Back to Stories

<div class="story-meta-left"> <div class="story-logo"> <a href="https://www.dailygood.org"> <img alt="DailyGood" src="https://www.karunanews.org/pics/90x90.jpg"> </a> </div> <div class="story-meta-info"> <div class="story-author">By <a href="/author?name=On%20Being">On Being</a></div> <div class="story-details"> <span class="story-date">Jun 25, 2016</span> <span class="story-read-time">15 min read</span> </div> <div class="story-source">Source: <a href="http://www.onbeing.org/program/rebecca-solnit-falling-together/transcript/8695" target="_blank">onbeing.org</a></div> </div> </div>  <div class="story-meta-right">  <div class="utility-buttons"> <div class="dropdown"> <button class="utility-btn translate-btn dropdown-toggle py-1" type="button" id="translationDropdown" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> <i class="fa fa-language me-2" aria-hidden="true"></i>Cherokee </button> <ul class="dropdown-menu dropdown-menu-end translation-dropdown" aria-labelledby="translationDropdown" style="max-height: 400px; overflow-y: auto;"> <li class="dropdown-header" style="font-size: 11px; color: #6c757d; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> <i class="fa fa-globe me-1"></i>Available Languages </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/"> English </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=am"> Amharic </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ar"> Arabic </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=eu"> Basque </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=bn"> Bengali </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=bg"> Bulgarian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ca"> Catalan </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item active" href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=chr"> Cherokee </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=zh-CN"> Chinese (PRC) </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=hr"> Croatian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=cs"> Czech </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=da"> Danish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=nl"> Dutch </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=et"> Estonian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=fil"> Filipino </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=fi"> Finnish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=fr"> French </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=de"> German </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=el"> Greek </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=gu"> Gujarati </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=iw"> Hebrew </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=hi"> Hindi </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=hu"> Hungarian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=is"> Icelandic </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=id"> Indonesian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=it"> Italian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ja"> Japanese </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=kn"> Kannada </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ko"> Korean </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=lv"> Latvian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=lt"> Lithuanian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ms"> Malay </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ml"> Malayalam </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=mr"> Marathi </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=no"> Norwegian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=pl"> Polish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=pt-BR"> Portuguese (Brazil) </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ru"> Russian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=sr"> Serbian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=sk"> Slovak </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=sl"> Slovenian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=es"> Spanish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=sw"> Swahili </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=sv"> Swedish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ta"> Tamil </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=te"> Telugu </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=th"> Thai </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=tr"> Turkish </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=uk"> Ukrainian </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=ur"> Urdu </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=vi"> Vietnamese </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item " href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/?lang=cy"> Welsh </a> </li> <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li> <li class="dropdown-header" style="font-size: 11px; color: #6c757d; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> <i class="fa fa-lock me-1"></i>More Languages <span style="font-size: 10px; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal;">(login required)</span> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item text-muted" href="/login?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F%3Flang%3Dzh-TW"> <i class="fa fa-lock me-1" style="font-size: 10px;"></i> Chinese (Taiwan) </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item text-muted" href="/login?