We do not need a "Politics of Love".
We need a politics of justice. Too many folks have been hurt too badly for a Band-Aid and a hug to be anything other than an insult.
It is no surprise that the nationalist Right, such as some at Fox, love Williamson. She fits right into their bimbo obsession, looks like Annie Coulter with brown hair. She has no discernible accomplishments or achievements besides book writing--I'll get to that--that might make Miss Melania or Miss Ivanka look bad. Try a thought experiment. What if it were a plus sized, outspoken Black woman talking about politics of love. You still think the RW would be falling in love?
Want to know who Williamson is? I can tell you. Imagine you are about 30-35. You have a kid and a job that just barely pays enough to live on. You get up at 5, make sure the kid has breakfast, clothes laid out, and a lunch packed. You get the kid up. One bus takes you to the kid's school. You drop off the child and catch a second bus that takes you to work. After work you are fixing dinner--fast food is a payday treat at your place--and supervising homework and making sure of clean clothing for the next day. There is no time or money for hanging out with the crowd after hours. Williamson is the assistant manager, with an expensive car in the lot and a large wardrobe from the best shoppes in town, who calls you in the office to tell you that while your work is OK--in fact it is exemplary, as you well know--but things would just go better if you had a better attitude.
About the books, all 15 or so of them. I have not read a single one. You are welcome to try to persuade me that I should. The state of American publishing (DO NOT get me started on that!) is such that the first thought in my head about Ms. W. and her books is Who wrote them? and the second is Who is the relative or friend who got them published? Now I am a reader. I do not wish to exaggerate and make myself sound like some kind of intellectual heavyweight, which I am not, but the books I am reading right now are The History of the CIA, by Joseph J. Trento, Memory and the Mediterranean, by Braudel, Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian and a mystery, The Blood Strand by Chris Ould for fun. And I am reading my way through the Cambridge Ancient History and the Bible. So, I do take reading seriously and the fact that Williamson, or any of a number of other "authors" might have an in with a publisher merits no claim on my time or attention.
Williamson claims to have been influenced by the Christian religion, though I gather she does not practice, which is no affair of mine, but the point is she ought to know that love, or charity in it's fullest and original meaning, is a theological virtue. Along with hope and faith, it is a path to salvation. Justice is a political virtue, and is the virtue proper to statesmen, or women, who need not care about the salvation (or enlightenment) of their citizens or subjects, but who do need to care very much about the prosperity of the state and well being of those citizens or subjects.
To give just one example: Williamson spoke with some eloquence about the Flint water crisis. But...look at what she did not say. She did not say that some persons, whose names can be known, are criminally liable for this crisis and ought to be indicted and prosecuted. She did not say that others who went along ought to be relieved of their jobs. She did not call for de-privatization of municipal services.
I submit that we have reached a point in this country where nothing less is needed than a thorough going prosecution of malefactors, especially those of great wealth, enforcement of anti-trust laws, winding down of overseas military involvement including payment of reparations where warranted, and taxation and in general assertion of national sovereignty over Wall Street and the rest of the FIRE establishment. They need to be working for us, not us for them.
Comments
nice attack
reminiscent of the comments about AOC. "She said this but didn't say something else, therefore..."
and this love "is a theological value" and somehow related to the church is flat out wrong. It would mean love can't exist outside the church. So I reject that.
I would also take issue with your stating that she's published only because she has a friend who helped her get inside. That's pretty obviously guesswork on your part. You haven't read the books, have no idea what's in them. Me, either. I'm going entirely on what she said.
As for the rightwing, who cares? She's being mocked by Dems, which is something you might want to ask about. Why would the Dems mock her? The wingers like her for their own reasons which we'd ignore anyway. But why are Dems mocking her?
Anyway, that bimbo comment adds to the insensitivity of your post. Your characterization of her may or may not be accurate but it's definitely uninformed.
In sum: You and I disagree here.
Ibidem
good first post, nice attack. congratulations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
"that bimbo comment adds to the insensitivity of your post"
BIMBO ~ Jim Reeves 1953
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSlGviZ4q90 width:420]
sorry not sorry
insensitive
inconvenient truth
embrace the suck
good luck
Dear Eyo,
Politics is a dirty business, and I am not aware that anyone stuck a gun in Ms. Williamson's back and forced her to get into the campaign.
