What now
Well. So. I’ve spent the day being scared. You?
I’ve been reading a lot of angry people, a lot of scared people, a lot of “meh. so?” people, a fair few happy people, even. I don’t know why they aren’t all scared, but I suppose it’s possible I read much too much present-day Latin American literature in graduate school. (Is anybody else getting echoes of Manlio Argueta, and if they are, can they tell me how to make it stop?)
Here’s how I figure it at the moment. The upcoming years are going to hurt people. Badly. And the worse-off they are, the more they’re going to be hurt. I can’t stop that, now. I can only do what little I can do to soften the blows when they come.
This country is bleeding. I must not simply stand by. And, I confess, I have lost a lot of faith in large-scale political effort.
I’m starting with this:
- I’m going to finish my library degree. Librarians preserve, protect, and maintain access to information. That’s an incredibly necessary task. That we do our best to get that information to the disadvantaged is icing on the cake. (Suddenly I see a new argument for LOCKSS and open-access scholarship—harder to suppress the scientific record. I’ve never had anything good to say about Elsevier, the rapacious bastards, but I’ll say this now—at least they’re not an American company.)
- I’ve sent in my request to volunteer with the Madison Area Literacy Council. Folks who can’t read, in this economic and political climate, are in bad trouble. Reading won’t solve all their problems, but it’s a start.
- I’m sticking with Progressive Secretary.
- I’m considering what other local-action groups I should support with my time and money.
So. That’s where I’m starting. You?
Rubén Blades, “Encrucijada,” from Tiempos:
Sobre la desgracia de una corrupción brutal
vive, y aún resiste, la esperanza nacional.
Y ahora nos toca reivindicar
la vida, la memoria y el amor de Amërica,
Y aquí estoy, tratando, creyendo que no es tarde para hablar.
Tiempo de encrucijada: lucha o retirada.
O somos familia rota, o somos
Nación salvada.