Against the grain

Here’s a thought on the role of the left. It goes against the grain of much thinking found on the left that places its main accent on the unique, independent, and separate role of the left.

The role of left activists, as I see it, consists in joining with, learning from, and assisting ideologically and practically the constellation of organizations, groups, and people – not least the Democratic Party – in the task of assembling, animating, and uniting a majoritarian coalition battle and defeat Trump and Trumpism.

In other words, the left doesn’t have an exclusive franchise on “assembling, animating and uniting” tens of millions. Quite the contrary, that political imperative is a family affair. Thus the substance of the relations of left with other social and political participants contesting Trump and Trumpism, should weigh heavily on interaction, co-dependence, and mutually construction.

Each participant has something unique and necessary to contribute to this process, for sure. But only together, if united and in motion, do they possess the collective wherewithal and capacity to politically reach tens of millions, slay the beast of Trumpism, and save our democracy, while at the same time setting the country on a trajectory of democratic renewal, economic justice, substantive equality, and planetary sufficiency.