The Election
Friends,
Clearly, things didn’t go the way many of us hoped last night. That said, I would argue the work ahead of us today is the same irrespective of who won the election. This campaigning season and election last night stand as a stark indictment of our education system and the nation’s inability to think about issues, critically. Fear-mongering, castigations from pulpits, smugness, and transparent lies have apparently won the day. Freire’s anti-dialogical theory has proven in the short term to be prophetic, once again, as it does in all totalitarian forms of governments, like our two party ‘democracy’ is becoming (or, just is).
Nonetheless, I have hope. Not a post-election-maybe-next-time-grin-and-bear-it sort of a hope. But, a critical sort of hope. Voting is not the only way we participate in democracy. It may, in fact, be the smallest factor in it (although, we are certainly led to believe it is our highest, if not perhaps our only, duty). Democracy requires the kind of day-to-day action towards transformation/revolution/liberation similar to Freire’s dialogical action. The poor/dispossessed/oppressed/disenfranchised in our classrooms and communities need us now more than ever. Our middle class sisters and brothers need better options than the media and our educations systems are feeding them. They need models of hope, examples of modesty, and options from the consumer life-style. And, the rich need to be freed of their oppressive ways. It is only us, in concert with the oppressed, that can humanize them.
As Milton points out frequently and quite provocatively, we need to begin to define our successes. We, now more than ever, need to have voice and we need to be visible. We can no longer allow the oppressor to define success for us. As transformative agents, we can and will make change. My commitment to this change and to you and our community is steadfast. I look forward to our community growing ever closer and ever outward.
Our struggle has been defined
Its re(s/v)olution is up to us.
Peace. adam
Clearly, things didn’t go the way many of us hoped last night. That said, I would argue the work ahead of us today is the same irrespective of who won the election. This campaigning season and election last night stand as a stark indictment of our education system and the nation’s inability to think about issues, critically. Fear-mongering, castigations from pulpits, smugness, and transparent lies have apparently won the day. Freire’s anti-dialogical theory has proven in the short term to be prophetic, once again, as it does in all totalitarian forms of governments, like our two party ‘democracy’ is becoming (or, just is).
Nonetheless, I have hope. Not a post-election-maybe-next-time-grin-and-bear-it sort of a hope. But, a critical sort of hope. Voting is not the only way we participate in democracy. It may, in fact, be the smallest factor in it (although, we are certainly led to believe it is our highest, if not perhaps our only, duty). Democracy requires the kind of day-to-day action towards transformation/revolution/liberation similar to Freire’s dialogical action. The poor/dispossessed/oppressed/disenfranchised in our classrooms and communities need us now more than ever. Our middle class sisters and brothers need better options than the media and our educations systems are feeding them. They need models of hope, examples of modesty, and options from the consumer life-style. And, the rich need to be freed of their oppressive ways. It is only us, in concert with the oppressed, that can humanize them.
As Milton points out frequently and quite provocatively, we need to begin to define our successes. We, now more than ever, need to have voice and we need to be visible. We can no longer allow the oppressor to define success for us. As transformative agents, we can and will make change. My commitment to this change and to you and our community is steadfast. I look forward to our community growing ever closer and ever outward.
Our struggle has been defined
Its re(s/v)olution is up to us.
Peace. adam
posted by Jon at 1:44 PM
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