Rebecca Solnit | The Nation

Notes on 2011’s preoccupied hearts and minds.

Occupy Wall Street has exposed a system that regards people as disposable, but not usually so literally.

A letter of thanks to Mohammed Bouazizi, the young man whose death set off a year of revolutions.

Finding hope, small victories and larger opportunities in a world no one should write off as lost. 

Her name was Global South. His name was Washington Consensus. But his winning streak was running out and her star was rising.

The catastrophes in Japan remain that country’s tragedy, so we need to keep our own anxieties here in the US in check—or harness them to make constructive changes in preparation for our own future disasters.

Revolution is as unpredictable as an earthquake and as beautiful as spring. Its coming is always a surprise, but its nature should not be.

There exists amidst corporate abuses and political neglect a shadow government of kindness, made up of those who dedicate themselves to their ideals and act on their solidarities.

Like the monsters in a Hollywood movie, corporations are attacking our democracy.

How we remember Katrina is how we'll prepare for future disasters. Getting the story straight matters for justice—and for survival.