Despair and Personal Power in the Trump Age
In the wake of this election, I've been thinking a lot about Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age. The book, written by Joanna Macy, was published in 1983 by New Society Publishers. A dear friend gave it to me sometime in the early 90s.
“This book is a guide to despair and empowerment work. That term refers to the psychological and spiritual work of dealing with our knowledge and feelings about the present planetary crisis in ways that release energy and vision for creative response. The present crisis includes the growing threat of nuclear war, the progressive destruction of our life support system, the unprecedented spread of human misery and the fact that these developments render questionable, for the first time in history, the survival of our species.”
That introduction was written nearly thirty-five years ago. In some respects, it is encouraging that, despite the dire message, our species does still survive. But then, thirty-five years is a rather tiny blip in the history of the world.
Following yesterday's vote by the electoral college and Trump's ascension into power, I felt compelled to pull the book down from its place of honor on my library shelf and re-read it.
I think it's time for a revised edition, Despair and Personal Power in the Trump Age. What do you think?
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