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secretspice @ : reconciliation.
I just wrote a [probably cryptic] post about reconciliation and growth and radicalism. Before I posted it, I went to lunch with my co-workers and asked:
"Am I the only one who has regular identity crises about radicalism?" To which they responded resoundingly and with their typically quizzical expressions, "Yup."
It's that response, I think, that has the tendency to make me feel isolated. Has for years, really. [How is it that everyone else seems to have figured this out?] But as they all three engage me about it, with patience and sincerity, I remember that these are things that we all struggle with as we negotiate our often unpopular opinions in the world. We just have different ways of talking about it.
It's necessary to be careful of slippery slopes and the tendency to rationalize the status quo or make excuses for compromising core values. And it's important to maintain an overarching vision of comprehensive systems change as a metric to measure strategy against. But ultimately, romanticizing radical action itself is foolhardy. In fact, a true dedication to "radicalism" as a doctrine is best served with subtlety, and yes, logic.
Right. I'd be wise to quit forgetting that.
"Am I the only one who has regular identity crises about radicalism?" To which they responded resoundingly and with their typically quizzical expressions, "Yup."
It's that response, I think, that has the tendency to make me feel isolated. Has for years, really. [How is it that everyone else seems to have figured this out?] But as they all three engage me about it, with patience and sincerity, I remember that these are things that we all struggle with as we negotiate our often unpopular opinions in the world. We just have different ways of talking about it.
It's necessary to be careful of slippery slopes and the tendency to rationalize the status quo or make excuses for compromising core values. And it's important to maintain an overarching vision of comprehensive systems change as a metric to measure strategy against. But ultimately, romanticizing radical action itself is foolhardy. In fact, a true dedication to "radicalism" as a doctrine is best served with subtlety, and yes, logic.
Right. I'd be wise to quit forgetting that.
Current Music: beirut
