Clearly, my closing remarks at last month’s NASW conference in Biloxi thumped some hot buttons, in fans and detractors alike. I’m told that no session has ever generated as much juice, and reactions – direct and indirect – are still rolling in. Reflecting the extraordinary political divide in the U.S. today, some would like me to declare for major political office at first opportunity; others want me sent straightaway to Dante’s ninth circle of Hell, without benefit of a side excursion to Purgatorio.
For all those who have requested a copy of the remarks, I will be happy to provide it – as soon as I can rework my “talking” copy into fully readable text; the wait shouldn’t be too great. I also make another, perhaps more useful, commitment – to capture in a series of forthcoming blog entries the key points of the talk’s four sections – (1) the rise of resistance to Trumpism; (2) the structural reasons that this resistance alone is “not enough” to fix what ails the American polity; (3) the fundamental social work-inspired vision of the world we want, and the one we should be fighting for as a profession; and (4) practical steps inspired by that vision in our current political context.
My hope is that the coming entries will generate more light than heat. I gladly invite dialog with anyone of good faith about what I consider increasingly urgent issues – including those professional colleagues who would rebuke me as an aspiring “brainwasher” that should “move to another country” if I don’t like living in Trump’s America.
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 