welcome to the soft revolution
hi.
this is the first posting of the soft revolution. i should say this is my first posting in the soft revolution because it has already started and there are as many manifestations as there are folks out there who are looking for some autonomy, to be creative, and to resist that which seeks to command and dominate.
the name 'the soft revolution' did not come to me in a dream but in a song. stars are a brilliant band out of montréal and a few years back their album 'nightsongs' proclaimed 'long live the soft revolution'on its sleeve. one of their singers—torquil campbell—put it this way: "The soft revolution is something that happens inside of you...There isn't an office somewhere where people have telephones and are taking calls. We're not stockpiling flowers somewhere to throw over the barricades. It's what was happening to me and my friends, and it seemed like a revolution in my life—and it still does."
it might seem strange to be talking about a soft revolution at this historical moment when the us has invaded two countries (and counting—watch out iran), when these wars are being waged so that world's remaining bounty of fossil fuels can be drained by halliburton et. al. (war profiteers), when those same fossil fuels are fuelling unprecedented environomental destruction (two-thirds of the world's ecosystems are facing extreme threat according to the un), when there is unprecedented concentration of ownership in media that screams 'shut up' (cbc documentary slams fox news), except when it comes to being a good consumer.
but there are lots of folks doing a lot of amazing things. (such as...?)
so this is a blog that will take up a modest position amidst that neverending stuggle. and the watchwords for the soft revolution will be love, respect, affinity, and critical curiosity.
by the way, i am a doctoral candidate in the school of communication at simon fraser university in vancouver, bc. i'm looking out my window at the fresh snow that has dusted the top of the north shore mountains; the white peaks are rather luminous in the early evening sun. it is these small moments that remind me of my unbelievably good fortune.
so i'll be checking in as regularly as i can to try to understand and express just what i mean by the soft revolution. sometimes i'll post some music, other times talk about the stuff i do at school, comment on what's going down in the world, be inspired by the amazing things that people can do, and generally seek to extend my body through the network of relations that already animate this blogosphere.
Stars: The Soft Revolution
this is the first posting of the soft revolution. i should say this is my first posting in the soft revolution because it has already started and there are as many manifestations as there are folks out there who are looking for some autonomy, to be creative, and to resist that which seeks to command and dominate.
the name 'the soft revolution' did not come to me in a dream but in a song. stars are a brilliant band out of montréal and a few years back their album 'nightsongs' proclaimed 'long live the soft revolution'on its sleeve. one of their singers—torquil campbell—put it this way: "The soft revolution is something that happens inside of you...There isn't an office somewhere where people have telephones and are taking calls. We're not stockpiling flowers somewhere to throw over the barricades. It's what was happening to me and my friends, and it seemed like a revolution in my life—and it still does."
it might seem strange to be talking about a soft revolution at this historical moment when the us has invaded two countries (and counting—watch out iran), when these wars are being waged so that world's remaining bounty of fossil fuels can be drained by halliburton et. al. (war profiteers), when those same fossil fuels are fuelling unprecedented environomental destruction (two-thirds of the world's ecosystems are facing extreme threat according to the un), when there is unprecedented concentration of ownership in media that screams 'shut up' (cbc documentary slams fox news), except when it comes to being a good consumer.
but there are lots of folks doing a lot of amazing things. (such as...?)
so this is a blog that will take up a modest position amidst that neverending stuggle. and the watchwords for the soft revolution will be love, respect, affinity, and critical curiosity.
by the way, i am a doctoral candidate in the school of communication at simon fraser university in vancouver, bc. i'm looking out my window at the fresh snow that has dusted the top of the north shore mountains; the white peaks are rather luminous in the early evening sun. it is these small moments that remind me of my unbelievably good fortune.
so i'll be checking in as regularly as i can to try to understand and express just what i mean by the soft revolution. sometimes i'll post some music, other times talk about the stuff i do at school, comment on what's going down in the world, be inspired by the amazing things that people can do, and generally seek to extend my body through the network of relations that already animate this blogosphere.
Stars: The Soft Revolution
posted by spinoza's jacket at 12:02
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