Power
"We have power. Our power isn't a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system; they have power, but it's not reality. The power of our intelligence, individually or collectively, IS power; this is the power that any industrial ruling class fears: clear, coherent human beings.”
John Trudell
I was sad to read that Val Kilmer died. He was an outstanding actor who starred in some of my favorite movies. One of them was the 1992 film “Thunderheart.” There had been plans to make a film based on Peter Mattiessen's 1983 book, “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.” The book is about the FBI's attack on AIM (American Indian Movement) that resulted in Leonard Peltier's incarceration from 1977 to this year. Because of several civil cases involving the book's publication, it was decided making the film would bring about more cases being brought.
Instead, “Thunderheart” was made, to focus on some of the issues covered in the book, without risk of civil cases being filed. While perhaps not the best known of Kilmer's movies, it just might be his best. One of the reasons my children and I love it is John Trudell's character, Jimmy Looks Twice. John was a fascinating man. He quit school at age 17, in 1963, to join the military. He served until 1967, then attended college. Then he became an activist and a voice of reason, translating the Elders' wisdom into words that the general public could understand.
John paid a price. In February of 1979, he burned an American flag at a protest outside the FBI building in DC. Within 24 hours, his house was set on fire. His wife Tina, their three children, and John's mother-in-law died in the flames. The fire was deemed “suspicious,” though no one would ever be charged or held responsible. I never met John, though we had friends in common. They told me that for John to carry on after that required a type of power not rooted in political, religious, economic, or military systems.
This is not to say that this type of power cannot ever be found in the individuals participating in those systems. I think of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 run in the Democratic presidential primary. There are numerous other examples from the past of individuals harnessing this type of power. Some are famous, and others are not. But it is that type of power that we need to apply to the current struggle, individually and collectively.
Now, I have great respect for the leadership of Senator Cory Booker with the filibuster. I think he hit it out of the park, shattering the 1957 record of Strom Thurmond. Senator Booker communicated with a large audience, certainly not limited to the Democratic Party. And that is power, much needed power. And at the same time, we have the strong voices of AOC and Jasmine Crockett, who also communicate with large audiences not limited to members of our party. They are exercising the leadership power we need, because while there is overlap between Booker's and their audiences, they also reach other audiences that we need.
One of the things that I focus on is the need for bold, young leadership. As I have noted several times in recent months, it is important to keep state leadership in mind, for this is the level where we see legal cases being filed to handcuff the administration's attacks upon democracy and human decency. More, that is frequently where we find the next generation of the needed party leadership.
I'll limit myself to one such example from Michigan, state senator Mallory McMorrow. I was listening to her last night – not for the first time – and she was speaking about power. And I found myself thinking that here is a lady who is running for the US Senate seat being vacated by Gary Peters. She was applying the clear, coherent logic that a wide audience will understand. She is a Democrat who recognizes the importance of reaching out to those who have high opinions of John Trudell, and his grasp of individual and collective power.
While I do not respond to the seemingly thousands of requests for donations I get each week, I do know several of our party's candidates that I will be supporting in next year's elections.
Peace,
H2O Man
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