Out of Darkness
As most of us shift our attention to family, friends and the deep rituals marking the turning of time from darkness toward light, we face an uncertain future. The longing to return to “normal” is evident everywhere. Yet most of us realize that the past is gone. We know “normal” is what created these crises. All the signs are that perilous times are accelerating.
Many of us have felt hope from the release of the first two vaccines to combat the coronavirus. Almost immediately, these hopes have been tempered with problems in distribution and the recognition that the federal government lacks any plan on how to deliver the vaccine. At the same time, troubling news is emerging from England, raising fears of a new strain of the virus that is possibly 70% more contagious than earlier strands. We are again in a holiday season where the best choice seems to be stay at home and stay safe.
And as people across the country endure the loss of loved ones, President Trump is huddling in the White House, unwilling to give up power, and turning to increasingly dangerous ideas about how to hold on to it. This week Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani met with recently pardoned Mike Flynn and his lawyer Sidney Powell. It appears Trump is considering naming Ms. Powell as a special counsel to investigate voter fraud, in the hopes of overturning the election. Powell is the primary advocate for the theory that Venezuela rigged voting machines. Flynn has been advocating martial law and deploying the military to “rerun” the election. There is little comfort in knowing that these ideas shocked Trump’s inner circle, and were resisted by them. Trump is capable of anything.
But Trump is only part of our problem. The people and ideas who brought him to power show no signs of leaving either. The recent struggles around a clearly inadequate stimulus package, reflect deep ideological differences about the responsibilities of government, the importance of protecting people, and a commitment to democratic processes. People infused with white supremacy and nationalist beliefs have been emboldened in ways unimaginable only 4 years ago.
If there is one lesson we can draw from this turbulent, sorrow filled year, it is that the basic systems and institutions that many of us thought would support and protect life, no longer work. We must now face questions about how to constitute ourselves, what we value, what we owe one another and future generations. These questions, too, have long been with us. But we are reaching the point where we must radically rethink how we answer them.
We also have inherited a tradition of visionary thinking by people struggling collectively to create a just future. This thinking is being propelled by what is now the largest movement in U.S. history, led by African Americans and Indigenous people, advancing new ways of imagining every aspect of our lives.
Recently, historian-activist Barbara Ransby, pointed to the important work emerging out of these movement struggles. She explains that “movements are not simply protest campaigns; narrowly defined, they are generative spaces where new ideas and creative solutions are incubated.” Among those creative solutions are three critical documents. Ransby says:
We have the cornerstone of this visionary agenda in three sets of movement-generated documents: (1) The Green New Deal (augmented by the Red Deal and the forthcoming Red, Black and Green New Deal); (2) The Breathe Act, generated by the policy table of the Movement for Black Lives; and (3) The People’s Charter, created by the Working Families Party. These concrete policy proposals are based on values and vision: a commitment to minimize and repair harm, confront systemic racism, place people above profits, respect the rights and dignity of marginalized and oppressed communities, and save the planet.
In this season of darkness and reflection, we have an opportunity to rededicate ourselves toward the work of creating new, collective futures. Never has such commitment been more urgent, or more possible.