Surviving Capitalism (Not) : A Lukewarm Victory: The End of the Chicago Teachers’ Strike

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

Saturday, September 22, 2012

A Lukewarm Victory: The End of the Chicago Teachers’ Strike

Click here to access article by Matt Reichel from CounterPunch.

Since the end of the teacher's strike in Chicago (Sept. 18), which many have seen as a pivotal event in the war on public education perpetrated by the One Percent, I have been trying to assess the results by surveying a number of online articles. All sides have claimed victory, but it is clear that one's evaluation is based on one's standard of success. This article is one of the more balanced assessments in terms of the interests of the 99 Percent.

However, I thought it useful to offer a sampling of various points of view. Probably the most informative with a broader perspective is this. As could be predicted, the worst piece from a mainstream media source, which represents the One Percent, was this from Fox News. The most positive assessment from a left source was this. The most negative from a left source was this.