We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, March 5, 2012

On History: Tariq Ali and Oliver Stone in Conversation

Click here to access video from C-Span's video library.

Yesterday I was lucky to view about two thirds of this C-Span production over the local PBS TV station. It features two very interesting individuals who discuss a variety of controversial political subjects. It is about an hour and half program available at the above link online. I highly recommend it. 
Filmmaker Oliver Stone and author and filmmaker Tariq Ali present their thoughts on the politics of history and what they consider to be hidden aspects of American history. Their discussion ranges across several topics,from American involvement against the Russian Revolution to a profile of the labor union, the Industrial Workers of the World. Oliver  Stone andTariq Ali speak at the New York Public Library in New York City.