If you think I am being mean to Williamson wait till you see what the Republicans will have in store for her. They undoubtedly have operatives interviewing every ex boyfriend and combing through every book. Should she get on the ticket, you can bet that advertising in non-white areas will emphasize her privileged background and lack of formal credentials. Ordinary person adds will feature teachers, nurses, technicians, with the unsubtle unstated theme being never got her own hands dirty/never punched a time clock. Advertising in white neighborhoods will be heavy on themes like never served her country--never mind that neither did Trump, politics is in large part about emotion--featuring actors dressed up as farmers or small business owners crying about she just doesn't get life for people like us. Offhand references to former relationships will be planted into news stories in areas with large Evangelical populations, and so on. You get the picture, I hope.
She chose to get into politics; she, and her supporters, can take some heat. When was politics ever fair?
Mary Bennett
She is a joke the back room DNC would never ever pick
the absurdity of 20 D candidates speaks for itself, Bernie is getting the unity he agitated for. Flood the field with a bunch of unrealistic talking heads, so nobody gets past the first ballot. So transparent, so greedy, so disgustingly corrupt, the DNC has not changed at all. motivational argh
Who is your rep. in congress, are they a D super delegate? Being Jared Huffman already endorsed Harris, just like he did Her last time. So before any citizen gets a chance to participate Harris is already voted for in CA-02s primary. I know I'm simplifying the process, but why bother when the end result is so obviously pre-selected by elite grifters. Alex Padilla will just stop counting again, why not. Clinton tools are still cranking every lever of power it seems. LatinX power is not what I thought it would be. oh well
PEACE
actually
a politics of love is exactly what is needed. Williamson has correctly identified The Klansman as a creature of Thanatos, riding high the tide of fear and hate, very strong in that. No lesser or variant form of Thanatos can hope to bring him down. Ignoring, denying, downplaying what he is, is likewise folly, destined for failure. Only Eros, can surmount him.
As for your prescriptions:
Putting people in cages. How sad. How depressing. How oldthink. The Klansman is all about caging people, too. With respect, you're no different. You just want different people in the cages, that's all.
Since you're a book-reader, maybe try some books on restorative justice. There you'll find your justice. Without cages.
Williamson's slogan is John The Evolution. This is wisdom. Because revolution always fails. Always. Orwell:
Evolution, however, has had its moments. As it works in service to Eros.
Public Enemy knows what it's about:
the question is
are you ready for the real revolution
which is the evolution of the mind
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvViRsQYGfw]
Music is a sacrament.
That composition is divine.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Ah, love.
An interesting concept. I wonder what "love" is, exactly?
I know what they say it is on TV. I know what mass culture says it is. A bunch of touch-feely, "feel-good", vapid smiles, hugs and Hallmark cards, romantic, patriotic, sentimental, quasi-religious claptrap. Americans, in particular, just love (pardon the expression :D) them some sentimentality.
Thing is, sentimentality is superficial. It has no depth, which says a lot about American culture in general.
What do I think "love" is? I'll let Bernie Sanders explain it, although he doesn't use the word "love". It was early on in 2016, right before the South Carolina Dem primary. He was appearing in a CNN Town Hall, giving Southerners their first opportunity to get to know him.
The interviewer asked him about his religious beliefs. Now, as I understand it, Bernie does not practice a formal religion. He doesn't consider himself a theist. Here's how he responded:
I was watching that live when he said it, and I thought to myself, "No wonder I'm with Bernie. This is exactly what it's like for me, too."
If I had to define "love", this is it. It has nothing to do with god(s), nothing to do with theocracy, nothing to do with vapid smiles and hugs and sitting around looking "holy" while the world burns.
It has to do with the knowing that we are all connected. Not the belief that we are connected, but the knowing, at a deep level, in the guts and the bones, that we are all connected. I've always had that knowing, even as a child when I didn't have the words to express what I knew, or the ability to intellectually understand it.
Does this mean that I like every human being on the planet? That I want them in my face every minute of every day? That I'm happy to sit placidly with a silly smile on my face while they behave like sociopaths and destroy the world?
Hell, no.
I don't even like to use the word "love" much. I figure "love" is the concept created by humans in an attempt to describe something they cannot truly apprehend. It's been co-opted and dumbed down to where it's virtually meaningless, except for its use as a tool for TPTB to manipulate and stupefy the masses.
