partly inspired by watching Moyers & Co on rerun, partially as a result of some things at the end of the week.
Poverty has increased by around 30% since George W. Bush took office
The percentage of American people whose income is insufficient to sustain a decent livestyle continues to grow, at the same time we cut the social safety net, yet do not hold accountable those who ripped off the economies of the world to their own private benefit
We have our own share of activists willing to commit for a cause - the young people who put themselves and their families at risk to try to get the Dream Act - and I would argue that their beginning to occupy offices of OFA may have been what pushed the President into his executive order on immigration
Young people are hungry for something bigger than themselves to which they can commit themselves. That is why so many were active in the 2008 cycle, and it is why the Dems got clobbered in 2010 - the young people did not see an administration willing to commit for the big things, the things bigger than themselves, which they want.
There are many important issues before the nation - global climate change; the destruction of public services, not only public schools, but also public libraries; the corrupting influence of big money on politics; food insecurity for increasing numbers of Americans; growing economic inequality . . . there are more, which I am sure others can add. We cannot be a democracy if we continue in the direction of increasing inequality. If we do not address the underlying causes of that, this country will cease to exist except as a means of protecting the wealth of the financial and energy sectors at the expense of everyone else.
The Dreamers, as the undocumented students described themselves, reminded me of something I should have remembered from my own (limited compared to others) participation in civil rights - unless you are willing to risk all, you are not truly committed to making the changes you claim to believe in. There is no such thing as a part-time radical. Radical is the right word, because it is the roots of what is wrong in America that must be addressed.
How we do it, what my role if any will be, I do not know. I only know that even though I may have retired from the classroom, that does not mean i have given up the struggle for social justice. In fact, I may have just begun my latest commitments to that goal.
Just a few not-so-random thoughts & observations.