Playlist for Show: Long Waves

The show discusses the tactics and philosophies of the Bundy family and their supporters in occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, particularly in the light of a letter written by Ursula K. Laguin. The disenfranchisement of millions of citizens has undermined the possiblility of shared signs and symbols that could create a public. Thus many take it upon themselves to interpret the Constitution and other public statements in ways that are self-serving and idiosyncratic in the extreme. thus, the militia types rewrite 200+ years of scholarship and law to fit their own, intensely personal ideas about meanings. Inevitably these understandings fragment the social even more leading to  diminished participation in a shared public good. In short, they act in what Sartre would call “bad faith.”

The militia strategy of rewriting the world is then contrasted with the direct action of the Rising Tide activist group in Seattle/Tacoma. They seek to defend the public good by blocking the transportation of oil and gas via trains using the argument of the necessity of action for a greater good. They are willing to face steep penalties and prison to stop a dangerous and destructive activity from continuing. De Tocqueville and Sheldin Wohlin’s writings inform the discussion.

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