See photos from the annual gathering here.

Presentation to the SC Progressive Network at its annual fall retreat Nov. 15 in Columbia.

Daniel Deweese, New Legacy Project

A Faceless Master.

A specter is haunting South Carolina — take it from someone who has been to ten of its cities in ten days — the specter of Modjeska Simkins, the ghosts of a progressive and effective left.

Nearly a century ago, on the precipice of the emergence of the twin monsters of the 20th century, namely Stalinism and Fascism, Freud, in his prescient insight identified the forthcoming antagonism; “Men have brought their powers of subduing the forces of nature to such a pitch that by using them they could now very easily exterminate one another to the last man. They know this—hence arises a great part of their current unrest, their dejection, their mood of apprehension. And now it may be expected that the other of the two heavenly forces, eternal Eros, will put forth his strength so as to maintain himself alongside of his equally immortal adversary.” (1920, p.147)

We are on the verge of a new totalitarianism, one with a faceless master; that of  global capital.  This is attested to by the winner of our last election; money. Millions of so called “dark dollars”-uncountable, utterly  inundated this election. It is appropriate here to recall Boiseguillebert’s insight of finance as the alembic of commodities that extracts that unholy essence and  “…money declares war on the whole of humanity.” ( Marx, 1992, p.239).

A Princeton study has indicated something we Leftists have known for a long time, namely, that the United States is transforming into an oligarchy. It is economic elites who possess the most influence over public policy (TPM, 2014).

The first step in any critique of ideology that has the potential to foster revolutionary upheaval is to identify the position of the master (the ruling class) as being what it is, namely, an empty position. There exists an irreducible gap between the totalitarian master and his title. The master seizes this mantle and yet it is not congruent to his being. The title is something that is assumed rather than a “quality” that is inherent to the master.

For example, the divinity of kings or the so called “hard work” of Wall Street executives are just some of the reasons manifested to justify the position of mastery which in turn is utilized to justify the accumulation of the surplus social product at the expense of the working class. The revolutionary must not only expose the master as being empty but she must also expose and attack that in herself which chains her to the ruling ideology. Here we return to the predicament of postmodernity, namely, that of unlimited consumption. If the consumption of frivolous commodities is the equivalent to or at least the path to social fulfillment, then why is postmodernity so fraught with discontent? This is true in even the wealthiest of the industrialized nations (I developed this idea further in my article Truth as Contradiction).

The duty to consume and its failure to cultivate a meaningful social bond should be taken as a sign of the   impotence of the dominant discourse. The gaps in this discourse also manifest themselves in the forms of poverty, war, starvation and so on.  For instance; “The world produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase.” (worldhunger.org). And yet millions starve. It is true that 300,000 South Carolinians would have had health insurance if the Governor would have accepted the Medicaid expansion. And yet thousands will go with out, some even to their deaths.

The Ghosts that Speak Truth

The revolutionary must pronounce to the ruling class and all those who rest underneath their heel; “ I am your truth! (poverty, oppression, exploitation!), you the master are not complete!” It is crucial for a dialectical analysis to realize that this undeniable excess, these foreclosed subjects, are not separate from the dominant discourse but are apart of the the effects of the totality of global capital. After traveling through our fair state it became clear to me; there are those of us willing to protest, that is, publicly enunciate this truth of the foreclosed excess. However, these scattered voices wander like ghosts searching for an apparatus that would materialize their very substance into something more.

In Lenin’s What Is to Be Done? he emphasizes that the working-class will not spontaneously formulate into an emancipatory collective due to oppressive conditions. He believed it would take a vanguard party to educate and organize the people. This I claim was the victory won in the Healthy Democracy Road Show, namely, laying the ground work for this emancipatory collective in South Carolina, the ground work for a new legacy. Therefore, something of an education is required. Namely, a school that is right, the Modjeska School of Human Rights!

The way for the Left to undermine the dominant discourse is to facilitate the birth of a new discourse by utilizing the emancipatory legacy left for us by the revolutionaries of the past. To conclude, we return to the spectral realm and echo a thought from Walter Benjamin; ?“ Every Revolution is not only directed towards the future but it redeems also the past failed Revolutions, all the ghosts-as if the living dead of the past Revolutions, which are roaming around unsatisfied will finally find their home in the new freedom.” (Zizek, 2014).

***************
Freud, S. (1920). Civilization and its discontents. (p. 135). New York/London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Lenin, V. I. (1969) What is to be done?: burning questions of our movement. Intl Publishing
Marx, K. (1992) Capital Volume 1 (p.239). London: Penguin Classics.
www.worldhunger.org
Zizek, S. (2014) The pervert’s guide to ideology

While there is much hand-wringing in the wake of Tuesday’s elections, the SC Progressive Network is not mourning; we are celebrating a job well done. After a year dedicated to educating and mobilizing voters on health care, we capped the campaign with a 10-day 10-city blitz. We started at the Governor’s Mansion with a press conference, and ended with a rally at the County Square in Greenville.

It was a long haul. But that’s what the Network is about. We are working year-round to promote progressive values, not cranking a cold motor every two years when elections roll around. If we have a chance to pull this state out of the ideological ditch that’s drowning our most vulnerable citizens, more of us need to move beyond outrage to action. It can be gratifying.

On the road we got to see parts of South Carolina too often neglected, we met dedicated community and political activists at every stop, we made friends and allies across the state, we nurtured a growing solidarity among our staff and volunteers, we generated some great press and, best of all, we changed the conversation on Medicaid expansion. It was an issue the pundits and pooh-bahs had declared dead. We insisted that the only thing dead about this issue are the people paying the price for petty, partisan foolishness.

