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

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Tuesday, July 21, 2020

  • Coronavirus and the End of Authority by Christopher Roach from American Greatness. (My reaction: Americans have been lied to so many times (even much more often than they realize) that they are having a growing problem, especially among young people, with trusting authorities. The author misses the mark when he designates a managerial class that is responsible. The latter is merely the highly educated trained and indoctrinated upper-middle-class people who are devoted entirely to their well-paid careers and who dutifully serve the ruling class as long as they are getting paid.)