means and ends

I recently watched The People Speak (2009), and have once again reflected on the amazing and inspirational contribution of Howard Zinn (1922-2010). I was a little taken aback by how frail he seemed when on stage for the documentary. I guess the last footage of his I had seen was in the film based on his autobiography You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004). In The People Speak, he summed up what we can all do quite simply:

If we live now as we think human beings should live. In defiance of all that is bad around us, that in itself is a marvellous victory.

We all go though life having many experiences that are, to varying degrees, beyond our control. Different political persuasions often have different takes on how we should understand, consider, reflect on and tackle such situations. A lot of rhetoric is thrown around, from many of these perspectives, at contrasting ideas, opinions or ideologies. Radical and leftist perspectives often try to expose and understand the structural basis of the, mostly negative, implications of circumstances that remove ones control over their own lives. Similar can be said of some libertarian perspectives, even some neoconservatives. A question worth reflecting on is how much emphasis should we place on such structural factors, and when can this lead to not being able to see the trees for the forest?

I was recently given a copy of the Julie Taymor’s film Across the Universe, having no knowledge of the plot, genre or any reviews. After starting slow this film has became one of the most memorable I have seen in some time—more striking as I am not a fan of any type of musical film at all. This has proven the be the exception.

I have again been thinking on the eternal debate about tactics amongst activists. Anyone who has taken some time out to reflect will be aware of many things - notwithstanding my critique that many who criticise nonviolence do so from a position of not having actually read much of the theory (explored in many other posts). I have again been involved in discussion and debate regarding nonviolence v violence in social justice movements. This is something that I think will continue for some time - and should. I find problems with numerous views on nonviolence and violence.