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F%3Flang%3Den-GB"> <i class="fa fa-lock me-1" style="font-size: 10px;"></i> English (UK) </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item text-muted" href="/login?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F%3Flang%3Dpt-PT"> <i class="fa fa-lock me-1" style="font-size: 10px;"></i> Portuguese (Portugal) </a> </li> <li> <a class="dropdown-item text-muted" href="/login?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F%3Flang%3Dro"> <i class="fa fa-lock me-1" style="font-size: 10px;"></i> Romanian </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div>  <div class="share-icons d-none d-md-block"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on Facebook"> <i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F&text=%3Ciframe+frameborder%3D%22no%22+height%3D%22450%22+scrolling%3D%22no%22+src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F266046487%26amp%3Bauto_play%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bhide_related%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bshow_comments%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_user%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_reposts%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bvi%20%3A%20the+Mennonites%2C+to+pretty+radical+anarchists%2C+and+people+working+with+Common+Ground%2C+which+was+in+some+ways+founded+by+the+Black+Panthers+and+young+white+supporters+and+became+a+project+that+did+a+lot&via=&hashtags=" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on Twitter"> <i class="fab fa-twitter"></i> </a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"> <i class="fab fa-linkedin-in"></i> </a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=%3Ciframe+frameborder%3D%22no%22+height%3D%22450%22+scrolling%3D%22no%22+src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F266046487%26amp%3Bauto_play%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bhide_related%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bshow_comments%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_user%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_reposts%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bvi%20%3A%20the+Mennonites%2C+to+pretty+radical+anarchists%2C+and+people+working+with+Common+Ground%2C+which+was+in+some+ways+founded+by+the+Black+Panthers+and+young+white+supporters+and+became+a+project+that+did+a+lot%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon d-none d-sm-inline-flex" aria-label="Share on WhatsApp"> <i class="fab fa-whatsapp"></i> </a> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="story-content" id="dg_story"> <div class="dark-link perm_post"> the Mennonites, to pretty radical anarchists, and people working with Common Ground, which was in some ways founded by the Black Panthers and young white supporters and became a project that did a lot of different things, and not all of it worked out perfectly, but some of it was amazing. And it became really a part of the conversation.</p> <p>But they founded the first really good clinic for people who needed emergency care, who needed their diabetes medicine, or their tetanus shot, or their wound disinfected. And that split off into Common Ground clinic, which is still going strong more than 10 years later. And that’s the kind of indirect consequences that I find so interesting to trace, is that here’s something that came out of Katrina that’s still helping people every day.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Right. So, we talked a little while ago about love, and your idea that love has so many other things to do in the world, aside from these silos of loving our families, and loving our children. So if I ask you just what story or people come to mind if you think about the word “love” as a practical, muscular, public thing in New Orleans ten years after Hurricane Katrina, what comes to mind for you?</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> In so many things, it’s a really magical place — people have deep connections in New Orleans. I would try to explain that people in New Orleans and Katrina lost things that most of us hadn’t had for generations. A lot of people lived in a neighborhood where they knew hundreds of people. They knew everybody who lived near them.</p> <p>They might have extended family. They might be like Fats Domino who was born in a house in the Lower Ninth Ward, delivered by his grandmother. People live in their grandparents’ houses. They have these deep roots and wide branches. And they engage in public celebration. They talk to strangers. And they — it’s a deeply Dionysian place, with the second line parades all... ...40-something Sundays a year, not just carnival, not just Mardi Gras. And it’s a profoundly spiritual place. So all these things are part of the place and so they’re already really rich. But a lot of people after Katrina felt, OK, we really have to engage to keep this place alive. And there’s a real rise in civic engagement and a number of institutions around justice and policing were reformed.</p> <p>The police were actually taken over by the federal government because it was the most corrupt and incompetent police department in the United States. They got a semi-decent mayor for a change, after a lot of corruption, particularly from Ray Nagin, who went to jail for it — the mayor during and after Katrina. And people really started to dream big about, OK, here we are on the fastest eroding coastline in the world, in a city that’s partly below sea level, in an era of climate change, increasing storms, and rising waters. How do we adapt?