I Can Hear HER Breathing!
Arundhati Roy tells us a greater world is possible.
At the World social forum in Brazil, the Indian writer
was asked to speak on "How to confront Empire?"
Just as her novel The God of Small Things grabbed
millions of readers the world over, so her speech drew
a growing crowd, as she asked: "Does 'Empire' mean the
U. S. Government (and its European satellites), the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World
Trade Organization, and multinational corporations? Or
is it something more that that? In many countries,
Empire has sprouted ... some dangerous byproducts --
nationalism, religious bigotry, fascism and, of course
terrorism. All these march arm in arm with the project
of corporate globalization."
"It is a myth, she said that the free market breaks
down national barriers. The 'free' market does not
threaten national sovereignty, it undermines
democracy."
To win it's fight to corner all our resources, she
argued, corporate globalization needs governments that
do what they're told, courts that "pretend to dispense
justice" and "a press that pretends to be free."
What can we do in the face of such force?
We can, she said, "come up with a million ways of
becoming a collective pain in the ass."
Our strategy should be not only to confront empire,
but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To
shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our
literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance,
our sheer, relentlessness and our ability to tell our
own stories. Stories that are different form the ones
we're being brainwashed to believe.
The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to
buy what they are selling their ideas, their version
of history, their wars, their weapons their notion of
inevitability. remember this: We be many and they be
few. They need us more than we need them.
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day I can hear her breathing."
..
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Comments (5)
Thanks again for these kinds of postings. The picture is worth a thousand words, and each of her words is worth a thousand of the empire's.
It takes a woman to tell it like it is.
The woman in me can hear the earth breathing in Ojai.
The true story is not being told so I've started my own Ojai press for truth.
OVN completely ignored the half dozen citizens who voiced their opinion loud and clear at the last council meeting on the city's SLAPP suit against a citizen for submitting initiatives.
For the sake of truth, we need to set the record straight by doing what Arundhati Roy suggests.
Issue # 4 follows. I was going to add it to the open thread but now think it would be appropriate here.
***OJAI.VALLEY.TRUTHS***
#4 March 4, 2007
Editor: Dennis Leary
dennis_j_leary@yahoo.com
The Truth will out.
The Truth will set you free.
Ergo, coming out will set you free.
An Opine View
By paper trail and email
FREE
***
OJAI IN PERIL
The real Ojai is threatened with destruction. The government that is supposed to protect her is one of the forces that would destroy her.
The Ojai government denies that this is the case but its actions speak louder than its words.
Council members swear to protect the Constitution. Ojai's Constitution is her general plan and ordinances.
The general plan says over and over that Ojai should protect its "small town character."
The council is not protecting Ojai's small town character. It is doing the opposite. It is promoting a phony Ojai with a big city character.
About four years ago, the council allowed Los Arboles to be built, over the objections of most of the citizens.
The only reasonable explanation is that the city, developers and bankers stood to make money.
The city has never apologized for Los Arboles. It has done nothing to pass ordinances that would prevent Los Arboles from happening again.
In fact, Los Arboles is happening again. Right now. It is even using a similar name. La Armistad.
Go a couple of blocks up North Montgomery. On the west side of the street is Los Arboles all over again. Bigger. Is this small town character?
Notice the ten foot walls. They're illegal by the way. Does this look like a gated fortress?
The project on Mallory Way is proceeding. Machines have dug holes for soil samples. Utilities have marked the road.
The misnamed Bungalow Project is a third Los Arboles, only much worse.
The Becker project will destroy low cost housing and replace it with very expensive condos. Rich people will displace poor people.
The project will also destroy an historic resource. It was one of the original motor courts and should be a landmark.
The city should have declared it a landmark a long time ago. The only reasonable explanation for the city's inaction is that it does not want to stand in the way of the developer.
Why? Because money will be made by the city, developer and bankers. The poor people will be hurt but does the city care?
A citizen put forward initiatives to protect low cost housing like Mallory Way. The council should have seen to it that the initiatives were processed.
Guess what? The city authorized their attorney to sue the citizen.
Citizens have complained strongly and frequently. The council has had four chances to back down. They have refused.
The council swore to protect the Constitution. Instead they forced the citizen to appeal even after he won his case.
The ACLU and a very prestigious law firm has come in pro bono to help the citizen. This is how important this issue is.
Still the city will not admit its mistake. It is favoring power and money over people's rights.
What can citizens do when government turns on its own citizens to help special interests make money? Is it time to start considering a recall?
The council will not listen to reason. It is violating federal and local constitutions. There may be no other recourse but to recall the Ojai government.
***Published by the Red, Brown and Blue Party on behalf of The Lover Government***
Comment #1 Posted by: Dennis Leary | March 4, 2007 10:18 AM
Hey Dennis - just to clarify for our readers, if people want to receive your OJAI.VALLEY.TRUTHS email newsletter, then they can email you at dennis_j_leary@yahoo.com , correct?
Comment #2 Posted by: Tyler | March 4, 2007 01:24 PM
namaste Twain! we're overdue for a global womans song!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VjTCQG6d-3M
Comment #3 Posted by: just a singer ... | March 4, 2007 03:33 PM
Dearest Lovers,
The following quotes from Gurumayi leads us to deeper contemplation on the true meaning of freedom of speech and the dharma which goes with this awesome blessing:
"The Indian scriptures hold the faculty of speech is held in great esteem. To speak beautifully , sweetly eloquently, kindly, lovingly, you invoke the
goddess of speech, Saraswati. She is the divine power that flows through
syllables, and she is also the embodiment of goodness. In fact, you always see her in pictures wearing a white garment, the garment of light, purity, and goodness. Words that flow as lucidly as clear water, words that sound as sweet as the fragrance of flowers are her gifts. Sarawati is the embodiment of knowledge, the inspirer of wisdom. Words that are uttered with her
knowledge create beauty in the hearts of speakers as well as listeners. For
this reason, in India every student is taught to offer obeisance to her before beginning any kind of study, whether it is secular or religious.
With the blessing of Saraswati, speech is pure, speech is true, speech is
uplifting, speech opens the heart and warms the soul, speech brings people
together and draws them closer to the Self. This is the true freedom of speech, the speech that brings us closer to HER, that gives us the experience of HER bounty, that allows us to live in this beautiful universe while offering our gratitude to HER."
Gurumayi goes on to point out that human beings both interpret and misinterpret the word freedom: "People commonly think that freedom means having the full rein to indulge the ego's sick appetites. Too often, freedom is sought for the fulfillment of the insatiable desires of the ego. And in the process, the awareness of the highest good falls into neglect."
Gurumayi points out that freedom is an inner state of responsibility aka completeness: "In this context, then, freedom of speech is not a right that you exercise. Freedom is a state of pure speech engenders inside you. Never abuse it. Pure speech creates such a beautiful environment within yourself. It is the way we keep the intricate, unique goodness of every culture alive -- through stories, folk songs, parables, poetry, drama, and so on. It is one of the foremost ways we communicate HER love to one another....Freedom of speech is a divinely human attribute. However, when it is abused, when it is made to serve your every whim and mood, it can no longer fulfill its innate purpose. The goddess Saraswati turns away."
Comment #4 Posted by: Siddha | March 4, 2007 08:45 PM
blessing Tyler, Siddha,
gentlest all!
we ARE learning that the Blue Star -- Global Consciousness -- is only experienced when we stay whole and polishing in our "own thousand facets" ... windows, eyes of knowing ... growing.
then SHE reveals,
awakens,
sings!
Comment #5 Posted by: Millennium Twain | March 6, 2007 01:29 PM