I should have Photoshopped Fred Hampton in here...

My friend Kassie just said this to me:

“I’m all for regulation.  I just want a better government doing it.”

I think that’s right on the money.  I’m so disillusioned/jaded/distrustful of our power structures and how they work in American society because isn’t it the government’s job to, first and foremost, protect the most vulnerable of their citizens?  I know this sounds terribly paternalistic on the face, but really what I mean is that maybe our government should live by the principle that if you see someone drowning, maybe you should give them a lifejacket.  The work I’m most interested in isn’t necessarily social justice work that makes us all rich and Ivy League-educated– I think that’s a perversion of the concept of the “American Dream” and I find myself constantly challenging that vision of success.  I just want to try to understand why it’s so easy for so few in this country to be so scandalously and exploitatively successful on the backs of people who are struggling to meet basic needs.

Our economic system is entirely upside down– The people who labor the most have so few resources at their disposal compared to those who have the luxury to live lives of leisure.  Government is supposed to be a check against that sort of thing and in a perfect world, those who are being exploited (and their allies) would be able to use legislation as a recourse to stand up against the injustices that persist.  Why is that idea considered “progressive” or even (*gasp!*) “radical“?  I’m not being coy when I say that I just don’t understand what motivates people in power to exploit their considerable means, or what drives actual, ordinary well-meaning people to align themselves with Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

Well, the latter question speaks for itself because Cults of Personality are easy to fall into, (which is another topic I’d like to explore more in depth, actually) but my larger point is that I get so mad at the government because it’s rigged against so many people and our form of democracy doesn’t even hide it.  We’ve come to accept lobbyists and even fall into the same financial traps here on the left.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE GEORGE SOROS for many reasons, but I wish there were ways to subvert the system and give power back to regular folks instead of always having money and power go hand-in-hand– even if it’s on the progressive side.  I’m sure a lot of wealthy (mostly) white donors to progressive causes would actually agree with that, but you can’t ignore the fact that you need money to get the right things done.

I want to explore the potential power that community organizations can hold.  I’m so upset at how Fox News went from condemning community organizers to totally co-opting the idea and (of course) exploiting it to push their agenda.  But what if there were a way to get a genuine groundswell and uproar at the grassroots level and use it to change the government?  I really wish that could happen in my lifetime, and I want to be a part of that kind of movement, but where do I fit in?  This is something that I struggle with each day.  I’m a relative newcomer to Bushwick, so I don’t feel like I have any right to a voice here.  I’m not in school and I don’t have any communities that I’m always a part of.  How do I start local and go global if I always feel so transient?

I’m not sure I know the answer to that, but I’m looking.  I’m finding wonderful organizations and suddenly getting surrounded by seriously incredible people that I can’t wait to learn more from.  My transience is settling and I’m growing roots– I even bought a real bed yesterday! But in the meantime, I’m still keeping at heart my main goal to fight these systems and remaining true to my ideals.  Maybe that’s my New Years’ Resolution?

I love Forgotten Chicago because it examines and explores my beloved city in ways I haven’t seen. For instance, the article about Chicago’s Public Bathhouses

weaves together the rich architectural history of the city while paying close attention to the sociological and economic factors that influenced their existence. It’s like looking at the city with new eyes; taking a walk through Chicago with your mind squarely fixed in the past that helped it become what it is today.

If I were in Chicago right now (and boy do I wish I was), I would definitely go on the FC Tour of the near South Side. It’s an area of town I really don’t get to much, but also, damn, how cool would it be to tour the remnants of an old hospital, especially around Halloween.

(courtesy Forgotten Chicago)