Rebecca Solnit
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES/GUARDIAN
Rebecca Solnit has her finger on the pulse of Occupy, that “bouncing baby” born with equal strife and joy just a year ago – and our nascent movement is indeed alive, well, and growing bigger and deeper than many pessimists and realists have grown accustomed to believing. Solnit lists a plethora of exciting achievements, and several silent, lesser known victories achieved by Occupy and other insurrectionary movements this year, but with sobriety, she also reminds us that “one year” is an absurdly brief amount of time to evaluate any movement that matters. For example, one year into the Civil Rights movement, “the montgomery bus boycott was still in progress, catalyzed by an unknown secretary and a preacher from Atlanta...that is, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.”
However, even within Occupy's first year, remarkable things have happened, and the vast systemic change we are all vying for could very well be ahead; that is, so long as we keep our eyes on the prize, keep the faith, and continue asserting ourselves as heroes of our future – whether through acts of stubborn persistence, or patience. On September 17, 2011, a small group of malcontented youth headed to Zuccotti Park with tents and audacious intent, but what happened next went far beyond our expectations. Occupy's staying power was what was extraordinary, and as Solnit reminds us, we can't forget that this movement (it's tools, actions, ideas and emancipatory mantras) spread rapidly from lower Manhattan to thousands of cities, towns and even rural areas across the country and overseas, where “many of the effects of what has already happened are incalculable, and more of what is being accomplished will only be clear further down the road.”
Solnit banishes the ghosts of doubt and cynicism that haunt the minds of revolutionaries and status-quo vigilantes alike: “We get more victories than anyone imagines, but they are usually indirect, incomplete, slow to arrive, and situations where our influence can be assumed but not proven – and yet each of them is worth counting.” And still all these victories are just the foundation of what is on the horizon for this movement. It's only been one year, and it's definitely an anniversary worth celebrating.
We continue to chip away at the once daunting and impenetrable “Wall” of Wall Street. One day soon there will be more fissures and fractures in the system than then there are excuses for its persistence. The obstinate vainglory of Wall Street reveals that they are in fact over-compensating for a lack, a deep internal rupture. Wall Street and the big banks are putting on an impressive show to distract themselves (and as many of us as possible) from the total collapse of this wholly unjust and destructive economic system – but theirs is an increasingly frail bravura. Similarly, just as Putin's sentence of Pussy Riot affirms the true power of their radical dissent, so does the violence of the corporate police-state point to the fact that there is something they are afraid of – the united “Us.”
But don't be distracted by the perhaps all-too dominating “Occupy” meme. This movement is just one limb of a global uprising: The Arab Spring, the student uprisings in Montreal, Mexico and Chile, the economic revolts in Spain, Greece and Britain, the insurrections in Africa, resistance and protests in India, Japan, China and Tibet. To focus only on OWS is myopic and even narcissistic. We are not alone in resisting greed, political corruption, economic inequality and environmental devastation. The whole world is watching, and (almost) the whole world stands with us.
Together, we can make history. Keep the faith, knowing, as Solnit says, that “we can get there from here.”
Read Solnit's piece here if you haven't already.
8 comments on the article “Rebecca Solnit”
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8
Page 1 of 1
zevinxcruz
HERE'S A REAL MANIFESTO FOR OCCUPY YEAR 2 & BEYOND
The Neo-Transcendentalists For The Society Of The Third Millennium (S3K)
Presents...
THE DECALOGUE: The Ten Philosophical Pillars Of Neo-Transcendentalism For The Cultural Creatives’ Convergence Like Occupy Wall Street & The Transition Movement
I. THE SUM: The Ten Neo-Transcendental Tenets For Transformation
A) THE SUM(MARY) Of ALL (RE)SOLUTIONS—The Integral Activist Agenda: A New Intellectual Foundation & Holistic Framework For The 21st Century.
1. An Accurate Assessment Of Our Current Condition Is Crucial. RESOLVED: We Are Experiencing The Converging Crises Of Civilizational Collapse.
2. A Critical Analysis Of The Crux Of The Converging Crises Is Necessary To Avoid Symptoms-Oriented-Solutions. RESOLVED: The Pathological Culture Of Empire Is The Root Cause Of Civilizational Collapse.
