I was eight years old when Rushdie published The Satantic Verses and when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini unleashed his retaliatory fatwa firestorm throughout the Muslim world. I read The Satanic Verses when I was in high school, and have since re-read it at different points in my life. The themes he addresses in the novel – immigration, colonialism, orientalism, identity, cultural disillusion – resonate with my life in a myriad of ways.
Even 20 years later, Rushdie still has no regrets about publishing this work. In fact, he is proud that he had the courage to publish such a work and that he was able to weather the the challenging ramifications. In a recent interview, Rushdie posed a series of questions that are quite timely considering current domestic and international events:
“The question I’m always asking myself is: are we masters or victims? Do we make history or does history make us? Do we shape the world or are we just shaped by it?” he said in an interview with Australian broadcaster Clive James.
“The question of do we have agency in our lives or whether we are just passive victims of events is, I think, a great question and one that I have always tried to ask.
The question of agency came up repeatedly in my academic work, but I never considered it in relation to my own life. It always represented an abstract notion, relevant during critical junctures in history. Not until recently did I realize that we are at such a critical juncture where discussions of agency is particularly relevant.
Political events disasters over the last eight years have re-established social activism and consciousness as cultural currency in America, and people across the country are transforming themselves and their communities into agents of action and change. After several conversations with fellow organizers and advocates, I am concerned about maintaining momentum in social and political activism that has emerged during this campaign season. How do we translate hopes and dreams of how our world “should be” into meaningful and long-lasting change?
The ChangeMakers/ChangeBloggers Initiative is attempting to address this issue, by actively engaging bloggers who write about social justice and community-based initiatives. A ChangeBlogger is:
“A member of the blogging community who is using their blog, podcast or vlog to raise awareness, build community, and/or facilitate readers/listeners/viewers’ taking action to make the world a better place.”
The initiative’s aim is to translate activism online to activism in real-time. Creating a national web of local community bloggers is central to this initiative. We are organizing a Meet & Greet Event on Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm – location TBD – to launch the ChangeMakers/ChangeBloggers initiative in the Greater Philadelphia Area. The event is co-hosted by Dorie Morgan, Seth Horwitz and myself. Add us on Twitter to keep up with the latest news and events, changebloggerPA.
Other ChangeBloggers Events:
Please support your local ChangeMakers, whether that is by attending a local event, making a monetary or in-kind donation to a local event, or by giving a shout out to your local ChangeMakers on your own blog and social networking communities.
Thanks for taking the movement to Philly, and for spreading the word! Look forward to hearing how the event goes. =)
I signed up to attend this event. I’ll be at the one in NYC and am excited to see people in different cities getting involved! Let me know if you need any help!