Return to Left Curve no. 28 Table of Contents
LEFT CURVE NO. 28 EDITORIAL
It's not easy, without illusions or self-deception, to confront the way things are these days. A real struggle is necessary not to succumb to cynicism, hopelessness, compensatory self-centered hedonism (which is, after all, the psychic lubricant for the circulation of all commodities‹that by now include all aspects of life, from the most private emotions to all forms of social transactions), or (self)destructive behavior. Antidotes are essential, beginning with personal honesty, acceptance of self-responsibility and a negation of the delusions of power and control that are the modus operandi of this dog-eat-dog system. One needs to peel away the seductive, debilitating veneers by which the global techno-structure maintains control, and strive instead to come into being with essential generative processes that are buried deep within internal and external crevices that have managed to elude the mega-machine - whether through marginalization, ostracism, irrelevance, sleuth, or happenstance. It is from such heretofore "useless, non-instrumental zones" that new points of singularity may (re)emerge as a challenge to the totalizing, artificial hysterics of the global market of pure exchange. "In the fragments of this broken mirror [of modern universalization], all sorts of singularities reappear. Those singularities we thought were endangered are surviving, and those we thought were lost are revived. Šthis techno-structure now has to confront new singularities that, without the presence of univeralization to cradle them, are able to freely and savagely expand" (Jean Baudrillard, The Violence of the Global).
In this issue, we present essays, poems and artwork on the invasion of Iraq and the "war on terrorism," its accompanying militarization of society and attacks on civil liberties, as well as examples of hope and resistance to the scintillating, hypnotic cyborg death-machine. For it is by keeping hope alive, coupled with active resistance, that the potential to engender a better world may arise. The sham "war on terrorism" is really a last-ditch onslaught to, once and for all, colonize and/or liquidate all remnants of non-commodified space, while simultaneously squelching any possible revolutionary alternative. It's not just by chance that Islam, being the last pre-modern universal system that had not "modernized" according to the dictates of the dominant western imperial model, has become a prime target since the dissolution of the "other" modernist alternative: "really existing socialism." Serious cracks, however, have appeared in the bricks hastily laid in the foundation of "The Project for a New American Century." The anticipated "cakewalk" in Iraq, rather then being greeted with "flowers and kisses," has been followed by "improvised explosive devices," RPG's and car bombs, as the Bush regime and its neo-conservative war cabal scramble for ways to implement "damage control" about their lies for war, while awkwardly maneuvering to figure out how they can keep control of their new strategic Mid-East beachhead in Iraq - the latter being their real purpose all along, and not all the lies about "weapons of mass destruction." In the meantime, their first "success" in their "infinite war," Afghanistan, is hardly "pacified," as a resurgent Taliban mounts regular attacks against the "coalition" and the puppet Afghan regime. Add to all that the spiraling US budget deficit and the unsustainable economic burden of Empire, and we can not help but see the beginnings of the unraveling of the neo-con's "Project" for world domination.
The lead article by Ted Dace, "W is for War," is a straightforward, no holds bared, exposition of the collective, clinical narcissism endemic to much of American society. It's not just a question of "media manipulation," Dace argues, since the "bottom line" of the corporate media is making profits, and they wouldn't put out anything that would make people hit the remote button. Dace probes for deeper psychic causes for the apparent blind stupor that makes so many Americans gullible to contemporary forms of propaganda. He notes that we are "Šhermetically sealed in our collective ego, devoid of feeling or sympathy," so that we may enjoy "Šendless miles of suburban paradise," refusing to recognize that "Šthe true source of our pathology is the uncomprehended terror we carry within." Irrespective of the underlying causes that make so many Americans somnambulisl, there is no question that the corporate media went along, hand in glove, with the Bush regime's relentless drive to war, functioning as an "embedded," groveling, jingoistic, cheer-leading sycophant. An important aspect of the propaganda onslaught, as Benjamin Balthaser's article, "A New Orientalism: Another Look at Pre-War Coverage in Iraq," demonstrates, was the construction of a "New Orientalism," which replaced the old European imperialist view of the Middle-East as "immature" and in need of "civilizing," with the current new US imperialist view of the region as being the loci of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism in need of political and military subjugation and, if all else fails, extermination - which, coincidentally, dovetails neatly, in near synchrony, with the view of the current Israeli government and Zionist establishment.
Such synchrony is demonstrated in Jeffrey Blankfort's article, "A War for Israel," which chronicles the direct and indirect influence of the Israel Lobby and Sharon's government on recent American policy on the Mid-East. Uncomfortable to many as such an exposé might be, Jeffrey's reporting of "just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts" are hard to dismiss without succombing to pathological denial, of the kind which Ted Dace speaks. We would also like to pay tribute to our long-time contributor, Jon Hillson, who unexpectedly passed away in January 2004. Jon's poems in this issue, Lessons of Baghdad Rag and Addendum In Ad Dwar, are fine examples of his passionate, witty and engaged work, which will be sorely missed. Also worth bringing to readers' attention is E. San Juan Jr.'s essay, "Imperialist War Against Terrorism & Revolution in the Philippines," which, with an erudite passion, presents an in-depth historical exposition of the long struggle of the Filipino people against colonial and neo-colonial oppression and domination‹and demonstrates how the "war on terrorism" is but the latest excuse to further imperialist subjugation of non-western peoples. "The Totally Hypermodern Body," by John Armitage, is a noteworthy article of original theorizing on the alarming new realities emerging in the 21st century in the "advanced" countries, most notably the US. In displacing postmodern eclectic pluralism, Armitage argues that, "...the War on Terrorism, its associated state of emergency and the 2003 war on Iraq are mechanisms for the creation of the totally mobilized hypermodern body ...certain to pursue the strategy of infinite war. ...And that secreted behind the excessive expenditure on hypermodern and increasingly militarized goods and services, a new slavery of consumer subservience to pure desire is coming into being..." Would that Armitage's thesis on the new century only be some sci-fi dystopia; unfortunately, it appears to be unfolding as a reality before our eyes.
In general, we don't think much of US electoral politics. It's hard not to see the corruption endemic to the "tweddledee-tweddledom" electoral system as making it irredeemably terminal. A tight-knit oligarchy of money and media brain-washing rules behind a "democratic" facade. If you have what it takes, you can join the club, but only if you play by the pre-established rules of the game and if you have access to millions. So the campaign for Mayor of San Francisco by Matt Gonzalez in the Fall of 2003 came as a most unexpected surprise and welcomed breath of fresh air: honest, direct, grass-roots democracy in the midst of the usual scripted platitudes, manipulation, lies and careerist hustles for power. The campaign signaled that another world, a different politics, really is possible; that people, if given the chance, respond to honesty, directness and a clear human voice that speaks not for personal power-aggrandizement but as a conduit for the body politic to emerge in a way that is intrinsic to its nature, i.e. an active association of people concerned with making the inevitable hardships of life more bearable and equitable - what you'd call real democracy, I guess. As such, we are pleased to present an unscripted, free-flowing discussion with Matt, as well as articles by an active participant in the campaign, Susan Peters, and a well-argued analysis by Scott Thompson on how the powers that be did everything they could to sabotage the campaign. The article then speculates on the implications of the campaign for the future of oppositional politics in the US. We also include Matt's "Green Manifesto," in which he expresses his down-to-earth, unpretentious political style. We ardently hope that seeds have been planted by this unique political event that may reach full flower in the future.
Lack of space prevents me from commenting on other works in this issue, though all are worthy of attention. However, I would like to underscore the importance of the article by Adrienne Carey Hurey on the imprisonment of Sherman Austin (p. 100), as a disturbing test case for domestic repression under the so-called "Patriotic Act." As always, we very much welcome critical feed back. - the Editor