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<back | home Turning My Back on Bush by Bob Banner
Assuming the election numbers are correct, we made the biggest mistake in the history of this nation by allowing the Bush crew to continue. I personally don’t think people are that stupid to vote against their self-interests. Reports of voter fraud are rampant and time will tell if the election was stolen (again). Numerous people woke up to the chilling possibility of another four years of Bush and did whatever it was they thought they could do to stop such a tragedy. People went to Ohio and Florida and campaigned. People contributed money. Dedicated voters campaigned in their neighborhoods, created fund-raisers. Young people got more involved this time than perhaps at any other in history. Documentaries were made, books were written exposing the Bush administration. After the election, many thought their efforts had been hoodwinked, leaving them very angry. How could our simple "democratic" right of voting be taken away? Anger bred cynicism, or at least a cynicism that was already lurking there eager to emerge once again. Will people now sustain their anger by spending time on the reports of voter fraud? Will they write more books and even more documentaries and more video streamed cartoons about the Bush Coup 2? Will we even get more insiders to reveal the tyranny of the Bush administration? Why didn’t all the books and documentaries make a difference? Will we spend more time and energy studying and criticizing this Administration again? Will the Impeach Bush industry fire up again to see what can happen? Or will people feel so brutally trashed at this cabal of old-paradigm-lying-white-men-criminals that we will even become more politically aloof than we have been and return to our singular personal dramas with a vengeance? I personally don’t want to do either. There has to be a third way. I have made a peculiar vow not to jump on any bandwagons to fight Bush. I will pay as little attention to him as I possibly can. Just yesterday I unsubscribed from the very instructive "Bush Sucks in 2000" listserv. I will allow my anger and grief to penetrate more into my core, so hopefully it will manifest in some third way that may not be that clear or recognizable right now. How we spend our time and energy is often reflective of how we spend our money. If I’m at all serious about making a difference and being effective, not just as a citizen but as a soul on this planet, how and where I spend my money is a huge issue. Do I spend it on transportation that assists global warming? Do I choose fair-trade over free-trade products, green products over non-renewables? I am voting every day with my dollars as to who and what I’m supporting. It’s the same for our time and energy. Am I working at a job or livelihood that is complementary to my values, that promotes social justice, fair trade industries, etc.? Do I spend hours investigating the problems of the world all the while increasing my rage and misery? Do I spend hours debilitated and depressed and entertain myself with hours of nonstop TV-dumbing-us-down shows? If I sincerely believe that the major problems of the world — global warming, the end of oil, militarism, corporatism, and privatization of every sector of our lives — if I believe they are serious and that they’re just not out-there-abstractions but can be seen and experienced locally and daily, ought not I devote my time and energy to do something here and now? Wouldn’t it be wise to spend these next four years (and the rest of our lives) on solutions rather than just understanding the problems more and more? These are simple questions. If we are genuinely serious (and not the normal wannabe, lite activist) I think we need to do some accounting and some prioritizing whether we consider ourselves activists, concerned citizens or just ordinary people trying to make a difference. How are we making money? Is ours a vital livelihood that is actually helping people with their basic needs? Does it complement the transition to a sustainable world? I wash windows for a living. Currently the only people who need my assistance are those who live on the high end of the socio-economic structure. I’m sure when things get more critical, people’s genuine needs won’t include washing windows, and I may consider doing something more fruitful. Do we spend our time criticizing the corporations? Do we find ourselves whining and complaining more than actually seeking out solutions? Do we spend our time fomenting angst against the greedy and maladjusted pharmaceutical companies or do we learn how to grow our own herbal remedies (or support those people who do) and learn what local plants can do for certain basic ailments rather than simply surrender to the allopathic pharmaceutical billion-dollar industry? Do we simply turn our back on them and discover another way? Do we find ourselves fighting with our local mainstream media only to find that their haughty arrogance filters out any constructive criticism? Do we keep on fighting, wearing ourselves down, or do we turn our backs on them and support and create our own independent media? When we begin to perceive that the economic model we have been pursuing for hundreds of years (and have been pompously exporting to other countries) is about to crash because it’s inherently unsustainable, economically unjust, spiritually vacuous and simply not fun anymore. Is it wise to keep that structure going while grabbing hold of the few slimy nuggets that we like so much or do we turn our back on it and work for a different future? These are not easy decisions. This is not a popular movement. Hope-Dance has been writing and publishing these ideas for eight years and we’ve not seen sweeping changes. Especially