3. Thereby, The New Millennium Memes & Mandates To Avert Apocalypse Emerges. RESOLVED: Our Survival Hinges On How Effectively We Cultivate A Community Of Resilience Through Relocalization In The New Post-Carbon Era To Decentralize Energy Production & Distribution That Ushers In The Third Industrial Revolution Of The Empathetic Civilization & Eventually Leading To A Resource-Based Economy & Our Emancipation From Debt Enslavement Due To The Monetary-Market Systems Of Capitalism, Socialism & Communism.
4. Deconstructing The Oppressive System Of Dominance Is A Must To Determine A Future Course Of Sustain-able Actions. RESOLVED: The Worldview, Values, Lifestyle & Institutions Of The Social System Must Be Subverted Through Nonviolent, Noncooperation Direct Actions & Supplant The Superstructure With An Integral Culture Of Sustainability—The Society Of The Third Millennium (S3K).
5. A Catalytic Core Of Comprehensive Change Agents Must Coalesce Around An Ultimate Goal By The De-velopment Of A Common Terminology Of Radical Transformation For Mutual Understanding & Consensus Building. RESOLVED: The Grand Imperative To “Abolish Empire & Establish Earth Community” Is The One Global Demand That Can Mend The Fragmentation Of Neo-Progressive Forces Everywhere.
6. Success Of The Movement Requires A Daily Regimen Of Personal Evolution Towards Higher Developmental Levels Of Consciousness (Second-Tier-Thinking) & An Alternative Belief System Based On A New Cosmology, Mythos & Worldview Of Reality, The Universe & Human Nature In Order To Sustain The Struggle For A Life-time. RESOLVED: Conviction In The New Integral Worldview (IOS/AQAL Model) Of Conscious Evolution, The Alternative Narrative Of Cultural Evolution From Empire To Earth Community, The Cohesive Vision Of The Society Of The Third Millennium (S3K), The Coherent Plan Of The Grand Unified Strategy (GUS) & The Integral Life Practice (ILP) “For Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity & Spiritual Awakening”—All Comprise The New Existential Creed To Actualize Our Collective Social Potential.
7. A New Integral Theory Of Activism For Fundamental Social Change Is Needed. RESOLVED: “The Grand Continuums Of Evolutionary Transformation” Is The New Model For (R)EVOLUTION Base On Priori-tizing A Change Of Consciousness (Phase I: Cultural Evolution) Before Enacting Institutional Change (Phase II: Structural Revolution) In Order To Create Worldwide Comprehensive Change (Phase III: Global Transformation) Through The Construction Of The Worldwide Hydrogen Energy Web.
8. A Common Code Of Conduct Of Integral Ethics & Nonviolence Is Central For A New Sustainable Way Of Life That Maximizes Our Moral Authority To Win The Support Of The Majority In Order To Create A Critical Mass For Radical Transformation. RESOLVED: The Principles & Proclamations For Earth Community As Expres-sed On The Global Level With “The Earth Charter,” On The National Scale With “The (Economic) Second Bill Of Rights,” & Locally With “The Community Bill Of Rights,” Offers A Moral Foundation.
9. Providing A Compelling Vision & Alternative Social System Is Paramount For A Profound Paradigm Shift Among The Public At Large. RESOLVED: Envisioning & Exhibiting Earth Community (The Society Of The Third Millennium) Through Integral Art Will Disseminate The Democratic Vision To Forge A New Collective Identity & Coherent Culture—The Neo-Transcendentalists.
10. To Catalyze The Core Group Of Social Change Agents We Require A Coherent Plan That Acts As Both The Vehicle For Comprehensive Change & The Engine Of A National Unifying Purpose (NUP) To Mobilize The Masses. RESOLVED: The Grand Unified Strategy (GUS) Consisting Of Seven Strategic & Interdependent Initiatives For The Mass Mobilization Of Civil Society Provides The Necessary Tactical Framework For A Citizen Accountability Movement That Wields “The Grand Ultimatum,” Which Portends A Clean Sweep Of The Political System Through A Nationwide General Strike That Creates The Necessary Sense Of Urgency To Start The First Stage Of The Society Of The Third Millennium Through A National Relocali-zation Challenge Before A Publicly Stated Deadline Expires, While In The Meantime Building The Vital Infrastructure To Sustain The Social, Political & Economic Noncooperation Campaign Indefinitely, If Need Be, Through Our Collective RESOLVE!
