Vol. 5 Iss. 2: The Crisis

   By John Wessel-McCoy

   In Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky wrote, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” The current political situation facing progressives in the United States is indeed a crisis. Pick your poison: trampled civil liberties, the neocon quest for a Pax Americana, and all the while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

   With the advent of four more years of Bush, there will be times when progressives will feel powerless, furious, and may want to give up on America. I urge you not to fall into despair. Self-righteous self-pity breeds cynicism and arrogance. Worst of all, it achieves nothing. Get involved with something – anything. Now more than ever it’s time to commit yourself to systemic change. Know that the politics of city council and Albany have a hell of a lot more impact on your everyday life than the White House. You can do more by getting engaged in Harlem and Morningside Heights than playing armchair pundit on Washington politics. The Poverty Initiative right here at Union is a great place to start.

   By the same token, progressives have some exciting organizing tools at their disposal that can link communities together on a national level. Now is the time to start building coalitions, communicating with each other, and coordinating efforts. We’ve got to set goals beyond these next four years. Organizations like MoveOn have a lot of potential as vehicles for this dialogue and strategic action. I know many of us are busy with our studies and disenchanted with our current state of affairs, but can we afford to give up? Take stock of the dangers and the opportunities, and then act. In the words of Joe Hill, “Don’t mourn – organize!”