Let Fly!

The following is an interview with Sandy Baird, director of Vermont Institute for Civic Engagement and professor of Law and History at Burlington College.

Dylan Kelley: So first, state you name and who you are.

Sandy Baird: I'm Sandy Baird and I'm an instructor at Burlington College where I teach history, politics, and law; I'm also a lawyer and I've been so for a very long time.

DK: I'd like to ask you about the Occupy Wall St movement and what it means in your opinion, in terms of the United States and the rest of the world in general.

SB: I think that the Wall St occupation and also the one in Burlington is a revolutionary movement among young people in particular but also people who are older and even my age who recognize that this society is in a real crisis financially, politically, and culturally who are demanding radical change. I don't think that these occupations can be co-opted by the government or by politics or politicians because the demand's imply a new society and so I see this as a very hopeful sign of a real critique of capitalism as well as The Government which I see as a government of the rich that has been completely taken away from the people.

DK: And how in your opinion has this movement been able to grow so huge? There have been a lot of protests that have been limited to one city; one state; or one country. What do you think it is about Occupy Wall St that has turned it into a global movement?

SB: I think one of the things is the dynamic of capitalism itself which also became in the past 20 or 30 years an international movement, and so all over the world people are experiencing the same hardships that this kind of global capitalism has produced which is unemployment, huge unemployment. I was reading the other day that 41 percent of Spanish youth between 24 and 30 are unemployed. How can that be!? And it's not only in Spain, it really started in Greece a lot, it started in the Arab world; all young people, pretty highly educated young people, but now they all have no future and that has occurred throughout the world. That's what I think is at the base of it including in the United States where unemployment isn't that high but it will be and it's pretty high anyway. Real unemployment in this country is probably at 30 percent. But it's also young people who have huge economic debt from going to college these young people are very highly informed and very highly trained, but as far as I can see they have no real future. That's what they're protesting about. However there's a political element of it as well. Most of the revolutions in other parts of the world have been against, I would say, real dictators. You know, Mubarek and the Arab Spring in particular. In this country it's harder to find who that political enemy is. In other countries it's easier because those countries don't pretend to be democracies. So in this country, the criticism I think has been mainly economic. And I think people have not aimed their criticism at also the government of the United States because the government of the United States is essentially a plutocracy. But I don't think people understand that as well about the U.S. as they do about the rest of the world.

DK: Do you feel that this movement is different from those that happened during the 60's and 70's regarding Vietnam or even what was happening in the 30's with the Hoovervilles and the Bonus Army March? Do you feel that this movement is something that could go further than something before?

SB: Yes I do. And I'm hopeful that it will. And the reason is that this movement does not seem to have specific demands. I think that's good because, in other words, it really can't be co-opted. If you think of the two main criticisms that the occupiers are raising: one is to end greed. You can't end greed without ending capitalism. And the second is, not that they've said it as much but what they have established is a system of direct democracy. So that's their political goal, I think: the establishment of direct democracy. Bypassing representative government and the whole idea of a republic and instituting things like town meetings. If those were implemented we'd have a totally different society: An end to capitalism, an end to representative democracy and it's replacement by direct democracy.

Something is Happening

“Something is happening in America” seems to be one of the oft-quoted but unofficial slogans for what is taking place in the form of protests, rallies, and demonstrations that have been taking place around our state and around the world. Cynics may call this typical political theater; another attempt to attract attention to one candidate or another as we slog our way through yet another agonizing series of campaigns.

“Something is happening in America” is the call that has been sounded by Republicans and Democrats alike, mostly as a repetitious call for donations to increasingly corrupt candidates. They call upon ordinary citizens (those who can least afford corruption, let alone give their cash and their vote for such a candidate) to help further “the cause” as articulated by party politics. In public, the politicians gleefully gather $5 bills from grandmothers, college students, and all those in between. In private, they hungrily devour millions upon millions of dollars in donations with a well polished (and trademarked) wink and smile in the full and complete understanding that their turn to scratch the proverbial back is just around the corner.

“Something is happening in America” has also been sounded with alarm and perfectly intoned concern by our corporate media and their pathetic excuses for journalism and investigation. With few exceptions, the major newsgathering organizations of our state; our country; and our world are wholly and willingly in dereliction of duty as journalists. An obligation to the facts and a loyalty only to its citizens have long been the pillars of a free press as well as that of a free and well-functioning society. The actions of the corporate press have placed these pillars under such profound, repeated, and hammering abuse that the hallowed architecture of democracy has developed alarming cracks and fissures that, if left unchecked, could soon topple the great ideas that have long supported us.

Yet, “something is happening in America” is also being heard beyond the halls of power and the corridors of corruption. It is being whispered excitedly and in hushed tones by people across the world. Some have said that the America people are finally waking up. While this may seem accurate on its face, the reality is, reassuringly, much more nuanced than such a slogan. People have known for years that “things are bad” and that, until recently, things are likely to get worse before they get better. In a time when the cost of living has steadily risen, the effective income for working Americans has remained heart-stoppingly stagnant. This is no mystery to the people.

We have long been aware of the thinning of our dreams. The American people have indeed been awake for some time. The great difference now is that we are refusing to continue lying down.

“Something is happening in America” because the people, inspired by events as close to home as City Hall and as far afield as Tunisia have once again that the vast majority cannot and will not continue to be oppressed by a ruling minority no matter how brutal; powerful; or oppressive. This “something” that is happening in America is neither new nor mysterious. This something, though encouraged by social media; telecommunications; and a savvy understanding of the mass media is not a product of these factors. This something that is happening is not merely a stunt or an unruly mob of smelly hippies. This something is not (no matter how much they try) the tool of, for, or against any particular political campaign.

This is something different. Those who occupy Wall St (and over a thousand other cities around the world) are now at last refusing to lie down any longer as monstrous institutions barrel over them. Many politicians are citing the recent recession as the reason for this movement. Yet, in talking to those who’ve been there as well as those who’ve participated in events closer to home, one is likely to find that those most affected, those most involved, and those who’ve been struggling the most will say “We feel like we’ve been in recession all our lives.”

In a time when teachers search vending machines for spare change; when students as well as parents are forced to eat Ramen noodles for dinner every night; when thousands upon thousands are forced from their homes in a single night with little chance of making successful return, the people have decided that everything must change and in so making that decision now have changed everything.

Something is indeed happening in America. It is happening in over a thousand cities and countless classrooms, living rooms, and kitchen tables around the world. Something is happening… and odds are good that its happening at a much deeper level than most will (or can) guess.

Opening Salvo

Image Courtesy of Engines of Our Ingenuity.

Greetings to everybody out there at the end of the interconnected tangle of fiber optic cables, optic nerves, and neurons.

This post marks the inaugural posting of what I hope to be an ongoing project in old-fashioned nitty-gritty journalism, investigative reporting, and commentary regarding the vast complexities of our ever accelerating world. One hundred years ago such an opening salvo would be set with metal type and run through a printing press that hissed and clacked at the bite of every word. Now the world has changed and the promise of Gutenberg seems to be burning brighter than ever... if we can keep it.

You may be wondering who in fact is this person that is unleashing this Fusillade of information and ideas. My name is Dylan Kelley, I am a triple major in Photography, Documentary Studies, and Media Activism at Burlington College in Burlington Vermont. I am essentially a storyteller about real things, real people, and real ideas. These are the ideas that drive us forward and I am as excited as ever to be exploring them with whomever decides to journey with me.

Conventional journalism is in a state of crises.

Prepare for incoming.