The power of beginnings can be seen in the formation of the 2006 dem-I thought this was interesting because it is a fresh start for many of these immigrants. I took the idea of political freedom in this context to mean they are able to express their political freedom by being able to voice their cause. While as non citizens they may not have political rights, they are still putting on political pressure by gaining support and spreading their views and beliefs. It also allows others to come out and support them giving a stronger voice to their demonstrations who may have the rights to try and make a change but demonstrations and protests always seem to bring about more reactions than simply a written article or other source of information. While their freedoms may be limited they still have political freedom and the ability to use that freedom to put pressure on politicians.
onstrations, as immigrant advocates and organizers consistently found
themselves surprised by the spontaneous participation of so many who had
not demonstrated before. The protests were exceptional in both their size
and intensity, often leaving organizers scrambling to keep up with the
popular momentum of each subsequent event.
While thinking about the 2006 demonstrations I started thinking about how Arendt would describe these in the sense of are they action? People are putting themselves in the public realm to be seen and heard with some risk taken. However, I would not say they are having open discussions. They want people to see their views and agree with them, they do have an end goal in sight. But then once again it is hard to define where these demonstrations would land according to Arendt. I do not know where they should be considered to go.
I agree with you for the most part. What they did was certainly and example of political freedom and of the power of beginnings. As people who are often forced to be in hiding because of the fear of deportation, I can only imagine how politically liberating this public action must have been. Thousands of people who had hitherto not made their opinions known was quite a unique and spectacular political occurrence.
ReplyDeleteThis is also potentially an example of Arendtian action, though as the reading points out, Arendt didn't like action if it was self-interested, in fact, she didn't even think that was political. I feel like perhaps she would view their protests as having lacked individuality and been too motivated by immediate material, safety, and labor concerns to be part of her ideal notion of the "vita activa." In fact, I feel fairly strongly about my views on this one. I just don't see "The Human Condidtion" as being a blueprint for this type of action at all.
Arendt may not describe the 2006 protests as action because they seem to be “laden by need and necessity”. The protesters have real material needs, economic requests, and bodily necessities, which Arendt posits does not provoke a true discourse that she calls action. Furthermore, she would criticize the way in which the immigrants have tried to focus on the labor aspect of the situation because it greatly dehumanizes them. By putting a large emphasis on labor, these protestors are calling attention away from the more important political topic that they are distinctive human beings who deserve respect and equality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that the protestors should not focus on their role as key cogs in the American economy because it is in fact dehumanizing and makes them seem important only due to the work they perform. I also think that Arendt should classify the marches as action because she talks about a key component of action being the unpredictability and risk involved with it’s performance. As stated in this Beltran article, what could be riskier and more unpredictable than hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants shutting down streets and business with picket signs?
Given that Arendt classifies the French and American revolution as action, I think Arendt would classify the immigration protests as action as well. I think it may be easy to get lost in Arendt's density, but ultimately I think the "radiant and great" is a struggle with political heroicism, that grapples with something of philosophical import.
ReplyDeleteArendt believed that every human being had the right to rights. That is that they should belong to a political community. Arendt seems to pick and choose from her examples and maybe we could frame anything besides Arendt's idea of classical antiquity as not having action or a political sphere. Honestly maybe we could argue that Classical Antiquity had much more of an emphasis and pre-occupation with labor than she seems to think. If we do so, I think we run the risk of regarding her work as just a curious set of thoughts instead of her trying to offer up a cure to the de-humanizing, pacifying excesses of the modern age.