With respect to Marianne Williamson, full disclosure, I've never been a particular fan. I've been aware of her since the 1980s, and read one of her early books. I don't relate to her on a personality level, and I don't necessarily think of things using the same words that she does. But I do relate to and understand what she's talking about.
Williamson's understanding bears much more resemblance to Bernie's idea of spirituality. I don't see any sentimental, vapid passivity in Williamson. The woman has a definite edge to her, and she displays fire.
I was impressed when she sent an email a few weeks ago, asking her supporters to donate to Mike Gravel.
In the debate last night, she said some pretty aggressive things about our oligopolistic "corporate overlords". That does not sound to me like someone who would be content to smile sweetly and accept the status quo, instead of holding them to account.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
This essay presents a standard for critical reviews
...at c99, in my view. I would reach to meet this standard in my own serious reviews of people in the public sphere.
However, the author reached for something more, and crafted within this review, a credible mandate for our collective future. This manifesto does not touch on every principle of the fair, just, and peaceful utopia that humans have been fully capable of building on this planet for the past century or so. In fact, the supply of what is needed for this is standing far above the sustainable capacity necessary for such a modest achievement. Collective humanity and the leaders they choose are under-producing vital resources in only one sector: imagination, awareness, vision, and character — although the raw materials needed to develop these qualities in citizens are available for the taking.
This manifesto looks at the conceptual flaws and the self-destructive neglect that have entrapped American society. These are attitudes and indulgences that have been baked into the bedrock of our culture. The institutions of civilization that we build on this flawed foundation develop distortions and weaknesses that lead to injustice and failure. These same patterns emerge each time we rebuild on this foundation. Even when we are aware of these inherent flaws and lay down strong regulations to prevent or forestall the damage after we rebuild, our society tends to produces greedy, power-hungry citizens who will struggle to topple the regulations that impose fairness into the system. They see a way to personally profit from the wild swings of random chaos that occur with deregulation and destabilization. Thus, the reckless cycle repeats again, as it has for many centuries.
While I do not share the author's prescription of punishment and retribution as an effective solution to the vicious cycle of systemic failure we are in, the author expertly exposes how candidate Williamson — despite her contributions to the virtues of self-examination and the positive effects of love — has succumbed to US bedrock flaws that hide from her the transformational solution:
This leads to one overarching truth on any planet where evolving life has achieved complexity; it's the simple truth of entropy that extends throughout the known universe and into every system that we create here:
If you are not actively making it better — you are making it worse.
Standing still — like the fake policies of "incrementalism" in the face of a desparate need — is a death sentence for the planet and humanity that is imposed by the mutated psychopaths we select to lead us.
With enlightenment — toward which Marianne Williamson has long strived — comes greater expectations of her insight and her ability to identify the authentic point of failure in the system. An enlightened leader will eliminate the weakness so it cannot be exploited — in this case through nationalization, which materially benefits and protects all of us. If she doesn't see this transformational point, then we would be voting for more of the same. If she does see it, but will not name it, they she is already walking a compromised path.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Dear Pluto,
Thank you for a most flattering response to my essay. I am afraid I have a much more cynical take on Ms. Williamson than do you and others, but if I am wrong, it won't be the first time!
As for punishment and retribution, your word, not mine, I would say that that is how our system works. Mind, I have no truck with judicial murder. I see what happened in Flint, and, as Ms. Williamson, to her credit, pointed out, is happening elsewhere, as little less than Nuremburg level offenses. You either knew or should have known that what you were about was going to get people hurt and even killed. I also believe that this sort of thing won't stop until the guys and gals in the boardrooms understand they could be hauled into court and personally inconvenienced for their greed and malfeasance.
Mary Bennett
Everyone is crying out for peace
Everyone is crying out for peace, none is crying out for justice...
Sorry, but I really don't think so.
Look at the Me Too movement. What I hear from them is "There is no forgiveness". They are no longer going to overlook peccadillos so we can have peace and harmony.
Mary Bennett
Dear Shahyar and Hecate, I will have to respectfully
agree to disagree with you both.
Ms. W. can take her "love" elsewhere. I want justice.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum. Let justice be done though the heavens fall.
