Inspiration of Arundhati Roy to an Activist

November 2nd, 2004 was a difficult evening for me. Having helped stage protests against the invasion of Iraq, having urged friends to support the HRC and the struggle for gay marriage, it was difficult to watch the election returns come in, making it seem as though all I had done had been futile. One of the things that got me through was Arundhati Roy’s CD, Come September, which I’d left in my car’s CD player. Driving home from the grocery store I heard her read an excerpt of her article, “The End of Imagination,” in which she offers a skeptical friend another way of dreaming:

The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you’re alive and die only when you’re dead. “Which means exactly what?” she asked, a little annoyed. I tried to explain, but didn’t do a very good job of it. Sometimes I need to write to think. So I wrote it down for her on a paper napkin. This is what I wrote: To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.1

When I think about it, the words are rather trite, easily imaginable within a pop song or a greeting card. These words, however, were being spoken by Arundhati Roy, and in the car I, like many others who have drawn inspiration from her words, from Howard Zinn, to Judith Butler, to Ani DiFranco, felt a little more able to go back in my house, unpack my groceries, and face the next four years.

T...

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...d from the CD version of “Come September.”

9 When I first wrote this paper, I wrote it as a presentation. I took this quote off of an article found on Lexis Nexis and did not mark down the information. I have since been unable to find my print out or log on to Lexis Nexis, as it has to be through a university computer. A final version of this paper will include the citation. Sorry, folks.

10 Taken from Singh’s interview, available online at http://www.narmada.org/archive/tehelka/eh100200arundhati1.htm. Seen Works Cited for complete citation.

11 Taken from Bunting’s article, available online at http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0307-01.htm. See Works Cited for complete citation.

12 Taken from the interview with Howard Zinn following “Come September.” See first footnote.

13 Taken from the interview following “Come September.” Please see first footnote.