</p> <p>And people are having this really exciting conversation about rethinking the city, and how water works in the city, building systems of survival. And again, this is like all disasters — the storm was horrible, it killed about 1,800 people, it displaced a lot of black people who were never able to come back. And impacted the continuity and mental health of the community. But it did create this engagement and this really creative planning of the future. And New Orleans might have just continued its gentle decline without Katrina.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Right. And it’s kind of an incubator now, isn’t it? Kind of a ...</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of the young people, these young idealists who moved there, fell in love with the place and stayed. And it’s complicated. Some of them are the white kids who are gentrifying traditionally black neighborhoods. But they’re also — some — they’re not all white, and they are people who are bringing a passion for urban planning, community gardens — for thinking about these social and ecological systems. And the place is very energized right now in new ways, and it has retained quite a lot, if not all, of the energy it had before.</p> <p>[<em>music: “Fire Once Again” by Washboard Chaz Blues Trio</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> I’m Krista Tippett and this is <em>On Being</em>. Today with writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> It seems to me that story of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina becomes just an extreme example of a larger reality you see. And so here’s something you wrote where it’s so beautifully stated, and in fact, each one of us individually if we stopped to take it apart, has a story of a million events or actions or people without which we would not be. And you wrote, “Trace it far enough, and this very moment in your life becomes a rare species, the result of a strange evolution. A butterfly that should already be extinct and survives by the inexplicabilities we call coincidence.”</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Yeah. And it’s also about the unpredictability of our lives. And that ground for hope I talk about that we don’t know what forces are at work, what — who and what is going to appear. What thing we may not have even noticed, or may have discounted that will become a tremendous force in our lives. People in this culture love certainty so much. And they seem to love certainty more than hope. And — which is why they often seize on these really kind of bitter, despondent narratives that are they know exactly what’s going to happen, that the tar sand pipeline is going to pass, and there’s no way that all this rabble of activists in places like Nebraska are going to stop this tremendously powerful fossil fuel pipeline and upend the oil industry.</p> <p>And and that certainty just seems so tragic to me, being — and of course, we did stop the tar sands pipeline, because for six years, people, even when it was thought to be a lost cause and ridiculous and unlikely, kept pushing. So yeah, so tracing those things — I want people to tell more complex stories and to acknowledge these players who aren’t in the limelight. That sometimes we win, and that there are these openings, but an opening is just an opening. You have to go through it and make something happen. And you don’t always win, but if you try, you don’t always lose.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Yeah, you don’t always win, but I think, I come back to your idea that history is like, and in fact our lives, are like the weather, not like checkers. So, your point, which actually is — I would say is the kind of complexity that I think theology at its best imposes — that you walk through the openings and perhaps you don’t win that battle, or you don’t see the result you’d hoped for, perhaps you outright lose, but the way — the complex way you’re wanting to tell the stories of reality and of our lives is that whatever we do, there are always consequences that we don’t control, and can’t see, and can’t calculate, but they matter. They count.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> The guy I’m involved with loves to say, and I’m getting — it’s from Foucault, and I’m getting it wrong, that “We know what we do, we know why we do it, but we don’t know what we do does.” And I love that sense that, we don’t know consequences. We can learn and surmise, and a lot of what matters is indirect and nonlinear, and it’s like even checkers seems too sophisticated and complex for the metaphor. I used bowling, where people are — either we knocked all the pins down with this bowling ball, or we had a gutter ball and nothing happened. And it’s — my wonderful environmentalist friend, Chip Ward, likes to talk about the “tyranny of the quantifiable.” And I’ve been using that phrase of his for about 15 years and it is a kind of tyranny. And I think — and it does get mystical where you have to look at what’s not quantifiable. Martin Luther King is assassinated in 1968. A comic book about how civil disobedience works out was distributed during the Civil Rights Movement, gets translated into Arabic, and distributed in Egypt, and becomes one of the immeasurable forces that help feed the Arab Spring, which is five years old right now. And most of it doesn’t look that good, but they did overthrow a bunch of regimes. And the French Revolution didn’t really look very good five years out.