By Michael Meurer The extraordinary tableau of 25,000 US troops in Washington, DC for the 2021 inauguration, and their vetting by the FBI, played out against the backdrop of a just completed $14 billion virtual election spectacle, the most expensive in US history, that was conducted almost completely via television, Zoom and social media. The historic price tag was evidently not enough to ensure civil stability. As CNN reported that
December 25, 2020
Christmas in Oaxaca, México
An oasis full of life in a world obsessed with death As a hallucinatory fever dream of a year comes to a close, I am in Oaxaca, México (cover photo) writing and trying to contextualize the current global crisis. I’ve been here for nearly a month and am spending Christmas with friends. Being in this historic city is a joy. Every day and every night, the streets are full of life. The state of
June 19, 2020
New Substack newsletter
By Michael Meurer This week, I launched a new Reimagining Politics subscription newsletter on the Substack multi-media publishing platform. I encourage you to visit the site, explore and subscribe. You will receive one-of-a-kind stories and analyses about citizen innovation worldwide and much more. I have a wonderful slate of articles, interviews, videos and personality profiles (complete with political music) planned for the coming weeks and months. I look forward to
June 19, 2020
Interview on The Nerdy Truth
In 2016, after a life altering series of events, Dr. JJ Walcutt decided to run for president of the United States, not because she thought she would be elected, but to use her campaign as a vehicle to visit all 50 states to study citizen innovation, which she found everywhere. Now, her new book based on this experience, “Who the F*** wants to be President,” has just published and is
April 7, 2020
Civic antibodies in a time of pandemic
New articles in the US & Latin America By Michael Meurer ENGLISH My most recent article about the power of citizen-driven political innovation worldwide during a time of global pandemic was featured at Truthout.org March 30, 2020. With generous permission from Truthout, the article has also published in Spanish at ATAQD in Argentina, Resiliente Magazine in México and the Montevideo Portal in Uruguay. Click the cover images below to read
March 19, 2020
Una poética de la política en tiempos de caos
By Michael Meurer ESPAÑOLMi artículo “Una poética de la política en tiempos de caos” fue publicado en Resiliente Magazine en CDMX. Da un clic sobre la imagen debajo para leerlo. Mil gracias a mi editor Roberto Carvallo, PhD. INGLÉSMy article titled “A poetics of politics in a time of chaos” has been republished in Spanish by Resiliente Magazine in México City. Click the image below to read the article. Many
March 1, 2020
A poetics of politics in a time of chaos
By Michael Meurer Bachelard’s Poetics French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, author of works such as The Poetics of Space, is remembered for his articulation of the idea that “scientific investigation is polemical.” Bachelard cautioned that science must stay vigilant not to impede “scientific imagination” by succumbing to “the seduction of the empirical.” The notion of a “scientific consensus” would likely be anathema to Bachelard. He saw science as social and dialogic,
February 17, 2020
Super Bowl article published in México & Uruguay
By Michael Meurer My recent article “From Super Bowls to Oscars to Politics, a Week Long Celebration of US Imperium” has been translated to Spanish and published in Resliente Magazine in México City and by the Montevideo Portal in Uruguay. Links follow to both publications, with enormous thanks to my editors Martín Othegui in Uruguay and Roberto Carvallo, PhD, in México. URUGUAYMontevideo Portal, featured in the Columnistas section. MÉXICOResiliente Magazine,
February 11, 2020
From Super Bowls to Oscars to Politics, a Week Long Celebration of US Imperium
By Michael Meurer “Rome has grown since its humble beginnings and is now overwhelmed by its own greatness.” – Livy No other nation does imperial spectacle like the US, and the week of February 2-9, featuring the Super Bowl, Oscars, an elaborately choreographed reality TV version of the State of the Union speech (SOTU) and a Senate impeachment trial, was extraordinary by any standard. The global scale and reach of
August 22, 2019
México is the essential country in the 2020 election
Change is coming and Mexican-American identity is at the center By Michael Meurer, August 22, 2019 In the 2020 election, 32 million Latinos are eligible to vote. They are the largest minority voting bloc for the first time in US history. Mexican-Americans account for 63.3% of these voters. After the El Paso massacre of Aug. 3rd , the NY Times reports that Mexican-Americans nationwide feel a cosmic shift in the
August 20, 2019
New articles published in English & Spanish – Politics as Consumerism & Rewriting the US-México Narrative after El Paso
By Michael Meurer, August 20, 2019 Politics as Consumerism The displacement of meaningful civic engagement by political consumerism and lurid media spectacle is suffocating U.S. democracy. My recent article published at Truthout deconstructs the way this permanent multi-billion dollar election spectacle works and explores what we can do about it. The article was translated to Spanish and republished at the Montevideo Portal in Uruguay, where I am a US columnist.
May 9, 2019
Roundtable at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
By Michael Meurer, May 9, 2019 After more than two months of planning with Professor Obdulio Ávila Mayo, PhD, in the Facultad de Derechos at Mexico’s national university in México City, we mounted a two hour political roundtable May 2, 2019, on leadership, public service and civic innovation. Because of recent surgery, I was not able to attend, but my associates Roberto and Rodrigo worked admirably with Prof. Obdulio to