Talking Turkeys and the Wizard of Z
by The Ox (R. M. Oxman)

Dedicated to the Great Vegan Activist Mickey Z (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/time-running-sense-urge ncy.html). Mickey’s got nine books published, the most recent being Self-Defense for Radicals https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=228. Among the very best (pound-for-pound) of the overly neglected alternative souls.

Special note: This article might seem strange — even off-putting — because it is not just a heartfelt tribute to a great buddy, superior writer and admirable human being, but also a serious suggestion about how to change much of the world virtually overnight… with an unwanted life and death pushiness to it. Which is different than having a simple sense of urgency.

I don’t eat turkey. Except for salmon, I’m vegetarian. But I certainly would love to gobble up all the talking turkeys.

Amy Goodman recently wrote “The Wizard of Oz,” an article posted on ZNet http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23121 which celebrates “Yip” Harburg’s contribution to society. He was the Oscar-winning lyricist for the famous film we’re always subjected to around Thanksgiving time.

She concludes with “Let’s give thanks to Yip Harburg and all heretical artists, past and present, who have withstood censorship and banishment just for talking turkey.” Amy is paying tribute here to resistance and persistence, Harburg’s having been blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

So, yeah. No-brainer. Who’s not going to applaud the Depression-era artist who made L. Frank Baum’s classic political midst the most dire of circumstances?

“Lives of great men all remind us
Greatness takes no easy way,
All the heroes of tomorrow
Are the heretics of today.
…
Why do great men all remind us
We can write our names on high
And departing leave behind us
Thumbprints in the FBI.”

That’s Yip’s defiant response to the powers that be.

Amy’s article is yet another sure-fire laudable piece, fired off by a NAME on The Left who is immediately meant to be associated with the subject to whom she’s paying honor. Meant to be applauded, meant to be honored herself.

But what’s all this fuss about talking turkey?

Talk — in any form — is part of our problem. Just like the ongoing overeating of turkey is a problem we share… whether or not we’re vegetarian, vegan… or not.

There’s too much of it. TALK. Too much of it embraced, accepted… mindlessly… with all sorts of ramifications for society. Talk-talk. Not Walk-talk.

Too much of it taking place incessantly… in lieu of action.

We need a 9/11-level (nonviolent) shock to the system… courtesy of The Left. All concerned citizens need to DO SOMETHING following a new paradigm. Action which “takes over,” not action which perpetuates the parameters which have been laid down for us. [Pause.] Keeping them and us in place.

For instance, instead of Amy celebrating By the People: The Election of Barack Obama high profile film on Obama’s rise to power (which she did recently), reinforcing the notion that our democratic process, as it stands, is something other than a scam, intentionally misleading at best… preventing progressive advances, she could be inviting people onto her show who are advocating singular action, action which might contribute to meaningful change. As it is, the only people involved in action who she spotlights are citizens following obsolete models for change. Or people who advocate planting activist seeds… which are destined to not bloom in time. And so on.

She’ll have someone like Michael Moore on the show whose latest film tepidly calls for action, without a serious delineation of HOW viewers can try to implement necessary institutional change. She certainly can be counted on to stop short of pointing out where he falls short. Like choosing NOT to confront him over misrepresentation of his recent meeting with Chavez. Like with regard to his old support of Wesley Clark. And so on.

And so on her show we find people, yes, talking turkey — speaking frankly, and getting down to the basic facts about abominations - but… in the end… all we come away with is a heavier heart, a greater potential for resignation or cynicism… or a basis for further… socialization, meaningless expression, short term relief or the like. Maybe great cocktail talk.

But no walk. Not unless it’s in circles. Not unless it leads to jail time or something of the sort. The old stuff. The usual suspect activism. Worthwhile, maybe, but insufficient.

I have a lot of respect for Amy Goodman on many counts. But I don’t buy into the Goddess Amy bit, her speaking ex cathedra. Like all of us, she has faults. And, like all of us, some of them are serious.

And like none of us, it seems, I’m begging for us to talk about those flaws so that we can generate some new kind of worthwhile action.

For one, I believe she definitely needs to sharpen her advocacy… so that it’s not so loosey-goosey so as to allow documentarians (http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/3/by_the_people_the_election_of) to come remotely close to praising Obama on her show… in any respect. That’s just one of at least a hundred such examples in the last few years, by the way, where she gave overt or subliminal imprimaturs to unworthy subjects. To waste invaluable activist heartbeats by asking viewers to relive the rise to power of a serial murderer in the midst of his greasing our Imperial wheels is too rank and gross to deserve further comment. It should be apologized for, and the like should never be repeated.

In addition, she needs to confront a number of people (more seriously) who she does invite onto the Democracy Now!. Without willingness to do so, mires us in self-congratulation, perpetuates hero worship, and prevents us from calling a spade a spade respecting many issues. There is such a thing as being too polite at the wrong time.

As far as I’m concerned, she could go a long way toward turning a proper corner by inviting Mickey Z on as a guest of honor. Mickey Z, a very cool observer of our… planet (http://www.mickeyz.net/). And if he were on her sacred show, he might be able to pull off an historic feat of sorts. Seriously… like Dorothy asking to return home. Mickey could help us to take a giant step in the direction of all going home together, in solidarity.

That, in lieu of our having Amy simply conduct the choir singing, “Who’s Been a Bad Boy This Week?” or “What Horror is Coming Down Now?” or “Which Petition is Next in Line?” or “Where’s the Demonstration for Getting Bashed in the Head Being Held?”.

I’m not attached to TOSCA (Taking Over the State of California as per http://oxtogrind.org/archive/364), but that’s one project that Mickey’s been instrumental in keeping alive, and I can think of no one better to represent it on Amy’s program. It is a plan of action, by the way, which DOES follow a new paradigm for change.

To get a sense of what I’m proposing here, imagine Mickey asking all viewers to get behind what all the high profile figures worldwide have endorsed (to some degree) as per http://oxtogrind.org/archive/336, AND asking those who have provided endorsements to become more proactive. Asking Amy and her colleagues to join hands in solidarity too. And so on.

And so… on the show you’d have — finally — an attempt to acknowledge that we must do something fresh (whether or not it’s TOSCA) that everyone might be able to move in solidarity on immediately. Something that everyone doing great work in little or big corners — like Amy herself! — could do together… on a large scale… that might have a shot in hell of turning our horrid momentum around… in time. [With regard to those last two words, please note that if Amy took Bill McKibben seriously when she had him on her show recently... she should be very up for underscoring our mutual deadlines. They do tend to get lost in the journalistic shuffle, yes?]

Imagine every “left” author on a book tour putting a plug in for TOSCA, or something of the sort (osots). Imagine every conference setting aside some time for discussion of TOSCA, osots. Imagine announcements going up left and right (well, maybe just left) respecting TOSCA, osots. Use your imagination with regard to musicians, and ALL so-called alternative media outlets. Every article, every seminar, etc. — all participants, on a basis that serves their purposes — on board with a single overriding effort designed to force historic change — legally and nonviolently — virtually overnight. See http://oxtogrind.org/archive/311 to get a taste of what I’m talking about here.

Mickey was our superb host for One Dance: The People’s Summit http://www.counterpunch.org/mickey02102004.html. It couldn’t have happened without him. Now his regular correspondence helps to keep me from being despondent. Does much more than that. He’s full of great ideas, he’s funny as all get-out, and his intentions are pure, rare as flawless chrysolite. He also has excellent judgment and wide, worthwhile experience. And so on. He’s the guy who went the extra mile — the only one — to interview me respecting TOSCA http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/07/taking-over-post-arnold-california/.  [Pause.] And I asked a ton of people to do so too subsequent to the exchange with Mickey… and… nothing.

Ah, the Wit and Wisdom of Z! Oh yes, the Wizard of Z is capable of rising above pettiness; wasn’t too long ago he graciously forgave me for being a longstanding asshole (“We both played a role….” He’s magnanimous too.).

And so… in all humility… I ask DN! producers to invite him on the show… rising above pettiness, etc.

I’m going to ask all the endorsers of TOSCA to respectfully request that Amy invite Mickey to create a watershed in history on her show. [Good luck, Richard. Thus far you haven't even been able to secure viable recommendations for candidates from any of them.]

Some will say that if I wanted to really have a chance of pulling off that invitation, I should have refrained from being so critical of Amy. If so, there not really seeing the main point here. There would be zero value in having Mickey appear on Democracy Now! (in terms of our Mutual Big Picture) if the appearance were contingent upon pulling punches about where we all stand, and what we all are doing wrong. And how that’s tied to our not advancing. [Pause.] No way to finesse that.

The confrontation is called for, demanded.

For we are not in 20th-century Kansas anymore… we will never return there… and yet we need a non-violent counterpart to Harper’s Ferry.

It’s time to walk all turkeys — I am certainly one — out of their self-imposed pens.

Blessings in solidarity,
Richard
tosca.2010[at]yahoo.com
P.S. By the way, if McKibben’s 350 failed (after all that mobilization, money, etc.), it may very well be that the paradigm followed was what I’m calling obsolete. It did fail.