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Oh, I know.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> I was saying the other day. And...</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> It’s so important that you point that out, that we — and also our revolution. I mean these things are messy, and they take generations. And we forget that. And we’re already calling it as a loss and it’s absurd, really. It’s absurd.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Yeah, and I think that there are really good points to be made that, for example, that overthrowing a dictator is nice, but you need democratic institutions. In Egypt, for example, the military was a power that didn’t go away and you need to not just have that amazing moment in the streets, and that rupture, but you need to have an ongoing engagement with transforming the system and making it accountable. But what happened mattered nevertheless, and I think for people — many people in the Middle East, just the sense that, it’s not inevitable that we live in authoritarianism. We’re not powerless. And I think of Alexander Dubcek, the hero of the Prague Spring of 1968, which was quashed, playing a role in the 1989 revolution...</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Yes.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> ...that liberated that country.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> That’s so true. Yeah.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> And I want better metaphors. I want better stories. I want more openness. I want better questions. All these things feel like they give us tools that are a little more commensurate with the amazing possibilities and the terrible realities that we face. And, what we get given so often are just these kind of clumsy, inadequate tools — they don’t help. They don’t open things up. They don’t shed light. They don’t lead us to interesting places. They don’t let us know how powerful we can be. They don’t help us ask the questions that really matter. And that start with rejecting the narratives we’re told, and telling our own stories, becoming the storyteller rather than the person who’s told what to do.</p> <p>[<em>music: “Hopefulness” by Miaou</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> I’m very much kind of a comrade in your reverence for something called public life. And, which I think we’ve narrowly equated with political life in recent generations, but kind of opening that language up more. You’ve said public life enlarges you, gives you purpose and context. I want to come to this idea that [<em>laughs</em>] maybe this is — this analogy is more apt I think. I mean, we’re in the middle of this presidential election year, which is so confusing, messy. But — and there’s a lot of anger in the room. And where am I going with this? You I don’t want to compare it to a natural disaster, but you said [<em>laughs</em>] I think I am in my mind. [<em>laughs</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Oh, go, do it. [<em>laughs</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> ...but you said like in the middle of a natural disaster, there’s this joy that rises up. So, on the one hand, we have this spectacle of, I think, let’s just say I think I can safely say this. A presidential election is — which is not what any of us — how any of us would want it to be, perhaps. But tell me where are you taking joy in public life right now? And that might have nothing to do with politics.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Yeah, I totally agree. We need a broader sense of public life, that it’s a sense of belonging to a place by which I mean the physical place, the trees, the birds, the weather. The coastline, or the...</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> The people.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> ...the hills or the farms, as well as the people and the institutions. And it’s one of the reasons I love New Orleans. People really engage with each other as in every day. And where sometimes living in the Bay Area, it feels like I’m in a zombie movie. Everybody’s walking around in a trance, staring at their phone. And nobody’s in the private world your phone opens onto. And but it’s funny, kind of the way you describe it, because I think there’s a kind of self-forgetfulness and a sense of having something in common that brings that joy when it comes in disaster. And of course the presidential election is the exact opposite. It’s partisanship and this sort of deep attachment to “I’m right and you’re wrong.” And the squabbling.</p> <p>Ms. Tippet: But, so put that aside, because I think that’s not very joyful for you or me. But where are you finding joy in public life right now? Where do you want to look in terms of the larger narrative of who we are, and what we’re capable of, and what this moment — you often talk about — you say, “Whenever I look around me, I wonder what old things are about to bear fruit, what seemingly solid institutions might soon rupture, and what seeds we might now be planting, whose harvest will come at some unpredictable moment in the future.” So where are you looking right now with intrigue?