Such a Long Time

Oh my goodness! It’s been a long time. Nearly two months since the last missive, but a lot has happened since then. First, and most important, the whole of Chapter 8 was published, to very little acclaim and even less fanfare. It’s a strange chapter, focussing on something that many people would consider to be of little importance in the world of undermining, but because we are faced with the increasing irrelevance of the mainstream environmental movement, and a host of people who ask “What can I do?” and are then diverted into doing stuff that makes shit-all difference, then this chapter is vital.

Essentially it poses the question: How do we deal with hope? One of the most dangerous and pervasive Tools of Disconnection. I have slightly mellowed in my attitude to hope recently, allowing that it does provide something to people who have become buried in terrible places. Working with certain people who have a range of mental health issues has shown me that when you reach the very depths of dispair, a little hope might not be a terrible thing, and it might just be enough to prise you off the floor. But that’s all; once those tiny lights start to blink again, then hope is not going to raise you up further except to a place that is isolated from the real world. Action and Hope counter each other, until the very end when all you can reasonably do is wait and see if your plans came off.

There is a lot more, in a much more practical sense in Chapter 8, which also goes on to address such things as corporate influence in NGOs and the nature of real activism. I expect to make a few enemies, though maybe I will also make a few friends.

On the writing front, Chapter 9 is progressing nicely. This is about the importance of Community and the collective power of people who in their natural state are not lone guns or massed groups of thugs, but simply want to work together to achieve something akin to a normal human existence. It’s a very life-affirming chapter, but not without some cracking undermining actions to keep the rebels among you occupied. For my part, community is becoming more important to me with every day I live around people I care about. We need each other, and never has that been more true than now.