once again seeing her perform next month at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.
Prior to last month's announcement that Hillary Clinton had secured the Democratic presidential nomination, Buffy shared the following about her support for Bernie Sanders.
My head for a very long time . . . has been very much in the way of thinking of Bernie Sanders. I have supported him, not because of him but because I support the same issues and we happen to agree on just about everything. And even though I have worked with Hillary Clinton and was on one of her committees [when she was First Lady], I'm very much still in favor of the issues that Bernie Sanders is supporting and I'm glad that he has influenced American politics, at least to some extent, and I intend to stay in that camp.
Buffy's embodiment of hope in the face of seemingly intractable obstacles to social evolution is truly inspirational. She has never grown cynical or jaded, and at age 75 still feels that her mission is far from done. In the Blair Stonechild-penned biography, Buffy Sainte-Marie: It's My Way, Buffy is quoted as saying the following.
We all make our little contributions when we can and things change a little bit at at time. I think that's what ripens life. Bit it always seems so slow when you're carrying this Medicine and you know it can make things better, but there are gatekeepers profiting on the problems, and you'll have to wait awhile until the world is ready to receive it; so you go bit by bit: give when you have the chance.
It's futile to try to rush the river, and pretty hard to hurry the moon, and sometimes you have to be content to plant good seeds whenever you can and be patient as you watch them grow and ripen. Thinking about my early attempts to be effective, I can say that in my lifetime things have not changed nearly enough; but when I look back on the last forty years, things have changed incredibly and I have great faith that the world will continue to ripen.
Everybody's always waking up. . . . We're all ripening every minute, all of us – even the guys that we think are the "bad guys." They too are evolving. So for me the whole idea is being willing to mutate, in a good way, and recognizing in other people that each of us is evolving, ripening, growing in our own way. That is very good news.
How beautiful! How hopeful! . . . And how challenging! The "bad guys" are evolving too! And, yes, like each one of us, someone like Donald Trump is capable of evolving. Now, that being said, I'm still going to do my utmost to ensure he doesn't become president. But if I could once pray for George W. Bush and his transformation, perhaps it's time to start doing the same for Donald Trump . . . and indeed all people in positions of power.
Of course one way that I have (hopefully) been facilitating positive transformation – within my own life and in the church and wider world – is through my writing. My hope has always been that the things I write – and the commentaries of others that I share – aren't the equivalent of bombs thrown out to destroy and discourage. Rather, I hope my endeavors here at The Wild Reed and elsewhere are seen for what I intend them to be: efforts to plant, in the words of Buffy Sainte-Marie, "good seeds" – seeds that contain the potential to encourage, give hope, and, yes, at times challenge and critique . . . though always in an informed, respectful and loving way.
I'm going to carry these seeds on; I'm going to keep planting them. And in the words of Buffy, I'm going to keep "saying, playing and praying" as I "carry it on."
And what exactly is this "it"?
I see it as my passionate embodiment of hope, awareness and love in a world dominated by political and economic systems that far too often heap contempt on such qualities and their embodiment by individuals and communities.
So . . . yes, despite the many disappointments, uncertainties, and challenges, I remain inspired by Buffy and so many others, past and present, to keep doing that human-being magic of "carrying it on" . . .
Hold your head up
Lift the top of your mind
Put your eyes on the Earth
Lift your heart to your own home planet
What do you see?
What is your attitude –
Are you here to improve or damn it?
Look right now
and you will see we’re only here
by the skin of our teeth as it is
so take heart and take care
of your link with life and . . .
Oh, carry it on – we’re saying
Oh, carry it on – keep playing
Oh, carry it on – and praying
Oh, carry it on
It ain’t money that makes the world go round
That’s only temporary confusion
It ain’t governments that make the people strong
It’s the opposite illusion
Look right now
and you will see they’re only here
by the skin of our teeth as it is
so take heart and take care
of your link with life
Oh, carry it on – keep saying
Oh, carry it on – and playing
Oh, carry it on – and praying
Oh, carry it on
Look right now
and you will see we’re only here
by the skin of our teeth as it is
so take heart and take care
of your link with life
. . . it's beautiful!
If you got the sense to take care
of your source of perfection
Mother Nature, she’s the daughter of God
and the source of all protection
Look right now
and you will see she’s only here
by the skin of her teeth as it is
so take heart and take care
of your link with life
Oh, carry it on – keep saying
Oh, carry it on – and playing
Oh, carry it on – keep on praying
Oh, carry it on
About her song "Carry It On" Buffy said the following in a July 2015 interview:
I’m just pointing out that we live in this incredible world and yet, because of human boneheadedness, we are under threat of shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s not something to be afraid of. It’s something just to step up to. You know, it’s like doing the dishes; you’ve got to do it all the time or it piles up on you. I know that it's down home and folksy, but that’s kind of my attitude to the world. I’m not a combatant, at all. I’m really into alternative ways of looking at things. It comes naturally to me to do so and then to try to pass that on to people who are being advertised to death and conned in every which way. Buy this, buy that. Life is simpler than that. . . . It isn’t money that makes the world go around. I really believe that. That is the corporate hallucination by which we are controlled. It’s not as if we have to get up in arms and go and fight the world. No. You don’t. No, no. Stay calm and decolonize.