</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> The climate movement, which was this kind of embryonic, ineffectual thing ten years ago and I was in Paris for the climate conference... ...and it’s global, it’s powerful, it’s brilliant, it’s innovative. And remarkable things are happening and real transformations. And ten years ago, we didn’t even have the energy options. We didn’t really have good alternatives to fossil fuel the way we do now, as Scotland hedged towards 100 percent fossil-free energy generation. All these remarkable things happen. So we’re really in an energy revolution that’s an evolution of — a revolution of consciousness about how things work, and how connected they all are. And that has a kind of profound beauty, not only in only some of the individuals I’m friends with who are doing great things — but a kind of beauty of creativity, of passion, of real love for the vulnerable populations at stake... ...for the world, the natural world. For the sense of systems in order — the natural order of the weather patterns, sea levels, things like winter. And ...</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> [<em>laughs</em>] Yeah, things like winter. Yeah ...</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Yeah. Yeah. Winter as it used — winter and spring as it used to be, where the bird migrations happened in coordination with these flowers blooming, and these insects hatching, et cetera. And what we recognize when we address climate change is this infinite complexity that has a beautiful kind of order to it. And it’s falling... ...into disorder. And so I — the love, the intelligence, the passion, the creativity of that movement, there’s one — and there’s many other things I could say, but right now that’s just so exciting. And it’s negotiating. It’s negotiating. And this is what hope is about for me. It’s not saying “Oh, we can pretend that everything’s going to be fine, and we’ll fix it all, and it’ll be as though it never happened.” It’s really saying, the difference between the best-case scenario, and the worst case-scenario is where these people in Philippines survive. Where these people in the Arctic are able to keep something of their way of life, and we’re going to do everything we can to fight for the best case rather than the worst case. Without illusions, without thinking that we’re going to make it all magically OK, and like it never happened. And so that tough-mindedness is also really beautiful, that pragmatic idealism.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> That tough-minded hope.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> Exactly.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> I think you’d give it that word.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> And hope is tough. It’s tougher to be uncertain than certain. It’s tougher to take chances than to be safe. And so hope is often seen as weakness, because it’s vulnerable, but it takes strength to enter into that vulnerability of being open to the possibilities. And I’m interested in what gives people that strength. And, what stories, what questions, what memories, what conversations, what senses of themselves and the world around them.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Mm. We’ve run — well, we’re just over about a minute. I just want to ask you one last question.</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> OK.</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> It’s a huge question. But just where would you start thinking about this, how is your sense of what it means to be human evolving right now as you write and as we speak? What contours is that taking on that perhaps you wouldn’t have expected ten years ago or when you were 15 and miserable? [<em>laughs</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. SOLNIT:</b> [<em>laughs</em>] Yeah. I was a really isolated kid, and my brothers teased me when I did girl things, so I wasn’t very good at girl things. So I wasn’t very good at connecting to other girls.</p> <p>And I was just the weird kid with her nose in a book. And stuff. I have really wonderful people around me, really deep connections. And that’s incredibly satisfying. And it’s all kind of amazing. I think a lot of us wish you could send postcards to your miserable teenaged self. I always thought that “It Gets Better” campaign for queer kids, should be broadened, because it gets better for a lot of us.</p> <p>My mother in her ever un-encouraging way when I won some big prize said, “This is all such a surprise. You were just a mousy little thing.” [<em>laughs</em>] But it is kind of a surprise. And it’s very — and it’s like to have this ability to participate and really kind of maybe be helpful to other people, to do really meaningful work. It’s all just this kind of astonishment.</p> <p>[<em>music: “Narghile” by Randall</em>]</p> <p><b>MS. TIPPETT:</b> Rebecca Solnit is a contributing editor at <em>Harper’s Magazine</em> and a regular writer for publications including <em>The Guardian</em>, and <em>The London Review of Books</em>. She is the author of 17 books including <em>A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster</em> and a new version of <em>Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities</em>.</p> <p>We’re excited to announce the launch of two new short-form podcasts here from the <em>On Being</em> studios. The next <em>Becoming Wise</em> episode with Buddhist teacher Sylvia Boorstein is a great complement to this show with Rebecca Solnit. And the just-launched first season of<em>Creating</em><em> Our Own Lives</em> - C.O.O.L. for short — is about running as a spiritual practice. Find<em>Becoming</em><em> Wise</em> and COOL wherever you get your podcasts.