Clarissa's Blog

One thing to celebrate is that none of the dire predictons of a year ago came true in 2017. There’s no nuclear Holocaust, no authoritarian regime, no invasion of countries. So far, Trump turned out to be a run-of-the-mill Republican president minus the invasions. He isn’t doing anything that hasn’t been part of the Republican agenda for decades. 

My hope is that in 2018 people will realize how they’ve been exploited by the very rich owners of online platforms who rile them up with lies and exaggerations to make money off them. I also hope that people begin to realize that politics isn’t about outraged tweets but about getting together with people in RL and organizing something. This year, I and some real people I really know in real life got together and did some real stuff, and it felt really good. I hope more people get off Twitter and Tumblr and join us in the real world. 

I also hope that more people realize that real resistance consists of resisting the lure of the screens that #Occupy their brains and steal their souls. We have a political space that’s turned into a total circus where entertainment politics had turned into entertainment, period. We deserve better, and it’s up to us to make sure things get turned around.

I always thought the lists of things to be grateful for in agendas and productivity journals were dumb. But now I realize that people need these lists because they rev themselves up with stupid shit they read on the so-called news media to the point they actually believe the world is ending. And then they don’t know how to climb out of that hole. I hope people remember that there’s no peace without peace of mind.