A Few Things I Learned from Dan Leahy
Big Picture
Never forget: they want it all. For me, this warrants repeating, daily, because even though we see endless examples of it every day, the received wisdom of the culture dilutes and disguises this effectively and surreptitiously.
A corollary to this: their greed is so great that it is possible that they will end up eating themselves, but we can’t wait for that eventuality. We have to organize for resistance and revolution.
Some Organizing Lessons
(Just a few, since these are summarized so effectively by really great practitioners elsewhere in this collection of Dan’s wisdom.)
- Remember and respect your heritage, recent and way back. This is especially helpful if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, but it applies universally.
- Speak truth to power.
- Study the history of the working class and how and when they organized effectively.
- Know the history and tactics of the ruling class as well. Read their materials, summarize them, share the information.
- In your interactions with your comrades, practice the democracy that you seek for the society; this does not mean that you abdicate needed leadership.
More Personal Stuff
- Nothing is more important than family, past and present. (The only time I ever saw Dan cry was when he thought he and Bethany might not have children. Thankfully, they persisted.)
- Develop an intimidating stare. This can be useful in political and personal situations.
- Laugh loud and often when you’re not staring intimidatingly. Raise a glass whenever it’s appropriate, convenient, necessary or just fun.
- Let other people garden.
- Have the courage to write poetry and share it.
One should also be aware – if you happen to possess even a tiny share of the charisma that Dan projects – that you might well end up having an enormous yet invisible (to you) effect on those around you. People might end up having families because of you (I know one person in this category), or deciding how to spend their lives based on what you taught them, or just generally making their way through their lives (and books) wondering, WWDD.
Love you, Dan.
–Denny
