Accountability, Compassion, And Power

“This idea of purity and that you’re never compromised and you’re always politically woke — you should get over that quickly,” Obama said, to laughs. “The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids, and share certain things with you.”

I do get a sense sometimes now among certain young people, and this is accelerated by social media — there is this sense sometimes of the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people, and that’s enough. If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself. Did you see how woke I was, I called you out. Then I’m going to get on my TV and watch my show … That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far.” - Barack Obama, 2019

It’s not a coincidence that Obama chose to use his time here to focus on condemning “wokeness” and not fascism, centrism, or neoliberalism.

He could have used this space to speak on how it’s important to stay true to your values even if the fight ahead is hard or how empathy and compassion in a time of fascism means being willing to stand for something rather than just take the path of least resistance. He could have said that we need to ask more of our leaders and our parties, that the future of politics is in grassroots movements, that we should be wary of anyone too eager to be idolized and that we should look for politicians who are more concerned with doing what’s right than what’s politically convenient. He could have said that in building a true movement of the People we should aspire to be less quick to ostracize people and be more open to each other’s perspectives and experiences all while continuing to speak out against injustices where we see them.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he spoke implicitly against the Left by invoking the neoliberal dog whistle fear mongering around “wokeness” and “purity” culture without taking a stand for any of the ideological or social values of the Left. He wasn’t critiquing the Left as part of the Left, he was critiquing the Left as part of the ruling establishment. It wasn’t “Here’s some food for thought so that we may move together with more compassion and integrity as we work for justice and liberation for all,” it was “Here’s some food for thought that will hopefully make you doubt your current path and step away from anything that could be slandered as ‘woke’ or a ‘purity’ test.”

The truth is, of course, that people are complicated and flawed and learning and growing, and it isn’t good praxis to isolate and ostracize anyone whose understanding of the world or perspective on it is imperfect or in some way harmful. We’re all in this together; compassion and solidarity will get us further and do us better than judgment and separation.

Navigating interpersonal relationships through the lens of whether or not someone is as "woke" as you is not only destructive to relationships, it undermines and runs against any values of equity, understanding, justice, or solidarity being pursued through wokeness. The goal is not to bully or judge people into behaving the way we want, the goal is to build community and solidarity and trust between each other as we work together to liberate ourselves from oppressive and depleting systems.

However, meeting people with compassion instead of judgement on an interpersonal level does not preclude holding the powerful accountable for their crimes and violence, nor does it mean that the compassion we show to one another is going to look the same as a compassionate politics that asserts the rights and humanity of the People in the face of oppressive power structures.

Alienating and berating a friend or family member because they're struggling with certain ideas or because they hold certain perspectives is not the same as speaking out, even aggressively or angrily, against politicians and the wealthy for the mass violence, oppression, repression, and isolation they inflict upon the world.

Calling out public figures and the powerful in public for their atrocities and violent perspectives can be an effective means of change. It can shift the cultural baseline and open space for debates, discussions, and growth by introducing dissenting opinions and views into spaces historically beholden to the status quo.

The violent, powerful, and oppressive class to which Obama belongs is trying to redirect a loving approach to interpersonal relationships - showing up to people with compassion and understanding over judgement and anger - toward accommodating the crimes of him and his ilk. A demand that your friends, family, and community members meet an ever-evolving shifting standard of “purity” is not the same as holding political leaders accountable for the destruction they advocate and enact.

One could argue that Obama’s rhetoric here is focused on our intracommunity interactions and relationships and that he’s not talking about how we address power. But his remarks have to be considered in context: He’s speaking about engaging in activism and how to best approach political change, after months - years even - of speaking out against the Left and advocating for moderate politics. The hope is that the audience will internalize this message as being universal, that “purity” tests don’t belong anywhere in politics and that “purity” tests are defined by demanding someone meet particular standards of ethics and behavior.

An added benefit of critiquing “wokeness” in this way is that by co-opting axioms like “people are flawed” and “the world is complicated” in service of his message, Obama implicitly puts himself on the same side as anyone who thinks that sometimes good people can do bad things. It creates an illusory bridge between the cold calculated politics of the ruling class with an empathy-driven liberation politics of the People.

If you believe in forgiveness and understanding in your community, then you and Obama have something in common and hey, maybe you should consider being more forgiving and understanding when judging politicians, too!

The concerns and perspective offered by Obama are things that have been better and more sincerely addressed by those within People’s movements. The same is true for any other perceived wisdom or insight offered by the powerful and ruling class. The consciousness raising project of liberation, equity, and ecological harmony is not one that excludes the powerful or wealthy - they are, in their own ways, harmed by these systems, as well, and ultimately a true project of liberation calls for justice and compassion for all - but it is not one that can be led by them.