When I was studying government in college, one of my favorite professors taught us about American Social Movements. Her name was Elizabeth Sanders.
A few days ago I finished reading A Fighting Chance, Elizabeth Warren's memoir. I'm glad she's still got one at the presidency. I was vaguely aware of her during the battle to get the CFPB, enjoying some of the video clips after the fact, but in those days I was thinking more about traveling and the world, and wasn't interested in the intricacies of the economy. I've been very impressed with her since I resumed following politics more closely in the past five years, and hoped she would run four years ago. In Brooklyn in 2017, at the most expensive wedding I've ever been to, I proclaimed to both Democratic and Republican friends that she would be the next president, mostly because her values and her physical appearance resembled those of my mother (also, her mother, my Grandma Barbara, who was a high school history teacher who taught a class named Problems of Consumer Democracy). My libertarian/republican friend replied that he would vote for my mother. I'd had a lot of champagne though, so maybe he was humoring me. Either way, none of us will vote in swing states.
Today I began reading three books, written by Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Bernie Sanders. I've been a fan of the latter ever since I began watching lesser known political films in college in the Bush years. Having spent large parts of many summers across the lake from Burlington, Vermont, I was wowed it was the home of the only congressman brave enough to tell the truth about what was going on in America. I was impressed with his last campaign, and amazed he got such a following, but was annoyed when it got nasty at the end and my Bernie friends spent more time bashing Hillary than Donald in the months leading up to the election. I still know people who are all in for him, and only him. They won't even consider alternatives, not even Warren, who, if elected, would have the most liberal platform in American history.
Example: we have a meeting at work, and they buy us pizza. When it's over, there are four slices left, and when people ask if they should have more, I encourage them to, because if it gets wasted, they will end up in the garbage, creating methane and contributing to climate change. A colleague fond of Marx once again says, "There is no ethical consumption under capitalism."
I inquire with feigned seriousness, "Exactly how does one make a Communist Pizza? (Is that what the CCCP stood for?)"
Another replies, "Many hands in the dough."
We'd been discussing the election months ago, and he was Bernie or bust. He really cares about working people and the disadvantaged, so I was surprised when he scoffed at Warren, and once expressed a very strong distaste for her because she'd applauded when the president criticized communism at the State of the Union. I brought up the dire need to take any steps possible to fight climate change, to save life, and he said if it isn't Bernie, it doesn't matter. I tried an analogy referencing another existential crisis, the second World War. Even though I didn't think it was even close to applying to any Democratic candidates, I said that even Roosevelt, when faced with choosing between Hitler and Stalin, correctly chose the latter, even though I'd imagine he would have preferred to avoid both. Before I could finish he laughed and said that he would be Stalin in that equation. I was beside myself that he would want to be, statistically, the most murderous man in history. Later he would admit he was joking and that there's no excuse for Soviet apologists, and claimed that he was more of a Lenin fan, and that socialist ideas had worked decently in some countries.
Back to when we were eating pizza. The democratic-socialist, whom I like and respect, says, "C'mon man, that's Hobsbawm," referring to his quote. He is aware that I'd just spent much of the previous five weeks reading world-renowned British Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm (with a break for Benjamin Franklin's autobiography around Thanksgiving, because it seemed to fit the mood a little more). A couple months before I'd been reading Eric Foner talk about American social movements, and he had referenced Hobsbawm's masterful four volume Eurocentric world history covering the period between 1789 and 1991: The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, The Age of Empire, and The Age of Extremes, adding up to more than 1500 pages. I'd been looking for a decent written summary of modern European history, and he didn't disappoint. Whatever one may think of his politics, the unparalleled detail of his history has been lauded by historians spanning the political spectrum, even right-wingers such as Niall Ferguson. He criticizes the CCCP extensively throughout the fourth volume of his history, even though he hadn't let his membership in the party expire until the 1980's. He also wrote a book about jazz, which he loved almost as much as history. Unfortunately, while he was naive by overestimating the staying power of the Soviet Union, he was also naive by underestimating the staying power of The Rolling Stones and 60's rock music. Having said that, I highly recommend each volume. Whatever he has to say about ethical consumption, though, one shouldn't waste food... especially not pizza, whether mercantile, capitalist or communist.
If my colleague gets his wish and Bernie is the nominee, he will have difficulty getting anything he desires to become law, but he will still have a very positive impact, especially when it comes to the most important issue, the environment where we exist. Also, it will be a very important psychological victory for those who have felt shut out of the political process their entire lives. I will have a better idea of where I stand on his candidacy after I complete his book. I'm enjoying learning about his youth, how he formed his values, and how he braved northeast winters while living in a cabin in Vermont.
Similar to Sanders, after years as an Independent, I recently became a registered Democrat, several months ago to be exact. I did so because I wanted to finally have a say in the nomination. However, I haven't decided who has my vote yet. Like most Democrats, I want someone who will win, not because I think the current president is offensive, but because humanity's livable future on the only planet in our solar system capable of sustaining life simply cannot afford another four years of a White House occupied by the GOP. However, it also can't afford four to eight years of a Democrat who won't really fight hard on this issue or make it a top priority.
If it does turn out to be Joe Biden, I liked his speech at the convention in 2016, and I think he's fought many great fights in his life. I just wish he was more on board with ideas that are necessary to save our civilization on Earth. Also, both he and Bernie would be governing the nation as octogenarians. Noam Chomsky is still sharp as they come at 90, but my grandmother had Alzheimer's by 80, and my grandfather kept asking me if I still played baseball every time he saw me, even though I hadn't played in a decade. Even so, Bernie and Joe still have brains that are in far better shape than that of our current commander-in-chief.
Whomever we choose as a candidate, they need to be fun. Regardless of whom I would prefer to spend time with or lead the nation, as long as I've been alive, the winner is always perceived as more fun than their opponent. They're funnier, cooler, and seem more like the life of the party. I know that might be hard to believe about the current president, because, honestly, I've always thought he was lame and boring, and I still think so. I've seen his show. Not interesting. But enough people thought he was cool and funny, and here we are. I don't believe that people vote that way intentionally, but it inevitably seems to manifest from our collective subconscious.
Until November, I'm devoting more free hours to reading, writing, printing and pondering how I can best make a valuable impact on the outcome, just as any member of the most influential nation on our fragile planet should be doing. Of course, the day to day matters the most, which means living positively in our present with an eye on the future.
When I need to step away from the modern issues, I like to read one or more essays in Albert Einstein's Ideas and Opinions, just to put everything into relative perspective. Some of his writing is about abstract intellectual concepts, some of which are way over my head. But many of the themes are political, and tend to center around his antipathy toward fascists and anti-intellectuals. On top of that, he expresses many apt appraisals of the value of human rights and listening to scientists.
Wisdom, courage and perseverance!
