Now, as the third (or fourth) book post bar-exam, I'm re-reading it with a bit more pause and within the context of the Bush years having come to their superficial end (though the policies remain entrenched and enshrined by the "opposition" party".
There were moments where the observations/realities of the Indian sub-contintent transfer to the realities in the United States of America. One such instance is:
"Why isn't there a peace movement?" Western journalists ask me ingenously. How can there be a peace movement when...peace means a daily battle: for food, for water, for shelter, for dignity.
A statement regarding impunity by politicians resonates here given the impunity of Bush, Rumsfeld, most bank CEOs and CFOs, Timothy Geithner, and, given the status of Bradley Manning and Gitmo torture, President Obama:
Resignation? Have we lost all sense of proportion? Criminals are not meant to resign. They're meant to be charged, tried, and convicted.
Finally, the issue of nationalism and fascism is addressed or examined thusly:
It's disturbing to see how neatly nationalism dovetails into fascism. ....nationalism -in its many avatars: communist, capitalist, and fascist- has been at the root of almost all of the genocide of the 20th century.
Each time you defend the rights of an institution, any institution (including the Surpeme Court), to exercise unfettered, unaccountable powers that must never be challenged, you move toward fascism. Fighting it means fighting to win back the minds and hearts of people. It means keeping an eagle eye on public institutions and demanding accountability. It means putting your ear to the ground and listening to the whispering of the truly powerless.
I wonder if our movements will continue to be decimated by economic comforts of the first world. By sinecure (yes, I'm slightly guilty of liking my comfort), or the proverbial seat at the table.
Or, like the alleged immigrant rights movement in the US, will we always allow organizational power to trump people power? Will we here the voices of those directly impacted or will we continue to listen to learned and "objective" talking heads? How do we take those spaces back and put the voice of the impacted at the center...even if that means that our brand isn't visible...or if the person steps outside our externally imposed messaging frame? More importantly, as someone who has suckled at the teat of the NPIC for almost 20 years, how do we wean ourselves so that these voices can come through?
As Roy says, "Heaven help us make it through the night".