I said nothing about people in cages. I would like to see whomever is responsible for the Flint atrocity fined to whatever extent it will take to build the good people of that city a state of the art water system, to be owned and managed by them in perpetuity.
Dear Centaurea, I share your admiration for Bernie, and I thank you for a thoughtful response.
Mary Bennett
How do we reach justice
if we do not have love for our fellow human beings? When we have a love for one another, we see each other as deserving of justice and equality. If Ms. Williamson inspires even some of us to be better human beings who love our fellow human beings, then I see it as a positive for justice and equality.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Well, gulfgal, as I see it
it's apples and oranges. If I have to appear in court I don't need the judge to love or even like me, I just need her or him to believe that I am telling the truth as I understand it. Mind, if I were guilty of some serious crime, I hope I would have the courage to fess up and swallow that medicine.
Mary Bennett
This is a great conversation. I am so grateful for the
thoughtfulness of posters on C99.
I was Roman Catholic until my first divorce at 23. Mom wanted me to work with the archdiocese for an annulment. It meant having to lie about love and consummation: both were present. So I told her it was over. Since then I have been unchurched except for joining the United Church of Christ when our daughter wanted to join with her day care family. Now not a regular church goer, but here in France we have a secular state with every feast day a national holiday. Our 55 voice choir is both community and liturgical. Sung some very transformative Masses, weddings and feast days.
So since my UCC days and the first Obama election I have been thinking about the use of Christian literature in political discussions. Yesterday I took the time to watch and listen to Joe Rogan and Cornell West. I think my answer was in their conversation. If anyone wants that link I'll go find it. It's worth it.
West said Jesus did not hide his anger and rid the temple of money changers in anger. JUSTICE. They were deprived of their money-making. Plus the community knew someone was willing to call them out.
Another pronouncement: Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. He hung out with the poor, the sick, prostitutes and other undesirables. JUSTICE and LOVE.
I have instinctively felt and was reassured by West's comments that using the Christian gospels in messaging, or the Quaran (sp?), or Sharia law on lending, Jewish Torah and bible, any other set of religious texts is fair and wise in political discussion. Many people identify with these message sources.
Edit to add another....Rereading Centaurea's quote from Bernie, says it better than I can. But essentially is what I am trying to convey.
[video:https://youtu.be/7Gx1Pv02w3Q]
There is another singer/song writer song about Jesus hanging around with prostitutes. When I find it I'll add it here.
Edit to add:
[video:https://youtu.be/zqwm_rL4wow]
Edit to add lyrics:
Halleluja
Does Satan wear a suit and tie
Or does he work at the Dairy Queen
Does he listen to rock and roll
Does he feed the mean
Singing Hallelujah
What about Jesus
Didn't he do it too?
Hang out with prostitutes
And have a drink or two
Power of example
My mama said it and I heard
She says one ounce of action
Beats a ton of words
Singing Hallelujah
Mama said there would be angels
Mama said there would be sun
Is the devil in Elvis to go where no white man went
Or hiding in Hugh Hefner's body or maybe even Larry Flynt
Say, hows about the President shielding all them stones
Man if I could find a shield like that I'd run 'round naked
In my glass home
Sippin' Hallelujah
I think my angel's gone to Vegas
Sippin' Hallelujah
Holding aces in her hand, Hallelujah
As she's singing rock of ages, Hallelujah
On the table at the Sands, Hallelujah
Does Satan wear a suit and tie or
Does he work at the Dairy Queen
Does he listen to rock and roll
Does he feed the mean
Streak in all of us
All us saints here on earth
Hypnotized and over-advertised
'Til we're numb at birth
Singing Hallelujah
And my angel's turning pages
Singing Hallelujah
And she just don't understand, Hallelujah
That the devil's hot on her trail, Hallelujah
On the road to broken promised land, Hallelujah
On the TV and the radio. Hallelujah
Good and evil look the same to you
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I have not yet listened to West's interview
so I cannot write a complete response to your post except to say that West is one of our leading public intellectuals and always worth hearing.
What I would point out to you and to eyo and others is I do not want to live under a theocracy of any kind. Don't forget that theocracies always announce themselves as promoters of love, peace and goodness.
Mary Bennett
Hi Nastarana,
I found your essay and thesis deeply thought and well stated. We agree more than it appears.
I'm not saying what I think quite well enough: I am actually speaking as a non-believer in a secular state which has made peace with many faiths.
What I'm trying to say is that sometimes using the words that resonate with the people we are addressing may be a way to have a good conversation.
I don't regard the music and lyrics as particularly espousing a 'Christian' transformation. I think they are pointing out the fallacy of many christians in the US who don't take the meaning of the gospels to be inclusive, peaceful and just.
This same set of beliefs or life systems could be found in many religions, and in people who are non-believers or Pagan. Secular states can be more caring and just than many so-called religious states.
Thank you.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
If Williamson became President, we'd have
Deepak Chopra as Sec. of Health and Human Services... All he'd have to do is tell everyone that they can control there health by using their quantum minds. Oh, and rocks are conscious.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
rocks
are indeed conscious.
on this we must disagree.
"panpsychism" can say what it likes, but whatever consciousness is, it is clearly extraordinarily ephemeral, and tied inextricably to something that happens in neurons -- and only in neurons that are in certain kinds of active states.
when i am in dreamless sleep, "i" do not exist, anymore than i did before this body manifested me, or than i will the moment when, starved of the oxygen that powers the necessary chemical reactions to run the mitochondria that make everything that is eukaryotic life happen, my neurons cannot maintain whatever strange superimposition of quantum fields it is that is me.
c'est la vie. this simple truth does not make a broken heart one wee quantum easier to endure.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
I'm with you here. <3
What's a good Pagan? In this household we are Pagan.
My dad said the trees were his church. I too believe in the spirit in everything. Look how lichens and mosses cling to rocks and stone. They live because of the life they are on.
Me three.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I am currently reading The Secret Life of Trees.
It is a real eye opener and lots of fun to read.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Well me too. I have the photo book and the text which has
more information in it.
A good follow on and a bit more up to date is "Wilding" by Pamela Tree. Fabulous book. Even though it is fact filled, it reads easily. Also very encouraging what can be done in a short time.
Enjoy your book. We live in the middle of France, and see the Beech, Oak in all niches.
The Europeans have imported Doug Fir and have plantations everywhere. This has been going on for quite awhile. Sad thing is that at least here, we are seeing whole trees dying. Full stands are going away. But there are those Beeches and Oak among other things which have been here a lot longer.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I gave you the wrong title...
It's the HIDDEN Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
It's the same one I am reading. It's what I thought you said.
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
I just finished reading Annaka Harris's book Concious.
She makes a strong argument for panpsychism (which is what you are describing), but also feels that there has to be a lot more evidence before the idea becomes valid as a description of consciousness. I made the remark because people like Deepak make those kinds of statements without evidence.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Dear UntimelyRipped, Fishtroller 02, Hecate, Dawn's Meta
thank you all for identifying what Williamson is all about, panpsychism, a concept new to me. I have heard of spirits of place; in Ancient Greece every well, stream and grove had it's protective deity; a necessity in a land lacking in fresh water.
My personal view remains that she is an ambitious person who found a gimmick and what I sense or smell coming from her is the whiff of theocracy.
Mary Bennett
Your nose works well....
She is active with the Institute of Noetic Sciences. I used to be a member until I started figuring out that their claims of being interested in science was a cover for new age spiritualism backed by evangelical Christianity type thinkers.
I wrote them a letter which they printed in their magazine taking them to task for straying from Edgar Mitchell's original goal of studying issues like ESP, meditation, etc. scientifically. They are a large organization with a lot of Hollywood money behind them. I think this is how Marianne was able to pop into the level to make the debates.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Thank you for this information, Fishtroller 02.
Institute of Neotic Sciences, huh? Never heard of it. If Williamson's candidacy persists I suppose I will have to look into it.
There is a lovely scene in the movie Totoro in which the father and daughters bow in front of a large tree and "give the spirits a greeting". I gather or so far suspect that panpsychism is a different animal altogether.
Mary Bennett
They used to have a weekly program on NPR.
But it was clear at some point, that money was the goal. A lot of woohoo scattered with some actual real beliefs. Reminds me of what little I know about mega churches. Razzle, dazzle and lots of sheeple in and out the door.
Edit to add a Wiki article as a start:
Noetic Science
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.
Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.
Yes, it is. Annaka Harris does a good job of explaining
panpsychism in her little book Conscious. She explores many ideas about consciousness. It's a good read.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin