The flowers of May

LOOKING AT THE LEFT FROM THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
by Red Constantino

By the time the Secretariat gang will arrive in Madrid, it will be May 1. This is certainly a day to remember. It is a special day, a day to mark less as a holiday and more in order to honor those who fought for things that they knew they would probably not see or taste in their lifetime. We take these things for granted, as we take for granted so much of what we have today. Basic stuff. Fundamental things. Things that are daily and that are so commonplace that we hardly speak of them.

We did not always have the eight-hour working day. Same with maternity leave. And paternity leave. Especially workplace health and safety. And while there is still so much that has to be accomplished, especially with regard to the aim of bringing greater meaning and deeper purpose to the work and lives of so many today, it's so vital that we remember May 1 for what it symbolizes. We need May 1 to remind us of the fact that we are able to greet each working day today with far less trepidation because a few brave souls dared to fight for a future that was not exactly theirs to enjoy.

To a large extent, it is this same purpose that animates many civil society members who will be in Spain on the first week of May to push public interest issues during the 41st annual meeting of the ADB in Madrid. To honor the fight that others led in the past, we must use the liberties that they won for the generation today in order to win bigger and greater freedoms for the generation that will come after us. The ADB has given the working people of Asia little reason to expect a brighter future for Asia, but we will arrive in Madrid with optimism. We have before us the chance to break bread with colleagues and comrads in Spain and Europe, to share knowledge and to plan and scheme together, and to search for opportunities to take action jointly. All the while keeping in mind, hopefully, a wise reminder from the fine writer by the name of Rebecca Solnit.

The activists of today have a unique responsibility, she said. A responsibility - a duty - to generate a type of activism that moves beyond the culture of diagnosis and into prescription and grounded vision, of crafting strategies that involve less of descriptions about what is wrong with them and more about what is possible for us. Today, we thank our good friend Gandhi for this nice image, and also Jeng for the gorgeous flowers collage that seems to symbolize May. Tomorrow, though, we'll a few pictures hopefully from the May Day celebrations of Madrid's working class together with adventure stories from the Forum. #