“No is Not Enough” is, in a nutshell, a powerful primer that strives to bolster the intellectual, social, civic and cultural consciousness of the world in general, and America in particular in the face of the recent upsurge in xenophobic, racial and dangerous regimes. The bend of the moral arc has deviated toward uncharted and unwanted directions post the meteoric and mercurial rise of the bigoted Donald Trump to arguably, the highest office on the Planet. To counter the potential disasters that might be wreaked upon a scared and scarred country (with cascading ramifications for the world) by Trump and his constellation of characters, Naomi Klein provides a manifesto to initially resisting and finally subduing the scourge of “Trumpsim”.
Laying out in frightening the detail the cultural, political and ecological damages waiting to happen (or have already been set in motion) as a result of the various chicaneries and shenanigans triggered by the Trump administration – ranging from the early appointment of the voice and face of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson to a position of value, to imposing a carte blanche travel ban on Muslims into the United States – Ms.Klein dwells into the various counter measures being engaged in by small by solid resistance groups in the form of non profit organisations, citizens charters and spontaneous outcropping of environmentalists and scientists. Examples such as hashtag Black Lives Matter, The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe resistance etc bear monument to the untiring efforts and a determined hope being nursed by humanity to make tomorrow a habitable event!
However, as Ms.Klien reiterates in her book, merely saying “No” to the antiques and charades of people like Donald Trump and Raycip Erdogan does not birth either tangible benefits or provide palpable relief. This vociferous no has to be backed by vehement action in the form of organising. A form of non-violent co-operative movement where people espousing a myriad causes come together as one rising above and beyond petty constraints such as religion, race, caste, creed and sex. A good example of such an endeavour is the Leap Manifesto which has been pioneered by individuals whose professional differences and outlook are the to say the least, humongous. But in a n extraordinary show of true spirit and a practical recognition of obvious hurdles, these individuals ranging from Union leaders to Indigenous groups came together to issue a manifesto for preventing an ecological degradation of Canada. For the merciless exploitation of the Arctic Tar Sands poses a much bigger common issue than say the share of job spoils being distributed among the unions and the indigenous tribes.
If the world can understand to work together, accepting practical differences among the participants, then as per Ms.Klien there is no reason why demagogues and despots cannot be dethroned from perches usurped by themselves.
