I’m a Warren Democrat in several ways, as my name attests. My personal politics are well to the left of Joe Biden’s, and slightly to the left of Bernie Sanders’.
Many in my circle of friends and colleagues in the climate struggle are vociferous proponents of Sanders’ call for a Political Revolution™.
And indeed, as we look at the failure of our economic, environmental, and societal structures, it would seem that a Political Revolution™ is exactly what is needed.
I disagree. Politely (because I’m polite) but Firmly (because while I may be polite, I’m pretty goddamn firm about it).
Why?
Because — to put it simply — we already had a Revolution.
And we — our side; the people working for economic justice and environmental responsibility and scientific literacy and no kids in cages and women having bodily autonomy — lost.
The Revolution was televised. FOX trumpeted it from the git-go. Trump’s election was a bellow of triumph from the fascist beast, a declaration that they’d succeeded, that they no longer needed to pretend to be Compassionate Conservatives™. Fuck your feelings, Make America Great Again, blabbity blabbity blabbity.
A revolution is when political and social upheavals take place too fast for ordinary folk to respond. When the emergencies come thick and fast and furious, when the options are too confusing, the choices are between different colors and flavors of terrifying, the capacity for reflection and long-term thinking dwindles to nothing. Hunker down as the missiles fly overhead; guard your children against the dangers; watch as the Partisans on the wrong side are hustled away; run out of compassion for anyone not in your immediate family.
What we need right now is Governance.
Governance is the opposite of Revolution. A Governor is attached to an engine or other mechanical device to keep it from spinning out of control.
A government is meant to slow the processes of social change sufficiently that we regular human beings have time to react, adjust, plan ahead.
Any candidate advocating for a Political Revolution™ is on the wrong side of history. The Revolution has already happened, and it was led by the billionaires and racists and theocrats and misogynists and the homophobes and greedheads and sociopaths.
They took over our civic society and gutted it from the inside. Now people are going to die in the wake of this Revolution.
It’s up to us to restore the things we value and cherish. Let’s vote like never before, and restore, rebuild, reinforce, rejuvenate our Governance.
