2004–10–29–2

Everyday citizenship

Over the past week anarchism has been the primary topic around these parts. I thought I’d delve into a related topic today. In talking about the problems of the system that exists I often suggest that our problems go far beyond just the electoral system. Let me start with an example that illustrates my point. My family.

In recent years I’ve seen my family become far less apathetic and at moments they even seem to accept anarchist ideas. At the very least they have really opened up to seeing the problems of capitalism and it’s control of electoral politics. They realize that “our” government is not ours at all. I have seen them become increasingly aware and increasingly frustrated at their inability to act. I think at least a couple will be voting but they do so not because they like Kerry, they do it to boot Bush. They are not happy with the choices they have. My point is that they feel powerless and are not engaged. After they vote they will continue to feel powerless over what happens in “their” country. After the vote they will go back to a life of work, family, and entertainment. Politics will slowly but surely slip into the status of “no election pending, not so important”. This is a problem and it relates directly to the discussion of the past few days.

How are we to engage the world around us? How do we put into action our ideals? How do we change our world if voting is not a realistic option? I’d like to suggest that real change happens on various levels which can be engaged every day through a many different actions. I’d call this the citizenship of everyday life and it starts with choices. The first choice has the potential to expand all other choices. By that I mean we can choose to dedicate some of our time to developing our knowledge, our awareness of context. Without context our choices are limited and uninformed.

To illustrate why not start with the beginning of our day, breakfast? What we choose to eat not only impacts the health of our bodies but also that of the ecosystem that produces the food. These seemingly personal choices are not just personal because the health of the ecosystem affects everyone. Even more, in some situations I might be helping pay the cost of your health care, depending on the health system of the time. Cost of healthcare is just one example of how an individual’s health might affect the lives of fellow citizens. The point here is that quite often what we deem personal is not really personal because we share the base of resources.

What about transportation? How we get from a to b has many social and ecological costs. The most obvious is our use of oil and gas. Less obvious are long-term changes of behavior due to social and spacial planning around the automobile. Car or bus? Hybrid or Hummer? Bicycle or electric scooter? Again we have choices to make. If we own a home we may have a lawn, what do we do about landscaping? What about our home and the furnishings inside? The list goes on and on.

This is not just about being socially and ecologically aware citizens. I’m talking here of completely redifining our relationships with one another as well as with the resources we use. If we want a true democracy, a participatory democracy, we must expand our private lives, we must remember the importance of public life and a shared commitment to the social and ecological good. Our purpose, our priority must evolve to embrace a renewed community ethic. All of our assumptions regarding our social, political, and economic relationships should be questioned.

I do not doubt humanity’s ability to rationally evolve into a balance with itself and the earth that supports it; I do not doubt our ability to explore the possibilities of freedom and democracy; I fear our inability to take the initial step. Will we break the strangle hold of history and the many systems of domination that were birthed by it?

More via the Podcast which is also available as a direct mp3 download runtime: 20’04, 3.5 MB.