Breaking the Psychological Chains to Save Humanity
The working class must free themselves of the political actors who march our children into the profit centers of human and ecological collapse.
When a dissident minority exits a society’s mainstream in the pursuit of justice, that action can lead to one of two outcomes. The population can tumble into further despair, realized by economic depression or ecological destruction. The other possibility is that a sharp exodus from the incremental destruction of the society could lead to a larger debate that spawns tangible improvements. As the increasingly venial political class continues to find ways to use the people’s backs as step stones to wealth, working-class solidarity through cooperative dissidence might be our only shot at survival.
As a communications professional, writer, and Green Party activist, I often wrestle with these possible outcomes. Other Greens and non-ideological leftists also spend a great deal of their political time on this issue. Determining how the public would come to terms with a moral shift to the left requires a lot of reading and observations of life. I call this the pursuit of truth in my poetry and in my communications work.
I suspect millions of people who are considering exiting the Democratic and Republican establishments for real solutions offered by the Greens or other third-parties are also in search of similar truths.
If a significant portion of the electorate exited mainstream politics, to essentially point out the invisible emperor has no clothes, the people’s reactions would depend on our society’s tenets of its existence. While most of us see the United States as a land mass, it’s really a set of constitutional principles and ideologies.
The people I meet in my personal life and those with whom I volunteer with in my political life tend to believe a mass exodus from the Democratic and Republican duopoly would inherently lead to a more cooperative, peaceful society. However, we must take into account the backlash from the right-wing that embodies the ideology of American exceptionalism. The notion that the United States can do no wrong is a deeply embedded emotion among a significant minority of the population. We can thank billions of dollars spent every year by cable TV, social channels, and the entire political establishment to convince the citizenry that corporate capitalism is patriotic and authority is a value.
True dissidence and exodus would directly challenge the American exceptionalism mindset. Over the past decade or so, I’ve listened to political pundits and academics discuss American exceptionalism in a way that makes the average American appear to be a two-dimensional puppet of the media they consume. While I might not have a PhD in political science, I’m also not a moron. Boiling each American down to a mindless wage slave is not only wrong, it’s insulting to every person who works for a living in the country.
A day doesn’t pass by that people on Facebook, Twitter, and inside bars, classrooms, and coffee shops don’t debate the nuances of the day’s news and the people’s needs in each moment of our lives. The human mind is constantly forced to accept changes in technology, the arts, new construction, and market trends, just to name a few topics. Quite frankly, a democratic exodus from the political factions who profit from the human and ecological destruction would most likely lead to several deep breaths of relief from the entire population. More importantly, the courageous act of the people coming together in solidarity to rebuild all that has been stolen from our lives is the only action we have left if we’re to stave off the climate crisis and reset society to address our local environments and health needs.
The time to act is not at some point in the future, such as after the election. We must begin today, right now. We have a long path to hike, but at least we have each other to make the journey to prosperity a worthwhile goal.
Note to Readers: The Green Party of Allegheny County needs your support to continue our pursuit of people and planet over profits. Please consider making a donation. We also encourage you to get involved in Green politics.