In related news, because our staff has been busier than expected with the Road Show, the Network’s fall retreat Nov. 15 at Penn Center has been moved to Columbia. We’ll be meeting at the Lake House at Sandhill Research Education Center, 900 Clemson Rd. It is a nifty facility, built in 1932 by WPA workers. Details to come.

Thanks again to our Road Show crew for a campaign to remember. Warning: watch this video, and the song may loop in your brain for days.

On Oct. 8, two Network groups and their allies from across South Carolina celebrated marriage equality at the SC State House after the historic court decisions paving the way for marriage equality in several states, including South Carolina. After a rally, LGBT activists and allies delivered a box of 5,000 petitions to SC Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office. Ignoring the writing on the legal wall, the governor and the AG vowed they will continue using taxpayer money to fight the issue.

Indeed, the next day the SC Supreme Court blocked the marriage license applications gay couples filed the day before in Charleston and Richland County court houses.

In spite of the stubborn response on the part of state leaders, marriage equality is inevitable, even in South Carolina. Congratulations to our member groups SC Equality and the Harriet Hancock Center for their dogged pursuit of fairness for all South Carolina’s citizens.

More photos on Flickr.

Becci Robbins
SC Progressive Network Communications Director

If you are sent to prison in South Carolina, you lose the right to vote. By state law, that right is to be restored upon completion of your sentence. But a new survey of the state’s voter registration offices reveals that how the process for re-enfranchisement works — and doesn’t work — depends on where you live.

The SC Progressive Network has just completed a survey of the state’s 46 county voter registration offices, finding that 33 of them require people to provide documentation that they’ve completed their sentence in order to re-register.

“Talking with staff in each of the 46 offices, we found a selective application of the law that we believe violates the equal protection clause,” said Network Director Brett Bursey. “People who have served their time are being made to jump through bureaucratic hoops to regain the full citizenship granted by law. It is unfair, further depresses the state’s dismal voter participation rate, and affects twice as many black citizens as whites.”

While 13 offices do not require documentation from ex-offenders, Susie Edwards, Director of the Dillon County voter registration office, said her staff will ask for proof if someone “is acting sketchy.”

Saluda County voter registration office Director Dana Burdern said, “A letter from Pardons and Parole is not required by law but it’s asked for.”

Deputy Director Patrick Lee of Charleston said, “We go on their word. We don’t require more than that.”

The word Lee is relying on is the “voter oath” a person signs when registering swearing that he or she is a US citizen, is 18 years or older, and a South Carolina resident. Registrants also swear that they haven’t been found “mentally incompetent,” are not serving time in jail, and have completed their sentence.

“The only part of the oath citizens are being asked to provide additional proof for is the completion of a prison sentence,” Bursey said. “No law requires the counties to ask for further proof, and there is no established system for proving someone has served their time.”

The survey also revealed that 20 counties wrongly claim differences in the waiting periods between felonies and misdemeanors for voter registration, with felonies requiring additional waiting time.

SC Progressive Network Director Brett Bursey and volunteer Bishop Shirley Raiford work a voting registration table at the bus transfer station in downtown Columbia.

“South Carolina’s voting system is a vestige of the Jim Crow era,” Bursey said. “The Senate was able to retain white power in 1895 by granting control of the election process to the counties, whose boards Senate members appointed. To this day, legislators appoint the boards, and each county is in charge of its own elections. This is why we have 46 counties interpreting the laws differently.”

The Network has introduced legislation that would require the state to inform people exiting the prison system of their voting rights. The bill has not advanced, but will be introduced again next legislative session.

“We think it is an important part of the reintegration of people back into our communities to ensure they regain their voting rights,” said Network Co-chair Virginia Sanders. “The state removes you from the rolls if you are incarcerated, and it should make sure that you can be reinstated once you’ve served your time.”

Sanders, who has spent years doing registration drives through the Network’s Missing Voter Project, said a common misconception, especially in rural areas, is that when people are sent to prison they forever lose their right to vote. “It’s sad that so many people don’t understand the law, especially those who are charged with enforcing it.”

The Network will use the survey as evidence in a case that is being prepared for federal court. Ex-offenders with relevant testimony about difficulties registering to vote are asked to contact the Network at 803-808-3384 or by sending email to network@scpronet.com. For more about the Network or its Missing Voter Project, visit scpronet.com.

A grass roots group called The Will of the People has recently formed with a singular focus on South Carolina’s marriage equality fight. The mission is simple: To raise funds for non-attorney costs to support both a pending lawsuit as well as future marriage equality litigation in our state. The catalyst for the organization’s creation is the pending lawsuit by two women against the State of South Carolina in Federal District Court. The suit seeks an order requiring the state to recognize their 2012 legal marriage in Washington, DC.

The Will of the People is a volunteer organization; therefore, nearly 100% of the money raised will be used for filing fees, legal brief writings and clerical costs in the ongoing fight for marriage equality in SC. An account has been set up in the name of The Will of the People Fund at Wells Fargo Bank in South Carolina. All contributions are tax deductible. Send checks payable to The Will of the People Fund to The Will of the People Fund, PO Box 5006, Columbia, SC 29250.

Learn more about The Will of the People Fund on Facebook and Twitter @RealWOTPF.

The SC Progressive Network has supported Pride since our founding, back when doing so meant we would likely lose foundation money and certain community allies in the process. We’ve always tried to stay on the side of right, even when it hurts.

We applaud the gay community in South Carolina for its successes over the years, in spite of tough odds. Here’s a look back at Pride over the years.

More photos in our Flickr photo album.