ಟೆಡ್ ಗ್ಲಿಕ್
A
few weeks ago I received a letter from someone who quoted Karl Marx as having
once said, "History moves with the speed of communication." This quote
struck me.
We
are living in a time when communications are both near-instantaneous and
potentially-worldwide for an ever-growing number of people. Something which
happens in one part of the world can be reported on or learned about on the same
day, even at the same time it is happening.
ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು
significantly, with the advent of the internet, grassroots, labor, progressive,
revolutionary and people’s movements can be in direct, immediate contact, in an
interactive way, with thousands or tens of thousands people involved. The
internet, through email lists and web sites and because it is not controlled by
the ruling corporate elite, is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for the
building of massive movements for progressive change. Without it, it is highly
unlikely that the actions in Seattle last November and Washington, D.C. this
past April would have attracted the numbers and had the immense political impact
ಅವರು ಮಾಡಿದರು ಎಂದು.
It
seems to me that this makes it possible for positive change to take place much
more rapidly than many of us might think. If it is true that the year 2000 is
witnessing a rebirth of the kind of popular, activist, multi-issue movement that
we haven’t seen in 30 years in this country, and if history does indeed move
"with the speed of communication," this first decade of the 21st
century could well become a time of great historical significance.
ನಂತರ
all, it is a law of physics that "things in motion tend to stay in
motion." If the new people’s movement of the 21st century can hold together
and keep building and interconnecting, there is no way to forecast how much we
can do in a relatively short period of time.
ಆದರೆ
there’s another way to look at Marx’s quote, which is not so hopeful.
"Communication"
is a pretty neutral word. However, the actual practice of communication between
organizations, among the groups, constituencies and movements which make up a
potentially winning alliance for fundamental change, has left much to be desired
over the years. Unless we learn HOW to communicate, genuinely interact and share
with each other in a way which builds trust and confidence, our enemies, as they
have done in the past, will exploit our differences and divisions and keep us
from creating a lasting, united force.
We
need to prioritize the "how" of unity-building.
ಇಮ್ಯಾನುಯೆಲ್
Wallerstein, in an essay, "Antisystemic Movements," published in the
Monthly Review book, "Transforming the Revolution," has written of the
need for "a conscious effort at empathetic understanding of the other
movements, their histories, their priorities, their social bases, their current
concerns. Correspondingly, increased empathy needs to be accompanied by
restraint in rhetoric. . . Discussion needs to be self-consciously comradely,
based on the recognition of a unifying objective, a relatively democratic,
relatively egalitarian world. . . Movements will have to devote considerably
more energy than has historically been the case to intermovement diplomacy. . .
(This will) make possible the combination of daring leaps and structural
consolidation which could make plausible a progressive transformation of the
world-system."
ಈ
is advice that men, middle-class white men in particular, need to seriously
consider and meditate on. It is such men who still tend to be the leaders of
many of our progressive and people’s organizations. It is these men whose style
of leadership, too often ego-driven and self-absorbed, has held back or made it
more difficult for women, workers, people of color and/or young people to give
ನಾಯಕತ್ವ.
We
need leaders who work hard, who listen well, who have a sense of humor, who are
able to accept criticism without becoming defensive, who feel good about others
coming forward to move an organization’s work forward, who don’t have to get the
credit all or even most of the time. Such people will be good at the kind of
communication that builds the trust and unity which is the cement of a popular
alliance that can really change the world.
ಬಹುಶಃ
the words of Marx should be re-phrased for our century to read, "History
will move with great speed if communication in all its forms is well-
practiced." Let’s make it so!
ಟೆಡ್
ಗ್ಲಿಕ್ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರ ಪ್ರಗತಿಪರ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ನೆಟ್ವರ್ಕ್ನ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಯೋಜಕರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ
and an organizer in the New York/northern New Jersey area. His first book,
"Future Hope: A Winning Strategy for a Just Society," will be
published this June.