This is an integral approach to art, activism and fundamental social change partially influenced as a past participant of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the Transition Movement and the Ron Paul Libertarian faction of the Tea Party and We The People Foundation. This groundbreaking strategy has been in the works for at least 12 years since the 1999 “Battle In Seattle”—the trigger event of the Economic Justice / Anti-Corporate Globalization Movement—which has its modern roots to Martin Luther King’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign and it’s Resurrection City encampments. It offers what’s been missing from activism for decades—a new FOUNDATIONAL FRAMEWORK that resolves the obstacles plaguing the new social and consciousness movements through “The DECALOGUE: The Ten Philosophical Pillars of Neo-Transcendentalism.” It includes: 1) A New Cosmology (Conscious Evolution) the novel philosophical and scientific assessment of the origins, nature and structure of the universe as depicted by Barbara Marx Hubbard and Ken Wilber’s Twenty Tenets of the “Kosmos.” 2) A New Integral Worldview (The AQAL Model / Integral Operating System) that provides a comprehensive theoretical framework of the world and ourselves. 3) Integral Activism (The Grand Continuums of Evolutionary Transformation) a new theory for nonviolent revolution that is the most sophisticated application of the AQAL Model to activism available today. 4) A New Narrative (Cultural Evolution from Empire to Earth Community) a humanistic mythos and meta-analysis of history that redefines human nature. 5) A New Collective Identity (Neo-Transcendentalists) to solidify the Cultural Creatives / New Progressives sub-culture of at least 80 million Americans as a proposed rebranding of activists, anarchists, socialists, communists, progressives, liberals, independents, green conservatives, libertarians, third parties and culture jammers through an integration of overlapping values, issues and our common opposition to the economic oligarchs of the corporatocracy. 6) A Common Code of Conduct (Integral Ethics) from the new ethos of the empathetic civilization that does not justify the means for the ends because the means are the ends in the making, thus, strictly adhering to nonviolence as way of life while maximizing our moral authority to win the support of the majority in order to create a critical mass for radical transformation. 7) A Cohesive Vision (The Society of the Third Millennium) of community resiliency through a post-capitalist, post-carbon, democratization of energy due to the Third Industrial Revolution of the Hydrogen Economy and eventually the eradication of debt and money via the “Venus Project” as advocated by the Zeigeist Movement. 8) A Coherent Plan (The Grand Unified Strategy) that consists of “Seven Strategic and Interdependent Initiatives” that acts as the vehicle for comprehensive change. 9) A National Unifying Purpose (The Grand Ultimatum) that lays down the gauntlet for fundamental social change to our entire society as the engine for a mass mobilization of civil society to mitigate the converging crises of climate chaos, peak oil and economic collapse through post-carbon relocalization, preparation for the possibility of a nationwide general strike and the beginning phase of the Hydrogen Energy Web (HEW). 10) The Ultimate Goal (The Grand Imperative)—Abolish Empire & Establish Earth Community—the one global demand that is big enough to encapsulate the root cause of all of our social problems in one succinct, six-word, uncomplicated, yet all-encompassing sentence that states both what we are for and against.
A comprehensive map for swift and sweeping social change derived from a deep, full-spectrum analysis that incorporates ideas from various thinkers like Ken Wilbers’ “Integral Theory of Everything” otherwise known as the AQAL Model (all quadrants, all levels) comprise of three main perspectives personified with pronouns and subdivided for symmetry as “I,” “WE,” “IT,” “ITS.” It begins with “An Accurate Assessment of the Present Predicament” that we have virtually run out of time creating a new sense of urgency (Pillar One). Ecological, economic, cultural, social and political events have converged to make 2012 The Year for radical transformation otherwise we will traverse the threshold of human extinction. It begins with identifying the true source of our societal ills, “The Crux Of The Crises” (Pillar Two), which is the Pathological Culture of Empire consisting of the Value Disorder (“We”), Dysfunctional System (“Its”) and the Manufacturing of Maladaptive Individuals (“I”) suffering from economic distress, plagued with feelings of powerlessness, crippled with neuroses, coping by overconsumption, inundated with constant environmental health threats, and distracted with electronic gadgets, trivial lifestyle pursuits, political scandals, celebrity worship and other pop culture addictions. Analysis of our current condition has led to a synthesis of suggestions from various groups, organizations and publications that I have designated as “The New Millennium Memes & Mandates” (Pillar Three) that provides diverse strategic courses of actions. It becomes necessary to understand how we are ruled and the means of control by “Deconstructing the System of Dominance” (Pillar Four) through the