Tony Kushner on democracy

“US democracy is an illusion only made possible by the luxury we live in which would not be possible in there were economic justice in the world.”
Just a throw away line in the excellent documentary about Kushner I saw last night: Wrestling With Angels. Kushner’s Angles in America is one of the reasons I remembered that I had to write plays (which I’d forgotten after my first two when I was 10). I’m still thinking about this comment.
At this point the average person feels they get more responsiveness as a consumer (from the companies that work hard to understand their buying interests and possibilities) than it does from their government.

It’s an ecology of mutual convenience. Media coverage of politics and world events? Where’s the good feeling? What can we do? It’s you or me kid. Ford Bronco or Cadillac Escalade? There’s a real choice I can feel in my hand.
The upside? My generation (X), the first to not do better than our parents this American century, and those that follow may find that with less comes more of ourselves and a chance to see what is truly needed (not wanted) for a just and fulfilling life. Tag us: DIY, ReadyMade, Burning Man, board games, knitting, barbeques, personal spirituality, roommates, blogs etc. With less money and with crisis we find that all we really have, in the end, is each other.

Yesterday afternoon I met a man named Ken Burrows at a BrainJam session. He’s no longer Mormon but quoted a Mormon prayer for me that he likes: “Lord, give me what I want and if not, give me something better.”