WHAT’S YOUR CLASS? I cannot boast of having read Marx or Engels, but enough Marxian analysis has ‘trickled down’ to me by now about class relations. It goes like this: in Antiquity society was based on masters and slaves; in the Middle-Ages you had lords and peasants (sometimes attached to the land as serfs);Continue reading “What’s your Class”
Category Archives: Essays
Drang nach Osten
Drang nach Osten This German expression means “push to the East.” Going West is more familiar in the American tradition – as in “go West, young man.” And when it comes to massive popular moves, it goes all the way to when the Spaniards and the Portuguese and the Dutch ventured into the open seasContinue reading “Drang nach Osten”
WHAT’S YOUR CLASS?
I cannot boast of having read Marx or Engels, but enough Marxian analysis has ‘trickled down’ to me by now about class relations. It goes like this: in Antiquity society was based on masters and slaves; in the Middle-Ages you had lords and peasants (sometimes attached to the land as serfs); then, starting in England,Continue reading “WHAT’S YOUR CLASS?”
TAKE THE TOYS AWAY FROM THE BOYS
These words still resonate with me. They were writ large on a poster a woman was carrying on the famous New York peace march of 1982. My 13 years-old daughter Muriel and I were among the marchers. And I have been on so many peace marches since then – and WILPF has been struggling withContinue reading “TAKE THE TOYS AWAY FROM THE BOYS”
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
The conflict between the two former trans-caucasian republics of the Soviet Union goes back to 1988 and has caused waves of refugee movements: between 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and 724,000 Azeris. This has involved the intervention of international organizations with conflicting agendas. There is the initial CSTO, or Collective Security Treaty Organization composed of Armenia,Continue reading “THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN”
WHAT NEXT?
I get the Military Industrial Complex. Or the Military Industrial Congressional Complex, which is what President Eisenhower initially considered naming it. Or the Military Industrial Congressional Academic Technological – and everything else – Complex, as Ray McGovern calls it. I have read Christian Sorensen’s Understanding the War Machine, and it all adds up: the wholeContinue reading “WHAT NEXT?”
REFLECTIONS OF AN AMERICAN IMMIGRANT ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
It’s the Fourth of July again, 2022. My son called me to wish me a happy holiday. He has moved away, and I am grateful that he takes the time to stay in touch. He has told me before how standing among fellow Americans, listening to the national anthem with his hand on his heartContinue reading “REFLECTIONS OF AN AMERICAN IMMIGRANT ON THE FOURTH OF JULY”
THE WAR IN UKRAINE
Aside from my academic credentials as a student of Russian literature, culture, and history, I have a personal set of credentials to examine the current Ukrainian situation. First, my mom was born in Ukraine and my dad was born in Russia. Second, having been bombed out of our apartment building in Belgrade at age threeContinue reading “THE WAR IN UKRAINE”
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND
These are not hopeful times. But just because times are uncertain and perilous, it’s good to remember that generous conceptions and dedicated action also have the power to impact the world. One such idea is the idea of non-violent resistance. The life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. is still alive in our memories.Continue reading “WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND”
THE PROMISED LAND
INTRODUCTION This essay was submitted to a contest organized by the Unitarian Universalist Organization in 2012. One of the requirements was to relate the Israeli-Palestinian issue to the similar American history of settler colonialism. The essay won the first price, and subsequently Rabbi Lerner’s online Tikkun magazine published it. It is hardly necessary to stateContinue reading “THE PROMISED LAND”
Rise and Shine: Galina DeRoeck's Website 