after witnessing the upsetting outcome of so many progressive candidates and measures during this past election, many of us either mourned, got angry, are eagerly looking for answers to these daunting decisions, or all of the above. Some may enter into the realm of politics all the more with a zeal of possibility and are riding the wave of genuine citizenry and its practical application of democratic activity. Some may be spurned by the results and are moving more toward nihilism than hope. Personally, my only hope is turning my back. However, turning one’s back is not so easy. Turning one’s back demands a fundamental change in one’s outlook. It’s not taking defeat and simply walking away with downtrodden gaze. It’s a very active withdrawing from the mainstream to pursue livelihoods, food, media, money, friendships, community all in a refreshing light of the possibility. We simply have to put the word out, our intentions out, our antennas out there so we can begin to connect and see where we want to fit in. Money appears to be the reason why people remain within the mainstream, since they will give you all sorts of reasons, excuses and rationalizations to keep going. I understand all of these and I understand that it’s only going to get worse if we don’t make changes soon. People work more hours and often do out of fear. If they don’t work the required longer hours, someone else will take their place. That is simply a form of terrorism that no one speaks about. And what’s going to happen when more and more people become unemployed? Will they sit in front of their TVs waiting for the government to give them jobs or walk outside, meet their neighbors, find commonality, find what is needed in the neighborhood, start growing food, having potlucks to meet others, convince that neighbor not to cut down the apricot tree since its FOOD and it’s basic!! Etc. etc. Often we need two jobs in order to make the rent, so how can we possibly have time to make changes to move toward a sustainable future when no security is forthcoming. We don’t even have time to reflect on what is going on, let alone act on our reflections. It’s not a pretty picture. And to speak about voluntary simplicity (as a possible solution) at this late stage may be ludicrous. Perhaps 10 years ago we had the option of making our lives simpler voluntarily but it appears simplicity is going to be foisted upon us in INvoluntarily (and remember, 40 percent of personal bankruptcies have nothing to do with over-consumption but with medical bills). Yes, it is still valid to teach and preach the ideas of simplicity and bargain shopping and reducing, reusing, recycling and refusing. These are all important not only to surviving but to grasping the paradigm shift that is essential. It’s an extremely helpful way to connect the dots from local to the global, from the personal to the political — not as a fad but as an inherent way of being and living, something the majority of people on this planet have been doing for thousands of years. It has only been in the discovery of cheap oil that industrialism has been able to advance quickly in its tiny bubble of disconnect and delusion. The more we can prepare for the inevitable changes, the more apt we are not only to survive but to assist others in the transition. At times the reader may get the notion that I want everyone to change. It may appear that way, but realistically change comes about by certain people who have made changes and are now in a position to influence others. In other words, if we resonate with these ideas and think we need to do something now, we need to get our lives in order. We need to become an example. I’m beginning to appreciate the notion that only by our example will people trust us. However imperfect your example is, if you admit you are in a transitional process, then perhaps there will be more respect and compassion for you and your projects. I recall in the film "Escape from Affluenza," two environmentalist do a survey of their own accumulated material objects and the resources they use yearly. They were appalled, not only on a personal level but because they had called themselves environmentalists, and environmentalists ought to know better. This is why the disconnect is so pervasive; we don’t necessarily see the models of sustainability. For example, when will environmentalists start using compost toilets or at least talking about them... or eating locally-grown food or shopping local or criticizing the corporations? This can be a fruitful dialogue but unfortunately could be used as a competitive battle between who is more sustainable than the other. Yes, it could turn into that but it doesn’t have to. If we created a groundwork of respect and compassion for where people are, we can perhaps make it a game and assist each other in this goal to be as sustainable and ecologically just as humanly possible with what we have. My priority is to grow soil and food and to inspire people to make a difference. There are plenty of magazines and newsletters that are doing a fine job of exposing the Bush shenanigans. There are not that many publications that explore regenerative restoration and sustainability and all its multicolored facets, from water to soil to food to buying green and fair trade products, to sustaining our own local ecosystems, to creating community and creating livelihoods that complement our values and the paradigm shift. Perhaps we can grow a movement to lessen the time we focus on the Bush Coup II these next four years and diligently concentrate on building something that will be more permanent, especially since we will still have to do the work no matter who is in power. Bob Banner washes windows for a living and is the publisher of HopeDance. He can be reached at 544-9663. <back | top^ |