</p> <p>[<em>music: “Thule” by the Album Leaf</em>]</p> <p><em>On Being</em> is Trent Gilliss, Chris Heagle, Lily Percy, Mariah Helgeson, Maia Tarrell, Annie Parsons, Marie Sambilay, Tess Montgomery, Aseel Zahran, Bethanie Kloecker, and Selena Carlson.</p> <p>Our major funding partners are:</p> <p>The Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide at fordfoundation.org.</p> <p>The Fetzer Institute, helping to build a spiritual foundation for a loving world. Find them at fetzer.org.</p> <p>Kalliopeia Foundation, contributing to organizations that weave reverence, reciprocity, and resilience into the fabric of modern life.</p> <p>The Henry Luce Foundation, in support of Public Theology Reimagined.</p> <p>And the Osprey Foundation, a catalyst for empowered, healthy, and fulfilled lives.</p> </div> </div>    <div class="inline-share-icons border-0 mt-0 pt-0"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <span class="me-3 fw-semibold">Share this story:</span> <div> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on Facebook"> <i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F&text=%3Ciframe+frameborder%3D%22no%22+height%3D%22450%22+scrolling%3D%22no%22+src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F266046487%26amp%3Bauto_play%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bhide_related%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bshow_comments%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_user%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_reposts%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bvi%20%3A%20the+Mennonites%2C+to+pretty+radical+anarchists%2C+and+people+working+with+Common+Ground%2C+which+was+in+some+ways+founded+by+the+Black+Panthers+and+young+white+supporters+and+became+a+project+that+did+a+lot&via=&hashtags=" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on Twitter"> <i class="fab fa-twitter"></i> </a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon" aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"> <i class="fab fa-linkedin-in"></i> </a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=%3Ciframe+frameborder%3D%22no%22+height%3D%22450%22+scrolling%3D%22no%22+src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fw.soundcloud.com%2Fplayer%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F266046487%26amp%3Bauto_play%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bhide_related%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bshow_comments%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_user%3Dtrue%26amp%3Bshow_reposts%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bvi%20%3A%20the+Mennonites%2C+to+pretty+radical+anarchists%2C+and+people+working+with+Common+Ground%2C+which+was+in+some+ways+founded+by+the+Black+Panthers+and+young+white+supporters+and+became+a+project+that+did+a+lot%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailygood.org%2Fstory%2F1322%2Frebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being%2F" target="_blank" class="share-icon d-none d-sm-inline-flex" aria-label="Share on WhatsApp"> <i class="fab fa-whatsapp"></i> </a> </div> </div> </div>   <div class="comments-section mt-3 border-top-0"> <a name="addcomment"></a> <h3 class="h5 pb-2 section-header"> <i class="bi bi-chat-quote text-primary"></i> <span>COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS</span> <hr> </h3> <div class="alert alert-success mb-5" role="alert" id="cmtform_box"> <h5 class="card-title mb-3 fw-bold p-0 fs-2">SHARE YOUR REFLECTION</h5> <form id="comment-form" method="post" action="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/rebecca-solnit-falling-together-on-being/"> <input type="hidden" name="t" value="addComment"> <input type="hidden" name="story_id" value="1322"> <input type="hidden" name="pcmt_id" id="pcmt_id" value=""> <div id="form-message-container" class="mb-3" style="display:none;"></div> <textarea id="comment_text" name="comment_text" rows="3" class="form-control mb-3" placeholder="Share your thoughts on this story..." required></textarea> <div class="row mt-3"> <div class="col-sm-6"> <div class="input-group mb-3"> <span class="input-group-text"><i class="far fa-user"></i></span> <input type="text" name="comment_name" id="comment_name" value="" class="form-control" placeholder="Your name" required> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-6"> <div class="input-group mb-3"> <span class="input-group-text"><i class="far fa-envelope"></i></span> <input type="email" name="comment_email" id="comment_email" value="" class="form-control" placeholder="Your email (not published)" required> </div> </div> </div> <div class="d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center mt-3"> <div class="form-check"> <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" id="subscribe" name="subscribe" value="1"> <label class="form-check-label" for="subscribe"> Notify me of follow-up comments </label> </div> <div>  <button type="submit" class="btn btn-info px-4 g-recaptcha" data-sitekey="6Ld9FbYpAAAAAGIucyXK_lxDVb-6tDGgPuXN0OPm" data-callback='onSubmit' data-action='submit'> <i class="bi bi-send me-2"></i>Post Comment </button> </div> </div> </form> </div> <script src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/enterprise.js?render=6Ld9FbYpAAAAAGIucyXK_lxDVb-6tDGgPuXN0OPm"></script> <script> function