78: Hope

Introduction: Hope Floats on a Paper Boat

Zack Furness
Welcome to Bad Subjects #78, an issue devoted to Hope.

The Moral Politics of Hope

Gary McCarron
Nihilism has, in its own way, become fashionable, a facade that shields its devotees from the burdens of empathy and human connection. But if nihilism is a fashion, we should remember that fashions go out of style.

Utopia and the City: An Interview with David Pinder

Zack Furness
Geographer David Pinder talks about radical geography, cities and the politics of utopia.

The War FOR Illegals

Helen Hintjens
To keep out or to let in, that is the question. Campaigns on global justice issues show that with the right mix of approaches, with a high media profile and a combination of economic, internet and other approaches, public opinion can in fact be turned right around on contentious issues.

The Sanctity of Life

Tamara Watkins
American conservatives preach about the sanctity of life, yet do not promote programs that would help millions of low income citizens get health care. Cutting through the hypocrisy to get to the hope, the author calls for more accountability among the "pro-life".

Future Now! Criticism Machines Strengthen Communities

Mike Mosher
I am pleased to report that, in a lot of ways, the promising future of cyberspace that dawned in the early 1990s has come to pass a decade and a half later.

(The Invisibles) Hope: A Comic Interlude

Maxwell Schnurer
The hope of The Invisibles is a nihilistic criticism coupled with a very real understanding that any program or policy for social change is a re-articulation of the old problem with shiny new paint. Within this double-bind, the artists and author manage to sketch a vibrant world of brain rebellion in which we all can participate.

Reflections on the Sixties

Anonymous
What were we hoping for? Peace, love, freedom, and happiness. We wanted a culture that scorned war, encouraged us to love whomever we choose, valued nature and all people, and fought members of an establishment that wanted us to become just like them.

Our Arrest: Four Women's Antiwar Action in Chicago

Rosalie Riegle
Tuesday, February 20, at the Federal Building in downtown Chicago, we took part in the Occupation Project protest of Illinois Senator Durbin's vote on Bush's Supplemental Appropriations bill. This was surely one of my most pleasant arrests.

If George Bush Were a Religious Man...

Cartoon by Myrrh
Cartoon © Myrrh 2007

Snapshots of Hope, Part One: The New Bird Flu

Chelsea Robinson
It's much harder to go into the world with a swollen-to-the-point-of-bursting heart because it makes you want to do crazy things, like have a real face-to-face conversation with another person or (gasp!) embrace someone you love.

Snapshots of Hope, Part Two: Trapped in a Box

Brandy Betz
The ancient Greeks had the benefit of blaming their downfalls on their pantheon of fickle, often vengeful, gods. But modern societies are reaping that which we have sewn.

Snapshots of Hope, Part Three: The Situation

Bianca Wylie
Our politics have turned into the social chaos of a privileged high school. Democracy sits patiently in the library. She’ll be popular by the 2047 reunion.

Snapshots of Hope, Part Four: The American Shabbiness

Braxton Marnus
The age of American Power seems to be over. We have entered the age of American Shabbiness.