FJS: We need more revolutionaries in these times, don't we?
MZ: Whatever we decide to call them, we need lots more folks who recognize the urgency. If you or I were to see a child wandering toward a busy intersection, we'd likely knock people down to rush over and stop the tyke from walking into traffic. No one would call us too radical or extreme. Well, if more humans could only accept that the global crises all around us represent an emergency no less urgent than the kid/traffic scenario, the actions needed would be more obvious.
FJS: What sorts of resistance are most effective and exciting?
MZ: Whatever works as quickly and effectively as possible, using the skills and gifts unique to each of us. No matter what George W. Obama declares, the truth remains: Action is always better than hope.
FJS: Howard Zinn once suggested we should acknowledge that real social change takes time, and that we all be long-distance runners about it, as it were, not sprinters; but in a time like this, when urgency and opportunity are colliding with inexorable force, what about to stick with the whole running analogy the idea of all of us, together, doing a relay, in a marathon? then we can all sprint and do the long-distance run, so to speak.
MZ: Love it"but I'd add in that while we're waiting for the baton to be passed to us, we must stay busy.
FJS: Absolutely. If we all just wait around "til the next Great Revolution, nothing will happen
MZ: Oh, something will happen but wow" it'll be uglier than we ever imagined.
FJS: I've had many conversations about all this with many different people writers, activists, conservationists, friends and family, artists, bands in vans, everyday workers and so on; across the board, the consensus is: We're screwed. Times are tough for sure. The question so many want to know is: Are we gonna make it through this?
MZ: We can win even if we define winning as creating a softer place to land"but every day lost is making things exponentially worse. When else in all of human history has there been a time when we were in a better position to shape the future? What we do (or don't do) in the next few years will tilt us all toward either the point of no return or a far more sane form of society. Each and every one of us can take part--right now--in creating the most important social changes ever imagined. As I wrote above, we're on the brink of economic, social, and environmental collapse. What an extraordinary time to be alive. How lucky are we? We've been trusted with the most vital mission of all time: survival.
FJS: What will it take?
MZ: As Derrick Jensen often explains: "The Jews who participated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had a much higher rate of survival than those who went along. We need to keep that in mind over the next ten years." Participating in sustained direct action is not a popular choice. It could put us at odds with our friends, family, and community. It could jeopardize our careers. It could even lead to direct conflict with law enforcement officers. Scary stuff, for sure. But ask yourself this: What frightens you more, being judged for getting ticketed for disorderly conduct or comprehending that 80% of the world's forests and 90% of the large fish in the ocean are already gone? There are good reasons to be afraid. There are better reasons to be bold. It's time to blossom, comrades. Even with all the fear, pain, dread, and uncertainty we may (or may not) experience while blossoming, remaining tight in the bud is no longer an option"for us or for the planet. Just leap and the net may appear.
If we don't want our legacy to be one of inaction and shame, we must create drastic, permanent change very, very soon"because here's the most inconvenient truth of all: it's time to embrace a much darker shade of green.
Mickey Z's up & coming novel, Darker Shade of Green, will be published by Raw Dog Screaming Press some time soon. Here are two blurbs for it:
"Mickey Z has crafted a novel that is distinctive in both structure and message. The characters' mission is no less than saving the world, and they pursue this with passionate determination. Written in a compelling collage style that combines a wide variety of forms of narrative, journalism and stirring polemic (including graffiti!), Darker Shade of Green makes us question our assumptions on every level, and inspires us to action."
- Stephanie McMillan, cartoonist (Minimum Security and Code Green), and co-creator of graphic novel (with Derrick Jensen) As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial
MZ: Whatever we decide to call them, we need lots more folks who recognize the urgency. If you or I were to see a child wandering toward a busy intersection, we'd likely knock people down to rush over and stop the tyke from walking into traffic. No one would call us too radical or extreme. Well, if more humans could only accept that the global crises all around us represent an emergency no less urgent than the kid/traffic scenario, the actions needed would be more obvious.
FJS: What sorts of resistance are most effective and exciting?
MZ: Whatever works as quickly and effectively as possible, using the skills and gifts unique to each of us. No matter what George W. Obama declares, the truth remains: Action is always better than hope.
MZ: Love it"but I'd add in that while we're waiting for the baton to be passed to us, we must stay busy.
FJS: Absolutely. If we all just wait around "til the next Great Revolution, nothing will happen
MZ: Oh, something will happen but wow" it'll be uglier than we ever imagined.
FJS: I've had many conversations about all this with many different people writers, activists, conservationists, friends and family, artists, bands in vans, everyday workers and so on; across the board, the consensus is: We're screwed. Times are tough for sure. The question so many want to know is: Are we gonna make it through this?
MZ: We can win even if we define winning as creating a softer place to land"but every day lost is making things exponentially worse. When else in all of human history has there been a time when we were in a better position to shape the future? What we do (or don't do) in the next few years will tilt us all toward either the point of no return or a far more sane form of society. Each and every one of us can take part--right now--in creating the most important social changes ever imagined. As I wrote above, we're on the brink of economic, social, and environmental collapse. What an extraordinary time to be alive. How lucky are we? We've been trusted with the most vital mission of all time: survival.
FJS: What will it take?
MZ: As Derrick Jensen often explains: "The Jews who participated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had a much higher rate of survival than those who went along. We need to keep that in mind over the next ten years." Participating in sustained direct action is not a popular choice. It could put us at odds with our friends, family, and community. It could jeopardize our careers. It could even lead to direct conflict with law enforcement officers. Scary stuff, for sure. But ask yourself this: What frightens you more, being judged for getting ticketed for disorderly conduct or comprehending that 80% of the world's forests and 90% of the large fish in the ocean are already gone? There are good reasons to be afraid. There are better reasons to be bold. It's time to blossom, comrades. Even with all the fear, pain, dread, and uncertainty we may (or may not) experience while blossoming, remaining tight in the bud is no longer an option"for us or for the planet. Just leap and the net may appear.
If we don't want our legacy to be one of inaction and shame, we must create drastic, permanent change very, very soon"because here's the most inconvenient truth of all: it's time to embrace a much darker shade of green.
Mickey Z's up & coming novel, Darker Shade of Green, will be published by Raw Dog Screaming Press some time soon. Here are two blurbs for it:
"Mickey Z has crafted a novel that is distinctive in both structure and message. The characters' mission is no less than saving the world, and they pursue this with passionate determination. Written in a compelling collage style that combines a wide variety of forms of narrative, journalism and stirring polemic (including graffiti!), Darker Shade of Green makes us question our assumptions on every level, and inspires us to action."
- Stephanie McMillan, cartoonist (Minimum Security and Code Green), and co-creator of graphic novel (with Derrick Jensen) As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Stay in Denial
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