(cross-posted at MyLeftWing)
This diary is inspired by a couple of things, things that have been brewing in me for many years--my whole life, actually--but most recently drawn to the surface by my third reading of an article by Bernice Johnson Reagon, based on a talk she gave at the West Coast Women's Music Festival at Yosemite National Forest in 1981, titled "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century."
On my third reading of the article, I felt suddenly compelled to read it aloud, and as I was reading, my voice became stronger, clearer. Whether it got louder or not, I don't know.
It was an odd moment of synchronicity because, in all the discussions about community, coalitions and politics that have been going on throughout the blogosphere--and indeed throughout society--I have been thinking that part of the problem is that we attempt to perceive far too much with our eyes and far too little with our ears.
It was a strange moment. Allowing Bernice Johnson Reagon's words pass through my own mouth. To hear them spoken in my voice. So strange that I have nothing to say about that experience except that those words still ring--Here--in my Hobbithole in the Hood. And I don't think they'll be going anywhere anytime soon. I am extremely grateful to the woman (Shanikka) who reminded me that these words needed to be read again.
I'm pretty sure that the "blogworld" consequence of this experience is going to be to act on a leap of faith, that is, to begin "unpacking the good stuff"--even though I have, at least until yesterday, been firmly convinced that the "good stuff" cannot be unpacked until the bad has been cleared from the table, the room, the world? Wherever.
So I have decided to invite you all to my cyberhome for a visit: to the Hobbithole, otherwise known as Historical Footnotes, where I have begun "unpacking the good stuff" in audio-visual form--because some things cannot be heard as words on paper, or on a screen.
The first thing I've decided to take out of the box is a video documentary, made about thirteen years ago, called A Different Drum
And no, this is not about "pimping" my blog or trolling for "hits"; you can also get to the first installment of the "good stuff" at Youtube.
It's intended as a gift. And an offering of peace. To the world. Nothing more. Nothing less.
(And the funniest thing--this is how these things often go--I'd already begun "unpacking the good stuff" before I really realized I was doing it.I'll be coming back to that sometime. This is the good stuff. It is what matters. It is what has always mattered and always will. Cut the bullshit. Move on. To the good stuff. Stay tuned. There's plenty more to come.)
Thanks to all who listen with open ears, attentive eyes, compassionate hearts and honest minds.