This is such an incredibly empowering read - thank you so much for writing it. In particular, I want to handwrite this on a piece of paper and place it somewhere where I'll see it everyday - to remind myself when it feels difficult to remember:
Being sad about the world, yet doing nothing about it? That’s over. Endlessly pinpointing the bad things happening yet never offering alternatives or next steps? That’s done too. Doomscrolling for hours and falling down algorithmic blackholes? That’s politically useless, but also spiritually and intellectually deflating. People need to be resilient and interconnected, not weak and atomized. There is nothing beautiful, noble, or transgressive about rotting one’s brain, especially at a moment when liberal democracy is crumbling.
Lastly, I think that everyone should start asking themselves one of the best questions ever put forward in politics; ‘What is to be done?’5 If you’re lonely, then how do you discover connection? If you’re angry, how do you channel that rage into productive action? If you’re feeling weak and disempowered, then what must you do to gain strength and empowerment? These can be personal questions with answers differing for each person. But I also don’t think that people should have to discover ‘what is to be done’ alone. If you want answers, watch the people who are already doing beautiful and powerful things. I can think of no better example of this than the global movement against the genocide in Palestine.
Re footnote 3: new Paul Thomas Anderson movie has a model…
interesting... i need to go see that this week!!
This is such an incredibly empowering read - thank you so much for writing it. In particular, I want to handwrite this on a piece of paper and place it somewhere where I'll see it everyday - to remind myself when it feels difficult to remember:
Being sad about the world, yet doing nothing about it? That’s over. Endlessly pinpointing the bad things happening yet never offering alternatives or next steps? That’s done too. Doomscrolling for hours and falling down algorithmic blackholes? That’s politically useless, but also spiritually and intellectually deflating. People need to be resilient and interconnected, not weak and atomized. There is nothing beautiful, noble, or transgressive about rotting one’s brain, especially at a moment when liberal democracy is crumbling.
Lastly, I think that everyone should start asking themselves one of the best questions ever put forward in politics; ‘What is to be done?’5 If you’re lonely, then how do you discover connection? If you’re angry, how do you channel that rage into productive action? If you’re feeling weak and disempowered, then what must you do to gain strength and empowerment? These can be personal questions with answers differing for each person. But I also don’t think that people should have to discover ‘what is to be done’ alone. If you want answers, watch the people who are already doing beautiful and powerful things. I can think of no better example of this than the global movement against the genocide in Palestine.