Love As Arson
07/16/09, 05:03 PM
"Being active in the anti-war movement, supporting eviction blockades in my city, working with youth who are surviving oppressive schools and violence on the streets, I often wonder how I can justify taking the time to imagine what sex, family, gender, and caregiving might be like in a better world. Isn't it frivolous fantasizing in the context of humanity hemorrhaging?
Then I notice again the powerful pull these forces have on all of us, no matter what or how dire our circumstances. Being sexual, being intimate, being expressive and nurturing towards each other - these are both the urgent needs and enormously satisfying wants that are important parts of what make us human. We pursue our desires almost no matter what -- even in times of war, even in the most mind-numbing, soul-killing environments of degrading work, racial discrimination, gender oppression, homophobia, and the methodical destruction of the planet. We have a powerful drive to connect with others, to share, and to express ourselves, and in some ways, these desires define the core of our world.
Thinking about how powerful these aspects of humanity are, I remember why I do the anti-war work and the eviction blockades. It's not just because I want to stop the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq, for example. It's because I want the Iraqi people to be free of U.S. terrorism sohat they can pursue their lives. It's not just because I want to stop another family from becoming homeless. It's because I want them to be home, where they will pursue the fine art of loving each other, being neighborly, and creating the great web of kinship that binds us to others and gives us a place in the universe."
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/21997
Then I notice again the powerful pull these forces have on all of us, no matter what or how dire our circumstances. Being sexual, being intimate, being expressive and nurturing towards each other - these are both the urgent needs and enormously satisfying wants that are important parts of what make us human. We pursue our desires almost no matter what -- even in times of war, even in the most mind-numbing, soul-killing environments of degrading work, racial discrimination, gender oppression, homophobia, and the methodical destruction of the planet. We have a powerful drive to connect with others, to share, and to express ourselves, and in some ways, these desires define the core of our world.
Thinking about how powerful these aspects of humanity are, I remember why I do the anti-war work and the eviction blockades. It's not just because I want to stop the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq, for example. It's because I want the Iraqi people to be free of U.S. terrorism sohat they can pursue their lives. It's not just because I want to stop another family from becoming homeless. It's because I want them to be home, where they will pursue the fine art of loving each other, being neighborly, and creating the great web of kinship that binds us to others and gives us a place in the universe."
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/21997