onSubmit(token) { document.getElementById("comment-form").submit(); }</script> <h3 class="h5 pb-2 section-header mt-5"> <i class="bi bi-people text-success"></i> <span>1 PAST RESPONSES</span> <hr> </h3> <div id="cmtlist" class="mt-4"> <div class="comment-item" id="cmt_6029"> <div class="comment-container"> <div class="comment-avatar"> <img src="https://pod.servicespace.org/pics/mem/blank.jpg" alt="User avatar"> </div> <div class="comment-content-wrapper"> <div class="comment-meta"> <span class="comment-author">Joaquin</span> <span class="comment-date">Jun 26, 2016</span> <a href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/-iframe-frameborder-no-height-450-scrolling-no-src-https-w-soundcloud-com-player-url-https-3a-api-soundcloud-com-tracks-266046487-and-auto-play-false-and-hide-related-false-and-show-comments-true-and-show-user-true-and-show-reposts-false-and-vi-on-being/?t=showComment&cid=6029" class="ms-auto link-icon text-muted"><i class='fa fa-link'></i></a> </div> <div class="comment-content"> <p>I do understand the central theme but I cant help but recognize the bit of socialism/communism that is lauded as having some postive results in the end. To say that although Russia did not benefit from their communist agenda, other parts of Europe have (from socialism), ignores the horrifc deaths and torture of millions of innocent people at the hands of Stalin. I am not convinced that the end result is positive, be it in Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Islamic countries and many others that push their communist, tolitarian way of life. Yes, disasters do bring us together in a positve way but socialism and communism is not a disaster in the same sense. It is a planned ideology. </p> </div> <div class="comment-actions"> <a href="https://www.dailygood.org/story/1322/-iframe-frameborder-no-height-450-scrolling-no-src-https-w-soundcloud-com-player-url-https-3a-api-soundcloud-com-tracks-266046487-and-auto-play-false-and-hide-related-false-and-show-comments-true-and-show-user-true-and-show-reposts-false-and-vi-on-being/?t=showComment&cid=6029#addcomment" class="reply-link" data-cmt-id="6029" data-cmt-author="Joaquin"><i class="bi bi-reply"></i> Reply</a> <span class="btn-light post_btn small"></span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script> $(document).ready(function() { // Toggle between short and full comments $('.see_full_cmt').on('click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); var cid = $(this).attr('cid'); $('.short_cmt' + cid).hide(); $('.long_cmt' + cid).show(); }); $('.see_short_cmt').on('click', function(e) { e.preventDefault(); var cid = $(this).attr('cid'); $('.long_cmt' + cid).hide(); $('.short_cmt' + cid).show(); }); }); </script> </div>   </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <script src="js/story.js?2cue"></script>  <footer class="footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-5 mb-4 mb-md-0"> <h5 class="footer-title">About DailyGood</h5> <p class="footer-about-text"> For over 29 years, DailyGood has been a volunteer-led movement to share uplifting stories that connect hearts and inspire action — all without ads, agendas, or asks. Change the story, change the world. </p> <a href="about" class="footer-about-link"> <span>Learn Our Story</span> <i class="bi bi-arrow-right"></i> </a>  </div> <div class="col-md-1 mb-4 mb-md-0"></div> <div class="col-md-3 mb-4 mb-md-0"> <h5 class="footer-title">Get More Engaged</h5> <div class="footer-links"> <a href="subscribe">Subscribe to Our Newsletters</a> <a href="https://pod.servicespace.org/apply/" target="_blank">Join Peer-learning Pods</a> <a href="https://www.awakin.ai" target="_blank">Chat with Compassion AI</a> <a href="https://www.awakin.org/v2/calls" target="_blank">Listen to Awakin Podcast</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-3"> <h5 class="footer-title">Connect With Us</h5> <div class="footer-links"> <a href="suggest"><i class="bi bi-lightbulb me-2"></i>Suggest A Story</a> <a href="publish"><i class="bi bi-send me-2"></i>Share Your Story</a> <a href="my"><i class="bi bi-people me-2"></i>Volunteer With Us</a> <a href="contact"><i class="bi bi-envelope me-2"></i>Send An Email</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="copyright text-center"> <p>DailyGood — a project of <a target='_blank' href="https://www.servicespace.org">ServiceSpace</a>.</p> </div> </div> </footer>  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.1.3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>  <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/OwlCarousel2/2.3.4/owl.carousel.min.js"></script>   <script src="js/scripts.js?2cue"></script> <script> (function() { 'use strict'; console.log('SSO: Script starting'); // Cooldown periods (in milliseconds) var QUICK_COOLDOWN = 10000; // 10 seconds - between any checks (per-tab) var NOT_LOGGED_IN_TTL = 1800000; // 30 minutes - how long to remember "not logged in" var VISIBILITY_MIN_AGE = 300000; // 5 minutes - min age before tab-switch triggers recheck // When user returns to this tab after being away a while, clear the // "not logged in" cache so we re-check SSO status. This handles the // case where user logs in on another tab/site then returns here. document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', function() { if (document.visibilityState === 'visible') { var checkedAt = parseInt(localStorage.getItem('sso_not_logged_in_at') || '0'); if (checkedAt && (Date.now() - checkedAt >= VISIBILITY_MIN_AGE)) { console.log('SSO: Tab visible after 5+ min, clearing cache for fresh check'); localStorage.removeItem('sso_not_logged_in_at'); sessionStorage.removeItem('sso_last_attempt'); } } }); // Check if user just logged out - skip SSO check to prevent re-login loop if (document.cookie.indexOf('sso_logout=') !