I would like to weave you a tale of modern humanity,
That great and wonderful monstrous calamity,
With its global institutionalization of insanity,
Aiming for maximization of profitability,
Control over everything, and everything as property,
War on the Natural world, and all of its majesty,
Creating an endless unnatural catastrophe,
Barack O’Bombing our problems, and spreading the tragedy,
Accelerating, everywhere, the worst of depravity,
Constructing a criminal system of perpetual poverty,
Submerged in a cultural celebration of mediocrity,
Filled with empty values and never-ending hypocrisy,
And therein lies the instructional logical fallacy:
That unless we change our ways, and the Nature of Society,
Unless we do not discover the true Nature of Humanity,
Then the extinction of our species will be the grand finale.
If we choose to adhere to some sort of instinct for self-preservation,
Then we would have to imagine new ideas for social organization,
Reaching out to others to coordinate global mobilization,
Charting a new path to a humane concept of globalization,
A new era – built from the bottom-up – through creative cooperation.
However, humanity:
First, just stop all of this Madness and Insanity!
I know it’s a lot to ask, and a lot of responsibility,
But if this is Order, Civilization, and the Realm of Possibility,
Then please, give me nothing, nothing but Anarchy!
If it’s a choice between probability and possibility,
Then I choose Hope in creative capacity,
In the possibility of avoiding our current probability,
With human extinction as an inevitability.
I prefer the choice without certain tragedy,
The unknown, yet boundless possibility.
Will it work? Who knows! It’s Humanity.
But it’s probably possible,
And just possibly probable,
If You decide it to be.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 253 new monthly donors in the next 3 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy