Our independent media is too much a follower of the corporate media, spinning its stories in a different way, not covering the stories that no one else has covered. When we hear of successes, they are often disguised as something else. When a policy decision follows public pressure, the pressure is left out of the story. Politicians give other reasons for their actions, and stenographic reporters report them. And, of course, when a policy decision has not been made yet, the media instruct everyone not to imagine they can have any effective input.
When President Obama announced that there would not be a new U.S. military base in the Czech Republic, the media described this as appeasing Russia, an explanation they preferred to the more decisive actual cause, namely the work of a handful of activists in the Czech Republic to compel their nation to refuse to host the base.
Sure, it's not a complete victory. Sure, Obama will press ahead with other bases and missiles on ships. "Missile Defense" is not dead, but it's wounded, and it would be far more deeply wounded if we told the story accurately.
The U.S. Army recently opened a murderous video arcade recruitment center in a shopping mall near Philadelphia, where 13-year-olds learn how much fun it can be to pretend to be in the Army. Picketing and civil disobedience generated such bad press that the Army began talking about closing the place down. Only the Army didn't credit the protesters with that possible success. The Army claimed it didn't need the "Army Experience Center" any more, given the boost in recruitment from the lousy economy. This was transparent nonsense, given the Army's continued investment in all sorts of other recruitment tools, and yet some of the very activists responsible for the AEC's poor performance quoted the Army's bogus explanation.
When we forced U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign, he was replaced with someone just as bad, and yet we had done something very interesting in a very interesting way, with the pressure of hearings, independent media, and a legislative push for impeachment. We should be studying such successes for both morale and strategy. The same goes for keeping Social Security alive thus far. The same goes for keeping the United States (or Israel) from bombing Iran yet. The same goes for having made the United Nations refuse legal cover for the invasion of Iraq, a step that may yet make possible the criminal prosecution of that war's architects.
No one will ever announce the successful prevention of a war on Iran. It has been prevented for years now and, if we continue to successfully draw the parallels to the lies about Iraq, it will be prevented for years to come. But we must announce and claim such victories every day, rather than waiting for an official declaration.
In short, we are lacking for encouragement and examples of success in large part because of our communications system. Did you know 1,400 people, many of them Americans, are taking great risks right now to try to visit and deliver aid to Gaza? Did you know that many thousands of people have gone to jail in nonviolent protest of wrongs in our country in recent years? Did you know that they have sometimes succeeded in winning all of their demands? What would the story of ACORN look like to you if you were aware of the incredible successes that organization had been having in winning rights and jobs and wealth for the poorest among us?
We have to be the media. We have to report on our successes. (I will post any good stories you send me at http://afterdowningstreet.org ) We have to use the media. We have to actively search out the sorts of stories we want to learn about. We have to reform the media, bust the monopolies, provide equal access, support community and public and independent outlets. We have to build organizations that create good media and press independently and democratically for good media reforms. We have to stop supporting bad media in any way. Don't buy it. Don't buy ads in it. Don't participate in it. Put everything into enlarging good outlets that report the news.
A larger conception of media, of course, includes history books and structures of education. Lessons from history can be less powerful than direct contact with courageous role models today, but they can be very powerful nonetheless. And they can teach a lesson beyond the immediate pavlovian morale boosting as well, because we can learn through history of people who struggled happily on without apparent signs of success, for many years, and even many lifetimes, and in the end succeeded.
Uncausing the Causes of Gloom
Some of the causes of despair that Levine points out may be more easily addressed than some of the causes of congressional misrepresentation (money, media, parties, election rigging, etc.). The primary causes of financial stress are not things an individual can simply wish away. Millions of Americans are simply under severe financial stress, the only solution for which is getting more money into their hands, and the blame for this situation lies entirely with the predatory plutocrats pigging out on the fruits of other people's labor.
And yet there are things that many of us may be able to do to become more citizenlike and less consumerized, as well as to alleviate some of our financial stress. We can cease buying unnecessary crap. We can grow and make more things for ourselves. We can trade and barter and participate in local economies. We can save money in local institutions, avoid borrowing, and avoid the mega-banks.
We can also address social isolation whether or not we're under financial stress. An ideal approach might be to start small political clubs or book clubs -- groups of a handful of people who can be friends as well as allies. Announcing that you are despairing is almost the equivalent of announcing that you do not belong to such a group.
We can turn off and throw away our televisions and unsubscribe from cable and satellite, thereby easing a bit more financial stress while enriching our lives. We can get books from the library and contribute books to the library. We can refuse to treat healthy emotions in ourselves or our children with drugs. And we can work to reform individual institutions of higher learning.
