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DARK_HOPE

                                 September 10, 2004  
   
Rebecca Solnit, author of          
"Hope in the Dark", has a             (Numbers of books published 
rap about "post-                      with "Hope" in the title 
oppositional politics"                should probably be tracked 
that has some appeal.                 as a social indicator.)
                                            
Part of the rap is that you      
shouldn't get discouraged           
because you can never tell       A small demonstration that    
what effect your actions are     seems pointless can       
going to have.                   influence one person who        
                                 has some influence, to do 
                                 something years later...  
                                                             
                                                       (Her example is Doctor 
"You can't tell what the effects of your actions       Spock, who was inspired 
are, and that's a reason to act, not to not act."      to come out against the 
                                                       Vietnam War years 
                                                       later, by his memory of 
    The problem with this:                             a handful of dispirited 
    how do you know that your                          demonstrators hanging 
    actions aren't counter-                            around in the rain.) 
    productive? 
    
                                   TREED
         My favorite example:  
         the anti-nuclear power
         movement of the 70s.  
                             
         Intended to promote       
         clean, renewable energy           
         sources like solar or          Even if you don't          
         wind, it's actual effect       buy anthropogenic      NUKE 
         was to promote coal power.     global warming, coal    
                                        is the dirtiest of      
                                        available power         
                                        sources.  If you do,    
                                        it gets even worse...    
                                                             

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