Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Right to Rave - El derecho al delirio



Eduardo Galeano is a great hero of mine. I'll spare you my waxing on about his greatness and let you get to listening to him more quickly. Clara sent me this video of an interview done in the context of the current Spanish Revolution. While it is in Spanish, i do recommend that those of you who do not understand spanish nonetheless listen at least to the section of the interview in which Galeano recites, with piano accompaniment, a poem called The Right to Rave or El Derecho Al Delirio. You can follow along with the text below or read the english translation here. Galeano begins the poem at the 31:15 mark.

The following is my imperfect transcription - i apologize in advance for my errors:
¿Qué tal si deliramos, por un ratito? Vamos a clavar los ojos más allá de la infamia, para adivinar otro mundo posible:

el aire estará limpio de todo veneno que no provenga de los miedos humanos y de las humanas pasiones;

en las calles, los automóviles serán aplastados por los perros;

la gente no será manejada por el automóvil, ni será programada por el ordinador, ni sera comprada por el supermercado, ni será tampoco mirada por el televisor;

el televisor dejará de ser el miembro más importante de la familia, y será tratado como la plancha o el lavarropas;

se incorporará a los códigos penales el delito de estupidez, que cometen quienes viven por tener o por ganar, en vez de vivir por vivir no más, como canta el pájaro sin saber que canta y como juega el niño sin saber que juega;

en ningún país irán presos los muchachos que se nieguen a cumplir el servicio militar, sino los que quieran cumplirlo;

nadia de vivida para trabajar, pero todo trabajaremos para vivir;

los economistas no llamarán nivel de vida al nivel de consumo, ni llamarán calidad de vida a la cantidad de cosas;

los cocineros no creerán que a las langostas les encanta que las hiervan vivas;

los historiadores no creerán que a los países les encanta ser invadidos;

los políticos no creerán que a los pobres les encanta comer promesas;

la solemnidad se dejará de creer que es una virtud, y nadie tomará en serio a nadie que no sea capaz de tomarse el pelo;

la muerte y el dinero perderán sus mágicos poderes, y ni por defunción ni por fortuna se convertirá el canalla en virtuoso caballero;

la comida no será una mercancía, ni la comunicación un negocio, porque la comida y la comunicación son derechos humanos;

nadie morirá de hambre, porque nadie morirá de indigestión; los niños de la calle no serán tratados como si fueran basura, porque no habrá niños de la calle;

los niños ricos no serán tratados como si fueran dinero, porque no habrá niños ricos; la educación no será el privilegio de quienes puedan pagarla;

la policía no será la maldición de quienes no puedan comprarla;

la justicia y la libertad, hermanas siamesas condenadas a vivir separadas, volverán a juntarse, bien pegaditas, espalda contra espalda;

en Argentina, las locas de Plaza de Mayo serán un ejemplo de salud mental, porque ellas se negaron a olvidar en los tiempos de la amnesia obligatoria;

la Santa Madre Iglesia corregirá algunos erratas de las tablas de Moisés, y el sexto mandamiento ordenará festejar el cuerpo;

la Iglesia también dictará otro mandamiento, que se le había olvidado a Dios: «Amarás a la naturaleza, de la que formas parte»;

serán reforestados los desiertos del mundo y los desiertos del alma; los desesperados serán esperados y los perdidos serán encontrados, porque ellos son los que se desesperaron de tanto esperar y los que se perdieron por tanto buscar;

seremos compatriotas y contemporáneos de todos los que tengan voluntad de belleza y voluntad de justicia, hayan nacido donde hayan nacido y hayan vivido cuando hayan vivido, sin que importen ni un poquito las fronteras del mapa ni del tiempo;

seremos imperfect, porque la perfección seguirá siendo el aburrido privilegio de los dioses; pero en este mundo chambón y jodido, seremos capace de vivir cada dia como si fuera el primero y cada noche como si fuera la última

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The Real Winner: FEAR

Should i be surprised that Harper's ghoulish implication that The Apocalypse would be hastened if he didn't get his majority so that he could "get on with the business" of managing the economy? Is it surprising that in our woeful political culture (and antiquated parliamentary system) that fear is more persuasive and powerful than hope? Our politics is the victim of religion. But i'm not talking about churches. Even though judeo-christian-islamic religions (and so many others) are robust, the most dominant religion in the world is economics. To be more specific: capitalist economics. For more than math and science (long-known to be a dubious claim), economics is first about values and ethics. And the idea that the invisible hand of the unfettered market (read: deregulated capitalist market) is the most effective way to organize an economy is a belief - a religious belief - for which the science is notoriously partisan and contradictory (not to mention arcane).

The religious belief that private, capitalist, profit-making is a natural way to conduct business is a big part of why we face the global environmental crisis that we do. And rather than turn away from this mad course (which included the greed-run-amok that precipitated the most recent global financial crisis) we accelerate: more exploitation of fossil fuels, getting "tougher" on crime, privatizing health care (or pursuing "alternative service delivery"), freeing private corporations of social responsibility and more. This is an economics of greed, fear and war. And, not surprisingly, it gives rise to crime, violence and an always growing machinery of policing and punishment.

But in the absence of a different kind of economics, one that inspires and gives hope to people, is it surprising that people take fearful shelter in what the dominant common sense assures them is completely natural: economic growth, business-as-usual, an elite of super-wealthy, a majority of I-wish-i-was-super-wealthy and always growing underclass of poor, homeless and starving? Oh, but they won't admit that it is fear that compels them. Many will assert bravado, will give voice to the ethics of individual initiative, entrepreneurship and free-market competition. And surely these attitudes, sincerely believed in, require more than fear as a motivation. Indeed, much of the common sense that makes up our lives steers people firmly into this ethical terrain. And it is one that is powerfully forgetful of history - for instance, that Canada remains the home of many indigenous nations with whom we have treaties and obligations.

But what is a different economic/ethical way of looking at the world? What different economics CAN we propose? Can we imagine an economics that is based on compassion, cooperation, collective action and well-being? And i would say, yes, it is already here. Look at the non-profit economy which is about 8% of the GDP. Cooperatives, barter (including the so-called grey market), gift exchange (which, notably, includes blood and organ donation), government supported social programs and even the black market are all economies that are different from the dominant for-profit economy. I would say there is a different economic ethics to be discussed. One that can inspire quite a different world. And this is a project to which i will devote much energy in the coming years.

But for now, the Conservatives have formed this unfortunate majority with barely 40% of the vote. 60% voted for something different. Add to this math that only 61.4% of eligible voters actually voted and this means that six million people (beating nine million) determine the fates of almost 34 million. And, to look even closer, given that Harper formed his minority in 2008 with 5.2 million votes this means that Harper's campaign pulled out only 800,000 new votes while all the other parties drew out only 400,000 new votes. So another way to look at all this is that 400,000 (about 1% of the population or 1.6% of electors) votes made the difference between the government we're now stuck with for at least four years and a government of the true majority. Our ridiculous system of first-past-the-post parliamentary ridings allows for a party who win a minority of votes to rule the majority. Our "majority" government was formed by less than 18% of the population. That's who the Conservatives represent. And it ain't me.

Some post election opinion worth reading: