Coincidence or Common Sense?

Resistance on a Multitude of Levels

I’ve long appreciated the work of Vote Smart, an online organization that presents the voting records and information about local and national politicians in an unbiased form.  At the Vote Smart site, a history of elected official’s positions on many issues is available and has become my “go-to’”reference prior to any upcoming election.  

Following the presidential debate of June 27th—based on the enormous amount of information we viewers were expected to process that night—I suggested in my solo section during a Peter Yarrow / Noel Paul Stookey concert that Vote Smart could utilize AI technology to provide immediate fact-checking for the next debate. I was so sure that the concept was worth pursuing, I presented the case again in one of our recent Substacks. Lo and behold, within three weeks, prior to the recent Republican National Convention I received an email from Vote Smart announcing that they would be offering that very service with a subject line that read: “Exciting Beta Collaboration for Our Next Livestream Event!”  

So. Coincidence or just plain common sense? I’m favoring the latter. Yet, If a number of people, given the same facts, arrive at a similar conclusion, is that not a combination of both?  As we approach November 4th, 2024, and the opportunity to cast our votes in a national election, I am persuaded that we will witness a strong coincidence of intent, common sense and an inspiring defense of democracy—a common sense resistance, if you will, to what is being recognized now as the rise of autocracy and fascism.  

Voting is one of best forms of resistance we have against those who would weaken or  dismantle our democracy, but there are others. Here are three contemporary writers who have broadened the concept of resistance: 

In her book Living Resistance, indigenous author Kaitlin Curtice writes, “Resistance is for every human who longs to see their neighbors' holistic flourishing. We each have a role to play in the world right where we are, and our everyday acts of resistance hold us all together.” Curtice—a young poet, storyteller, public speaker, and citizen of the Potawatomi nation—defines resistance as: 

. . . the way we use our everyday lives to exert energy against the dangerous status quo of our time. But resistance cannot only be about what we are against. When we choose to resist something or someone, we are also choosing something else on the other side. Perhaps we are choosing ourselves; perhaps we are choosing an inclusive love or a more just society.

In Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart, author and theologian Brian McLaren defines doom as the “unpeaceful, uneasy, unwanted feeling” that “we humans have made a mess of our civilization and our planet, and not enough of us seem to care enough to change deeply enough or quickly enough to save ourselves.”  He devotes a chapter to the interlocking crises we face, but the rest of book is about the wisdom and courage to face them. Athough the words “resist” and “resistance” don’t loom large in the book, the idea runs throughout. McLaren says, “All that is bad around us motivates me to resist, to defy, to refuse to comply, and that very defiance feels like a marvelous victory.” He adds, “ . . .  we find courage and confidence, not in the likelihood of a good outcome, but in our commitment to love.” 

In his new book Dancing in the Darkness:  Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, Otis Moss, III, tells stories of  people in his congregation, his own family and ancestors; and that create a guide for practicing spiritual resistance in tough times. Much like McLaren, Moss advises us to face our fears with love, courage, and wisdom. Moss says that when we suffer losses or assaults, we must choose how we grieve: 

Do we grieve pathetically, meaning that we express our pathos, our suffering and emotion? Of course, those expressions of pain or anger are necessary and real, but they are not enough. They may give us moments of cathartic outrage or tears, but they fail to offer true resistance and liberation. Pathetic grief acknowledges our suffering, but it does nothing to change those forces in the world that gave rise to that suffering.

Instead, he says that “we must learn to grieve prophetically.”  That means that “we weep sometimes, yes, but without giving in to cynicism, hatred, and violence. We mourn as we work for change.” 

Musical satire has continued to provide resistance in the form of humorous and insightful perspectives on many of the political and moral challenges faced over the centuries.  While many know the song “Yankee Doodle,” not everyone knows that the lyrics were first sung in the 1700s by English soldiers mocking the American colonists’ attempts to appear sophisticated.  

Woody Guthrie printed the words “This machine kills fascists” on his guitar (his song “All You Facists Bound To Lose” has been recently reclaimed in a viral video done by Rhiannon Giddens and the Resistance Revival Chorus). In that spirit,  Pete Seeger’s rendering of “Listen, Mister Bilbo” in 1956 revealed the racism and anti-semitism of a Mississippi Senator. Tom Paxton’s “Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation” song was written from the point of view of a military draftee sent to Viet Nam, and “Impeachable” was a satirical lyric poke at Trump’s relationship to Russia’s Putin that I set to the romantic tune of “Unforgettable”.  

In closing, a positive word or two about Democracy in resistance to the foreboding message of fascism from a renowned Maine neighbor and author, E.B. White: 

Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.  It is the feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere.  Democracy is a letter to the editor.  Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth.  It is an idea which hasn’t been disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad.  

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Connections  

In this video, author Kaitlin Curtice—a young poet, storyteller, and public speaker, and citizen of the Potawatomi Nation—talks about her book, “Living Resistance” and its actuality through the arts—music, storytelling and poetry,

Listen to an interview with Otis Moss, III, from PBS station WTTW in Chicago. 

Brian McLaren’s lecture and Q&A will give you a good sense of his new book.

Vibrations

A cell-phone capture of Noel’s live performance of “Impeachable” is here. 

See the Rhiannon Giddens and the Resistance Revival Chorus video of Guthrie’s “All You Fascists Bound To Lose” 

Resonance

Strings Is One Year Old!  Our newsletter began July 31, 2023, and this is our 54th post.  We are aiming for a publishing date sometime in 2025, and as we near the completion of the book will, in all probability, post fewer of these Substacks until its release - perhaps as few as once-a-month starting in August.  Thank you so much for your ongoing support and comments.   N&J