site index

Picture of the Day

Friday
May 6, 2016
subscribe


Amy GoodmanAmy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, has a new book out and it's equal parts infuriating and inspiring. It's a retrospective of her twenty years as the USA's preeminent investigative journalist, organized thematically: war, whistleblowers, immigration, death penalty, economic inequality, climate justice, LGBTQ revolution, police brutality, racism, and torture. And while those are all heavy topics with a dark history and continued persistence, the overall arc of the book is hopeful as it focuses on the progress made by social movements. Change seldom comes from the top down and this book is a rallying cry to get involved from the bottom up. It's never been easy, and the struggle is eternal. Maybe utopia is not a fixed state but the ability to fight for what is right. At least there's a chance. Tonight we were lucky to hear her speak at Town Hall in Seattle, in the same church-like auditorium where in the past we saw Michael Moore, Kurt Vonnegut, and testified to the FCC against media consolidation. Town Hall, too, is a treasure--or as Amy called it, "a sanctuary of dissent." I recorded her talk, which revealed a lighter side of her usually stoic on-air persona. I laughed, I cried, and left the building wondering what I could do to be more engaged in fighting the good fight.