Last night Jim and I went to hear Eve Ensler read from her new book In The Body
of the World. When we got home I started reading my copy and only put it down
last night when I fell asleep. She is a Wowza writer. Fast, stark, gorgeous,
naked, horrible, furious, and enormous in her story telling. She strikes flat
the evasions and seemly, dainty courtesies with which we write books. She tore
off the garments and here are the hearts and scars.
Ensler writes about the unity of her body and Terra, the bodies of women and men
and children, trees and iPhones. . .She's written with water clarity about her
demons, shared by many of us, and how they impeded her connection to the world.
She's one of a number of bone honest women writers, but she is also driven to
improve the condition of Terra and its inhabitants. And she makes plain the
connection between her demons, the destruction of her connections to her best
self, her connections to other beings, human and otherwise, the destruction of
Terra and the people and other beings on it by corporations and nations'
minions, and their demons, and her cancer, chemotherapy, and change. Her
descriptions of what is happening in Congo took me down to the realization that
the joy some men feel in doing great evil has no bounds in time or space. We
have in our species terrible harm and wrong. Blood lust does the bidding of
unslakeable greed for money, power, and fame.
I have only one problem with this book. And I'd love to be wrong.
Ensler's analyses are spot on plain and clear. I only disagree that an
organized group of women leaders can prevail against lawyers, guns,and money, especially where there are resources and governments to be fought over. But I'd love to be
wrong, as I said.
The history of the USA from 1945 to the present shows some successes - the
Highlander Institute training activists like Rosa Parks, to engage in actions
carefully calculated as most likely to produce impetus to change, at lower cost
than the status quo. The Civil Rights laws, environmental laws, anti war
movement, women's movement, gay rights movement, have all led to great and
powerful changes. But recent history shows us that our skill set can't prevail
against established power. One million people marching against a war in Iraq
had no influence or impact on the then-president. Eight Senators recently
defeated the will of 90+% of the American people in blocking legislation calling
for stricter background checks by gun sellers on gun buyers. Seventy-five +
percent of the American people wanted single-payer health care. About the same
%age were against bailing out the big banks. Both a Democratic and Republican
National convention have featured a cage entitled Free Speech Zone. The
Citizens United decision marginalizes participatory citizenship. In Congo and
other parts of the world we have insufficient skills and resources against armed
gangs intent on rapine, mayhem, and power.
But new communication and funding tools, new community and ideas can now spread
faster and make more global engaged citizenship. And even if Ensler's City of
Hope project leads to women leaders around the world unable to stop the violence
against women, there is inestimable value in maintaining opposition. We must
leave a good report for the next generation. Like all the rest of us, Ensler can
add her voice, do some good, holler that we'd like to save our planet - Terra -
our bodies, our souls.
Ultimately, this book The Body of the World will smite you. I recommend it.