We can even create small-scale institutions of learning at every level. If you don't want or can't seem to form a political or book club, how about a tutoring club? How about a group that teaches toddlers or grad students? While we need immediate activism, and this will give you the morale to be a part of it, we also need the understanding that only future generations will win all that we can envision. So, we'd better teach them how to do it.
Victory Dependency
When President Obama announced that there would not be a new U.S. military base in the Czech Republic, the media described this as appeasing Russia, an explanation they preferred to the more decisive actual cause, namely the work of a handful of activists in the Czech Republic to compel their nation to refuse to host the base.
Sure, it's not a complete victory. Sure, Obama will press ahead with other bases and missiles on ships. "Missile Defense" is not dead, but it's wounded, and it would be far more deeply wounded if we told the story accurately.
The U.S. Army recently opened a murderous video arcade recruitment center in a shopping mall near Philadelphia, where 13-year-olds learn how much fun it can be to pretend to be in the Army. Picketing and civil disobedience generated such bad press that the Army began talking about closing the place down. Only the Army didn't credit the protesters with that possible success. The Army claimed it didn't need the "Army Experience Center" any more, given the boost in recruitment from the lousy economy. This was transparent nonsense, given the Army's continued investment in all sorts of other recruitment tools, and yet some of the very activists responsible for the AEC's poor performance quoted the Army's bogus explanation.
No one will ever announce the successful prevention of a war on Iran. It has been prevented for years now and, if we continue to successfully draw the parallels to the lies about Iraq, it will be prevented for years to come. But we must announce and claim such victories every day, rather than waiting for an official declaration.
In short, we are lacking for encouragement and examples of success in large part because of our communications system. Did you know 1,400 people, many of them Americans, are taking great risks right now to try to visit and deliver aid to Gaza? Did you know that many thousands of people have gone to jail in nonviolent protest of wrongs in our country in recent years? Did you know that they have sometimes succeeded in winning all of their demands? What would the story of ACORN look like to you if you were aware of the incredible successes that organization had been having in winning rights and jobs and wealth for the poorest among us?
We have to be the media. We have to report on our successes. (I will post any good stories you send me at http://afterdowningstreet.org ) We have to use the media. We have to actively search out the sorts of stories we want to learn about. We have to reform the media, bust the monopolies, provide equal access, support community and public and independent outlets. We have to build organizations that create good media and press independently and democratically for good media reforms. We have to stop supporting bad media in any way. Don't buy it. Don't buy ads in it. Don't participate in it. Put everything into enlarging good outlets that report the news.
A larger conception of media, of course, includes history books and structures of education. Lessons from history can be less powerful than direct contact with courageous role models today, but they can be very powerful nonetheless. And they can teach a lesson beyond the immediate pavlovian morale boosting as well, because we can learn through history of people who struggled happily on without apparent signs of success, for many years, and even many lifetimes, and in the end succeeded.
Uncausing the Causes of Gloom
Some of the causes of despair that Levine points out may be more easily addressed than some of the causes of congressional misrepresentation (money, media, parties, election rigging, etc.). The primary causes of financial stress are not things an individual can simply wish away. Millions of Americans are simply under severe financial stress, the only solution for which is getting more money into their hands, and the blame for this situation lies entirely with the predatory plutocrats pigging out on the fruits of other people's labor.
And yet there are things that many of us may be able to do to become more citizenlike and less consumerized, as well as to alleviate some of our financial stress. We can cease buying unnecessary crap. We can grow and make more things for ourselves. We can trade and barter and participate in local economies. We can save money in local institutions, avoid borrowing, and avoid the mega-banks.
We can also address social isolation whether or not we're under financial stress. An ideal approach might be to start small political clubs or book clubs -- groups of a handful of people who can be friends as well as allies. Announcing that you are despairing is almost the equivalent of announcing that you do not belong to such a group.
We can turn off and throw away our televisions and unsubscribe from cable and satellite, thereby easing a bit more financial stress while enriching our lives. We can get books from the library and contribute books to the library. We can refuse to treat healthy emotions in ourselves or our children with drugs. And we can work to reform individual institutions of higher learning.
We can even create small-scale institutions of learning at every level. If you don't want or can't seem to form a political or book club, how about a tutoring club? How about a group that teaches toddlers or grad students? While we need immediate activism, and this will give you the morale to be a part of it, we also need the understanding that only future generations will win all that we can envision. So, we'd better teach them how to do it.
Victory Dependency
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