People who spend a lot of time shopping their left/progressive credentials and defending their left flank from attacks from others on the left are doing themselves no favor. In doing so, they can lose their capacity to respond to changing conditions of struggle that require strategic shifts, tactical flexibility, and novel approaches. In the present election process, we see some evidence of this phenomenon.

I would like to say that militant posturing of this kind is a new arrival on the field of politics, but it isn’t. Dates back to the sixties where it was more the rule than the exception. Now the reverse is true.

Politics, not to mention life, is full of contradictions that we have to grasp, first of all, and then smartly negotiate our way through. It’s when we reduce politics to simple schemes that we get into trouble and miss opportunities to positively intervene in political life and outcomes.

Here’s my (abstract) thought for the day: At the collective and individual level, I’ve come to believe that the past is both a burden that can disable, disorient, and divide or a source of inspiration, insight, renewal, and new directions. Which becomes the road taken largely depends on our own readiness to soberly and honestly confront it.

My adaptation of an old rallying cry for this year: Don’t Mourn, Get Out the Vote

Don’t be fooled by the much proclaimed “energy independence” of the U.S. While the country’s oil dependence on the Middle East may have lessened in recent years, the interests of U.S. multi-national oil corporations are still considerable there and the smooth functioning of the global economy are dependent on the uninterrupted supply of oil from this region of the world.

What is more, control of this region gives U.S. imperialism a major leg up — politically and militarily as well as economically — in its strategic competition with China, Russia, and the European Union for global dominance.