identification of our common opposition, the prevailing paradigm of infinite growth, and the maladaptive social system of oppression, economic inequality and social injustice. Resulting in an all-encompassing purpose: “The Grand Imperative—Abolish Empire & Establish Earth Community—The One Global Demand & Ultimate Goal,” (Pillar Five) that can finally mend the fragmentation of all of the new social and consciousness movements. But how to accomplish such a comprehensive feat would have to be based on a new set of beliefs about the nature of reality, knowledge and the essence of being, forming a new cosmology: “The Post-Metaphysics Of The AQAL Model & The Integral Life Practice (ILP)” (Pillar Six). Such an ambitious aim has resulted in the organic development of a new integral theory of social change called “The Grand Continuum Theory of Evolutionary Transformation,” (Pillar Seven) that prioritizes cultural change (Phase I: Cultural Evolution), which is divided into three Continuums (X: Separation, Y: Transition, Z: Integration) before institutional change (Phase II: Structural Revolution) that comprises of Continuum A: Deconstruction and Continuum B: Reconstruction leading to Phase III: Global Transformation (Continuum C: Dynamic Equilibrium Through The Third Industrial Revolution of the worldwide Hydrogen Energy Web). All of which is based on enduring “Principles & Proclamations For Earth Community/The Society of the Third Millennium (S3K),” (Pillar Eight) comprise of (on the global scale) “The Earth Charter,” 2001, on the national level “Second Bill of (Economic) Rights,” by FDR 1944, and the local “Community Bill of Rights,” 2010 to preserve our local sovereignty to safeguard our environment, our health and natural resources against corporate pillaging. “Envisioning & Exhibiting Earth Community” (Pillar Nine) offers a concrete alternative to the self-destructive status-quo in order for the masses to make the necessary paradigm shift required to accept a new vision of a post-capitalist and post-carbon society. What will act as the catalyst for change is (Pillar Ten) the Grand Unified Strategy (GUS).
The GUS consists of Seven Strategic & Interdependent Initiatives for the Mass Mobilization of Civil Society: 1) Cul-tivate Counter-Institutions like OWS through the eight stages of Bill Moyers’ “Movement Action Plan (MAP).” 2) Build Alternative Institutions like the Transition Movement’s efforts of community resiliency through the revolutionary act of relocalization. 3) Create A Parallel Government with a new provisional cabinet, President, Supreme Court and Congress consisting of 535 nationally elected citizen legislators that pledge to end the infinite growth paradigm and get money out of politics. 4) Convene A National Summit of Activists like the Occupy National Gathering or Second Constitutional Convention to present a new vision by drafting a Redress of Grievances, new amendments like The Second Bill of (Economic) Rights, a Common Ground Agenda For The People and a new Declaration of Re-Independence from the corporate tyranny of the economic oligarchy. All publicly proclaimed (for example) on July 5, 2012, along with 5) The Grand Ultimatum to launch a “Massive Mobilization of Civil Society” by “Drawing-A-Line-In-The-Sand,” once and for all, as our ultimate leverage point for government accountability and creating a sense of urgency as a National Unifying Purpose (NUP) to accelerate all relocalization efforts in preparation for the possibility of a sustained, nationwide, general strike by (for example) November 5, 2012, (Guy Fawkes Day), one day before the U.S. Presidential Election to unplug the machinery of the system through withdrawal of our consent (where our true power lies) by abstaining from political participation within the corporate tyranny of the two-party system. 6) The Cultural Creatives’ Convergence Quest (C3Q) is launch to promote a profound paradigm shift required to trigger a tipping point in this 50-project, 50-state, cross-country, site-specific, outdoor, guerrilla art installations portrayed as a live Reality TV show of a change of consciousness campaign. When a critical mass is created and if the government still refuses to comply with the people’s last plea for comprehensive change than the greatest and most powerful unified mega-movement campaign of civil disobedience begins based on Gene Sharp’s methods of nonviolent actions like 7) A National General Strike that countdowns in a strategically staggered withdrawal of the system in the following proposed example:
MON, NOV. 5, 2012—Day 1: SOCIAL Noncooperation (school strikes, boycott of sport events); TUES, NOV. 6—Day 2: POLITICAL Noncooperation (withdraw consent to demonstrate the illegitimacy of government authority by boycotting the U.S. Presidential Election); WED, NOV. 7—DAY 3: ECONOMIC Noncooperation (withholding of labor & non-essential services)—all done until the government complies with our demands or forced to relinquish their power in a peaceful political purge of Congress, the Presidency & the Supreme Court that finally commences the creation of Earth Community. In order to coalesce all of the fragmented alternatives into a unified vision we need to give it a name to solidify this new sub-culture that underscores ecological sustainability. One suggestion is the Society of the Third Millennium (S3K).
