My dearest TYT,
You can bet your bottom dollar that there's a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. Just bear with me...I promise it'll be worth it.
Recently I read a allegorical novel called Darkness at Noon. It was written in 1940 by Arthur Koestler, a Hungarian-British journalist who resigned from the communist party after seeing the monster that Stalinism had become, and tells the story of Rubashov, an Old Bolshevik who is imprisoned and tried for treason against the government he had helped create. The book includes a long discussion on the 'pendulum swing of history', as the writer names it. Koestler had concluded in his treatise of sorts that man is stuck eternally "swinging from absolutism to democracy, from democracy back to absolute dictatorship." He also argues that humanity's best way to avoid 'getting dizzy' is to understand the laws of motion behind the pendulum's swing.
This is where I disagree with Koestler. While he was pondering how to adapt to the swing, I argue that we, as the human race, should focus our collective energy to stop the swing. I don't see humanity as a race of little thrill-seekers riding the massive pendulum of history; I see us entranced, watching the pendulum swing on in front of us, too dumbfounded by its continuous motion to realize the horrific consequences of our inaction, let alone to get up and wrap our hands around it to bring it to a stop. We have pondered the science and trends of history for so long, we have forgotten that with an increased amount of effort, we can break trends; we have simply resigned our efforts for the sake of continuity...this is why so many see reactionary policies as 'lazy' - because they ARE lazy. They don't want to change things.
Whether we know it or not, we are a transcendental race. Think about how much philosophy has grown in our race's millennia-long history: From Socrates to Ptolemy to Aquinas to Sartre, Philosophy has existed continuously since its inception. Profitable or not, we like to think and progress as a species...some of us, at least. And you know the coolest part about all this? We can go even further. We have figured out enough about the nature of our world and our existence to stop the swing of the pendulum, albeit with considerable effort.
So...why am I telling you this?
I think it's time we took that next step towards our higher rung of existence, with TYT leading the charge. I tend to agree with the progressive TYT positions on the issues that you cover, but agree or not, your news station makes me think. You guys provoke discussion and deliberation instead of blindly accepting the news that has been spoon-fed to the American public for generations by the establishment mainstream news dynasties. Last night's presidential primaries, along with those of March 15th and last week New York, further solidified the already-high likelihood of a Trump vs. Hillary general election in November. Now, that could go a number of ways, the two most likely of which (to me) being the following:
1) Trump emerges victorious after so many voters abstain, especially Bernie supporters - Trump has almost no allies on either side of the aisle in Congress, he does a dog-shit job and is impeached & convicted, hopefully before the 2018 midterm elections. Progressivism becomes popular in Trump's wake, but after 2+ years of utter chaos and disaster, both domestically and abroad. America has lost much of its reputation and likely has become a political laughing stock for the rest of the world.
2) Secretary Clinton wins in a landslide after a vast number of former supporters of Senator Sanders back her campaign and Anti-Trump Republicans either abstain or vote for Hillary. In her 4 years, President Clinton, regardless of her popular vote victory margin, ends up as a lame duck president, continually giving the Democratic Party a bad name and giving away the 2018 midterms and possibly the 2020 Presidential election to the Republicans. Progressivism is set back yet another generation, and the pendulum of history continues to swing.
Now, let's be honest here...neither one of those scenarios sounds very nice. In fact, they both sound pretty fucking awful.
As a whole Progressive Movement, we need to make a strong, resounding statement that we won't settle for the lesser of two evils, and soon at that - I really hope before Election Day in November. We need to send a startlingly assertive message that the establishment will not soon forget. Democracy Spring was a strong start - many thousands marching many miles to the US Capitol to protest political corruption was profound indeed - but it's too damn small. As an 18-year old soon-to-be-college dropout who longs to take part in real activism and protests, I felt excluded because I was unable to make my way to DC to participate.
What we really need are one hundred Democracy Springs happening simultaneously. We need large, vocal demonstrations not only at the US capitol, but at every state house, major city hall, governor's mansion, state courthouse, and prominent government facility across the nation. We need to show those in power not only that we're tired of the same-old same-old, but we're willing to fight tooth-and-nail to make sure that we slow down the pendulum swing of history to a complete, resounding stop.
So, let's say we pick a day/weekend. Maybe right after the party conventions, maybe a few weeks before election day, whenever - and set up local factions to organize demonstrations. With as many viewers and connections as TYT has, I'm sure that a grassroots movement would be more than possible. I'd be happy to work in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, itself a state capitol. Let's do something real - something historic.
I hope you'll take the step, TYT. I'm not important at all - I'm dropping out of college at the University of Cincinnati, working for an hourly wage this summer back home in Columbus, and heading to Los Angeles in the fall to begin my music career. I'm a nobody, but I strive not just to be somebody, but to be somebody that means something. I care too damn much about the future to watch humanity sit and stare like a dumbass at the pendulum of history.
I'm not idealistic; I'm opportunistic, and I just caught a whiff of a really monumental opportunity. Do you smell it too, TYT?
Peace, Love, and Freedom to all.