== -1) { console.log('SSO: Recent logout detected, skipping check'); // Clear the cookie now that we've respected it document.cookie = 'sso_logout=; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 UTC; path=/;'; // Also cache that we're not logged in (prevents check on next tab) localStorage.setItem('sso_not_logged_in_at', Date.now().toString()); return; } var urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search); var ssoToken = urlParams.get('sso_token'); // Handle returning from redirect-based flow with sso_token if (ssoToken) { console.log('SSO: Has sso_token from redirect flow, completing login'); sessionStorage.setItem('sso_last_attempt', Date.now().toString()); // Clear the "not logged in" cache since we're about to log in localStorage.removeItem('sso_not_logged_in_at'); // Clean the URL by removing sso_token parameter var cleanUrl = window.location.href.split('?')[0]; var params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search); params.delete('sso_token'); params.delete('sso_checked'); var remainingParams = params.toString(); if (remainingParams) { cleanUrl += '?' + remainingParams; } // Redirect to local login endpoint with the token window.location.href = '/sso/login.php?token=' + encodeURIComponent(ssoToken) + '&return=' + encodeURIComponent(cleanUrl); return; } // If sso_checked flag is present, Pod confirmed we're not logged in there if (urlParams.get('sso_checked')) { console.log('SSO: sso_checked param present, user not logged in on Pod'); // Store in localStorage so ALL tabs know we're not logged in localStorage.setItem('sso_not_logged_in_at', Date.now().toString()); sessionStorage.setItem('sso_last_attempt', Date.now().toString()); // Clean sso_checked from URL so it doesn't appear in shared/copied links var params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search); params.delete('sso_checked'); var clean = params.toString(); var cleanUrl = window.location.pathname + (clean ? '?' + clean : '') + window.location.hash; history.replaceState(null, '', cleanUrl); return; } // Check localStorage cache: are we already confirmed "not logged in"? var notLoggedInAt = parseInt(localStorage.getItem('sso_not_logged_in_at') || '0'); if (notLoggedInAt && (Date.now() - notLoggedInAt < NOT_LOGGED_IN_TTL)) { console.log('SSO: Cached not-logged-in (' + Math.round((NOT_LOGGED_IN_TTL - (Date.now() - notLoggedInAt))/60000) + ' min remaining), skipping'); return; } // Quick cooldown: Don't check too frequently within same tab (10 seconds) var lastAttempt = parseInt(sessionStorage.getItem('sso_last_attempt') || '0'); if (Date.now() - lastAttempt < QUICK_COOLDOWN) { console.log('SSO: Within quick cooldown, skipping check'); return; } // Prevent concurrent checks if (window.ssoChecking) { console.log('SSO: Already checking, skipping'); return; } window.ssoChecking = true; // Helper function to do redirect-based SSO check function doRedirectCheck() { console.log('SSO: Using redirect approach'); sessionStorage.setItem('sso_last_attempt', Date.now().toString()); var returnUrl = encodeURIComponent(window.location.href); window.location.href = 'https://pod.servicespace.org/sso/check.php?return=' + returnUrl; } // Check if we already tried fetch and it failed (use redirect instead) var fetchFailed = sessionStorage.getItem('sso_fetch_failed'); if (fetchFailed) { console.log('SSO: Fetch previously failed, using redirect approach'); sessionStorage.removeItem('sso_fetch_failed'); doRedirectCheck(); return; } console.log('SSO: Starting fetch to Pod status endpoint'); // Try fetch approach first (works when third-party cookies allowed) fetch('https://pod.servicespace.org/sso/status.php', { method: 'GET', credentials: 'include', mode: 'cors', cache: 'no-store' }) .then(function(response) { console.log('SSO: Got response', response.status); if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Network error: ' + response.status); return response.json(); }) .then(function(data) { console.log('SSO: Parsed data', data); sessionStorage.setItem('sso_last_attempt', Date.now().toString()); if (data.logged_in && data.token) { console.log('SSO: User logged in on Pod, redirecting to local login'); // Clear cached "not logged in" since user IS logged in localStorage.removeItem('sso_not_logged_in_at'); window.location.href = '/sso/login.php?token=' + encodeURIComponent(data.token) + '&return=' + encodeURIComponent(window.location.href); } else if (!data.logged_in && data.cookie_present === false) { // Third-party cookies are blocked! // Pod didn't receive any cookies, so it can't know if user is logged in // Try redirect fallback which uses first-party Pod cookie console.log('SSO: Cookies blocked (third-party), trying redirect fallback'); doRedirectCheck(); } else { console.log('SSO: Not logged in on Pod (confirmed with cookies present)'); // User genuinely not logged in on Pod - cache in localStorage localStorage.setItem('sso_not_logged_in_at', Date.now().toString()); window.ssoChecking = false; } }) .catch(function(error) { console.log('SSO: Fetch failed:', error.message); // Mark that fetch failed so we use redirect sessionStorage.setItem('sso_fetch_failed', '1'); sessionStorage.setItem('sso_last_attempt', Date.now().toString()); doRedirectCheck(); }); })(); </script> </body> </html>