"Here, "the revolution" is anything but a party.  Dancing hippies, drum circles and four-story high puppets are notably absent from the recent mass mobilizations that have rocked Bolivia for the past two weeks. There are no breaks for concerts, no hemp clothing for sale. You are not an individual, but a part of your contingent, and from them you do not stray. In stark contrast to the large-scale demonstrations in the US that have characterized the burgeoning anti-globalization movement, marches here in Bolivia are supreme examples of discipline and seriousness.  Rigidity replaces fluidity; unity replaces individualism; rash actions are rare.

Yesterday I was trying to explain to our latest scholar this same sensation that you are feeling. It is, I think, the reason I stayed in Latin America after coming here years ago. My belly was full of the self-indulgence of white, middle class, political demonstrations and causes with lefty pretensions in the United States that, although they had worthy goals, became exercises in  futility precisely because of the protagonist "look at ME" nature of them.

I found, first in the discipline and seriousness of the Zapatistas, and later in many other social movements (primarily indigenous movements) in Latin America that same sense of purpose and desire to WIN. And I felt more at home than I had in many, many years participating in the movements of my own country. I knew that these were the people I could trust in the same foxhole as me, and I had lost that feeling - through experience - in the United States, where political movements become basically excuses for feel-goodism, self-satisfaction and for acting out personal psychodramas on a public stage while placing a "political" gloss on it.

I no longer can suffer such fools. The other night I was asked to strum my guitar at a friend's going away party. After I performed, an attractive youngster came up and started talking to me, said she was part of an "NGO" that worked to save the environment. I replied that there is a water park planned for a place near here and the neighbors are organized to stop it and they could sure use the help of her NGO. She replied, "Oh no, we don't believe in being controversial or fighting against things. We just want to promote the positive and sacred."

So I mentioned the story of another town, and its battle, by the indigenous population, against a golf club, and how a famous hippie commune in that town shrunk from its duty to join in the defense of the town. I mentioned that these hippies went around claiming to be following "indigenous ways" but when push came to shove and the indigenous neighbors needed their money and their connections, they turned into "culeros" (roughly translated: "cowardly assholes.") She said, "oh I was part of that commune back then, and it's not true that we didn't participate."

"Oh, really?" I said. "What did you do?"

"We held drum circles and prayed to the Earth Mother."

I stood up, disgusted with this kind of indulgent form of "activism," said, "best of luck to you" with a sneer and walked away. I just have no time for such people anymore.

So, welcome aboard, Jean, with extra enthusiasm. You're a great reporter, a brilliant writer, and you've let me relive some of my early days in Latin America by reading your reports in recent days. Welcome to the team. Stick around. We need a lot more like you!