[email protected]
Anonymous
Someone has been reading Graves, or perhaps Spiral Dynamics.
zevinxcruz
Yep, among many other thinkers.
luckystars
Occupy should listen to Webster Tarpley who actually has solutions.
QE3 should not go to Zombie banks, the money flees the country to the
new hot investment location.
A main street window needs to be opened at the FED at 0% for State bonds, 100 yr bonds for infrastructure spending, that creates jobs.
Down the road you need to not end the FED, nationalize the FED.
My advise
Don't camp
Have demands
Now is the time in the next 3 yrs
Uranus / Pluto square gives the power to the revolutionary but you must have a party in place.
Anonymous
"Wall Street and the big banks are putting on an impressive show to distract themselves (and as many of us as possible) from the total collapse of this wholly unjust and destructive economic system."
People still don't get this. They want the system to collapse, its in their interest. Neo-feudalism is the act of erasing the middle-class, creating a small wealthy class, chip away at government institutions, use austerity as an excuse to privatize everything and create a mass slave class that cannot exist without the overlords. If the economic system fails they still win, its us who will fall into abject poverty and misery. This is what is happening in Greece, this is what is coming down the pipe in Spain where even their impressive national rail is being considered for privatization making it more expensive to use. This is a plan being implemented by globalists.
A quote from a piece written by John Psaropoulos "the political will for cuts is so weak, that the government is waiting for the state to run out of money in order to acquiesce to them. “Our chaps don’t want to make a decision on anything. They want to leave it all for later. But this time their interests are aligned with those of the troika, which also wants to bide its time, because very soon, around mid-October, the state will not have a penny in its coffers. At that point there will be absolutely no leeway. The Greeks will have to accept whatever the troika wants, no matter who is in power.”
Another from Jazeera:
"Twenty-eight per cent of the children at the school get free meals because their parents receive government benefits. It also means 72 per cent aren’t because their parents are probably working at a level on or around the minimum wage.The cutoff is 16,000 British pounds a year, or more than $20,000. What this suggests, then, is that children of low-paid workers – people in jobs – aren’t being fed, because their parents can’t afford to."
So now they have working people who also cannot afford to feed their own families. Does that mean they will expand the program? No.
When the economy collapses you get people to work for peanuts, you control them through the police state and surveillance technology. If they riot, they riot in their own communities which become destroyed, if they suffer they suffer outside of the wealthy communities where it never has to be seen.
Its wishful thinking to believe Wall street and the 1% will suffer due to an economic collapse. No!!! They profit from everything from failed banks to failed nations. Its the laid off white collar and working class workers who suffer while the poor just get pushed deeper into the mud. People forget that there were many companies/businesses/industries that PROSPERED during the Great Depression. The author shows her naivete by claiming the elites are depicting "frail bravura". They know the game better than anyone else because they are the ones who rigged it, they know which way its turning and they are preparing themselves. Why do you think gold & silver prices have skyrocketed? The know fiat currencies will be worthless. Why do you think the CEO Richard Fuld who caused the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy walked away with over $300 million dollars while thousands of employees had just lost their job? None of the elites suffered from the 2008 crash, they all benefitted.
Stop wishing for an economic collapse!
It will not benefit the masses, people will suffer, people will starve, people will lose their homes and livelihood, children will go hungry and without medical care and people will die. The rich? They will be just fine.
Anonymous
Despite totally over-stating your case, you have no answers - what side are you really on?
n3uromanc3r
The quickest, most effective way to make changes happen: stop yelling at legislators who don't represent us and put in ones that do. Create a political party with a crowdsourced platform for the future, and hold those we elect to that standard.
Anonymous
Helping to chip away at the once daunting and impenetrable “Wall” of Wall Street is:
“Plunder – the crime of our time”, Directed by Danny Schechter.
“A caustic “J’accuse” aimed at the Wall Street community, Plunder: The Crime of Our Time is also one of the most accessible primers on the reasons behind the economic disaster that has affected us all, but that so few understand...” Might be a few more viewings today - 23 Sep 2012 - on RT.
Add a new comment