Move Something (Anything!)

“This ain’t the time or place for you to prove somethin’, cut the star-gazin’ yo move somethin’”

One of the great, and terrible things about this moment is that because everything and their mother is under attack (geddit?), there are about a million things, wherever you are, that you can get involved with to participate in the great upsurge that is going on.  I hope that the movement that is being stirred by the fight for Wisconsin public employees’ rights to workplace democracy also embraces and supports the numerous other resistance movements that were initiated by attacks against both their funding streams and very integrities in the rush to fiscal ‘austerity’.  That’s certainly the indication I get from Van Jones, but let’s hope there’s some follow-through.

I say this because we have seen, over the last couple of years, no shortage of assaults on not just isolated organizations, communities, and individuals, but assaults on our sources of power, mobilization, and movement capacity, what Chris Bowers calls the ‘Progressive Feedback Loops‘; assaults that have left our ability to respond to further assaults weaker than before.  The destruction of ACORN, the witch hunts against Van Jones and Shirley Sherrod, and all the attempts to degrade and undermine Obama and progressivism in general, was not just about taking out random institutions.  It was about knocking the wind out of progressive organizers, it was about demobilizing and taking out the engines and fuel supplies of the movement that is so much more than Barack Obama.  And so far we have not seen the rush that we see now to support, on a national level, those key communities that are under attack, all at once.  We are all in this together, and they’re attacking us all for the same reason- to diminish our ability to fight back.  Let’s remember that going forward, and know we can’t afford to lose a single piece of progressive infrastructure.  With that being said, here are just a small slice of the struggles that are going on, and a small sample of the ways to get involved:

Sargent Shriver, Founder of Peace Corps, VISTA, Job Corps, and Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, Has Left Us

I don’t know enough about Sargent Shriver (just like I don’t really know enough about the 60′s, the War on Poverty, the Kennedys and LBJ, Civil Rights- you know what, let’s just not worry about what I don’t know enough about.)  But I know he was a cool dude, from a complicated but cool era.  As a serving AmeriCorps VISTA, I count myself one of the thousands of heirs to his legacy.  I owe him a debt of gratitude, which can only be repaid through my own commitments to service, justice, and an America that lives up to the visions of my parents and their generation from that age of possibility.

One Nation Working Together: Beyond Marches And Electoral Drives?

I’m not sure whether this is just me wanting there to be a vibrant left coalition and so seeing more than ought to be seen, or if this is, you know, the actual beginning of a vibrant left coalition that can push our boneheaded party to do better.  But I’m warily excited about the One Nation Working Together movement (they call themselves that).  Pictures here.  They look like what I had wanted the Coffee Party to be a while back, and what I’d rather see out of the March for Sanity.  No offense intended to Coffee Party or Jon Stewart, I think they fulfill a valuable role as well, and there are good friends and people I trust who worked tirelessly on the CP (no, not that CP), but it just lacked the urgency and the transparency (where do you stand dangit?) I needed.

I don’t know where they’re going to go after November 2nd.  That will be the real indicator to me if this is working toward really sustainable movement building or just a ‘crikey we need to make sure we maintain a Dem majority or everything will go to hell’ thing.  Not that we don’t need to maintain a Dem majority, it’s just that we did that in ’08 and we need to take it a step further and change the game.  But if they elicit real grassroots support, real rank-and-file democracy; and get out of the insider game that, well, everyone has been playing since that was the directive sent to them from Day 1 (what was the appointment of the economic team if not a blindingly clear signal that this was how it was going to be?), and begin to directly and effectively challenge and shift the more boneheaded decisions made by the leaders on our side who sent those directives, well, maybe this thing’ll be legit.

Anyway.  I get excited reading their website, at the very least.  Anything that draws pretty unabashedly ‘Let America Be America Again‘ and the original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (check the platform especially) demands my attention, though I know a lot of folks draw from those two in word.  The judgment will be in the deed.  Anyway.  I’ll quote directly their mission and policy principles (there’s that combination of words I’ve been missing!) and link to their supporting organizations (again, the level of real involvement and buy-in, the mobilization of membership and empowerment of member-leaders will be a really strong indicator).

Sweet Ideas From Around The Country

I’ve been in kind of a crappy mood for the last couple days what with the whole Lieberman buzzkill and the ensuing House adoption of a public option at negotiated (rather than Medicare +5% rates).  It’s not the end of the world, but from where I thought we were in the previous days, it’s a bit of a downer.

I find it important to remember the immensely hokey but ultimately soothing words of Paul Hawken from Blessed Unrest, “If you look at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t have the correct data.  If you meet the people in this unnamed movement and aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a heart.”  In that vein, here is this sampling of community projects up for funding by Tom’s of Maine.  Some of them make me sublimely happy.  There’s one from Ohio that I particularly like, the Grow Food, Grow Hope Community Garden Initiative.  They’re in Wilmington, Ohio, the home of another plucky group that totally rules.  So check this out if the news is ever getting you down, and vote for your favorite community project idea, there are some truly great ones out there.

Some 350 Global Shots

Here are a bunch of 350 action shots from around the world. Most of these are from the day itself, some are a little older. Check out more, here.

Organizers estimate 15,000 schoolchildren in attendance in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia

Kids march in Almaty, Kazakhstan

The Maldives' prime minister holds a cabinet meeting underwater (where the Maldives will be if action is not taken), signs a declaration for 350 on October 17th

More below the jump:

Happy 350 Everyone!

In a semi-unfortunate turn of events, there will be no 350 action (a demonstration that in some way highlights the significance of the number 350, which is the parts per million level of CO2 in the atmosphere that is current scientific consensus of a safe level.  Above 350 and you get positive feedback loops that increase the temperature and CO2 level in a vicious cycle, leading to difficult-to-impossible to control global warming.  We’re at 389 or so now) in Oberlin.  We were originally going to have one to coincide with Ohio Power Shift ’09, but the other Ohioans wanted to have their own 350 actions in their communities to show how widespread support is for robust climate action at Copenhagen (the big kahuna of international climate summits) in a couple months.  But that means no 350 in Oberlin, and I’m gonna have to sit this one out.

In a ‘lighting a candle in the window’ kind of gesture, I’ll be updating periodically throughout the day with pictures of others’ actions (hopefully with choice stuff from Ohio), global warming factoids, and occasional all-caps screeds to elected officials, telling them to get off their patooties and do something (not just saying something).

For other accounts, check out 350.0rg, Grist, TreeHugger, ClimateProgress, OpenLeft, and none of the mainstream media, who probably don’t give a fuck what thousands of people in over 170 countries are demanding unless there’s a Mr. President title before their name (or they’re Bjorn Lomborg, why do people still fucking listen to him?)  I’m challenging you, MSM, surprise me.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to Bill McKibben.  He has been one of the longest-active crusaders on this issue and is primarily responsible for the burgeoning climate movement we’re seeing today.  This looks like a titanic effort, and I really appreciate the work he and everyone else has done.

Exciting Action Opportunities PLUS Related Victories To Help Keep Motivated

It’s been a while since I’ve used this blog to highlight opportunities for civic action because I’ve seen the role of this blog changing and haven’t been sure where it fit in.  But I found three awesome ones almost all at once this week and thought it would be good to bring them up, both because they are three of the most important fights progressives are taking on these days and because they showcase a few different organizing strategies that I think are really interesting/inspiring.

I also included a matching success for each action opportunity to emphasize that this action does have ramifications.  Especially with health care, the tenacity of the public option can only be explained by its dogged defense by progressives- especially the netroots and labor (which is also pushing great action on financial reform).  So remember yall, while this shit can be really depressing (and I think you might not be paying enough attention if you’re not pissed off and discouraged at least some of the time), it’s also important to remember there’s a reason to keep fighting- because it fucking works:

Another side of the health care debate: prevention, empowerment, and wellness with HealthCorps

[Wow, I completely missed that this got posted.  This guest post comes from Sarah- my one-time director, long-time friend, ridiculously competent and accomplished leader, and all-around awesome citizen trying to live up to the motto we remember from the pre-'Fearless' days.  Welcome her- Joel]

Hi, all,

I wanted to let readers know about HealthCorps, a national non-profit that is active in Cleveland as well as New York and will be recruiting on Oberlin’s campus next week!  On Thursday, October 14th, stop by Wilder 101 at 12:30 PM to meet with the Education Director for HealthCorps and learn about job opportunities.

HealthCorps was founded in 2003 by Dr. Mehemet Oz (of The Dr. Oz Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show) to respond to the crisis that he had seen as a heart surgeon.  In startling numbers, Dr. Oz found that young people needed heart surgery, had Type 2 Diabetes (formerly known as Adult Onset Diabetes), and other complications associated with obesity.  HealthCorps places health educators in high schools to teach about fitness, nutrition, mental resilience, sexual health, and relationships AND to do community outreach and organizing around all of these issues.

The HealthCorps model is one of wellness, prevention, and empowerment.  On the national level, HealthCorps advocates for these values as well, encouraging legislation such as the Fit Kids Act and bringing leaders and role models on board as ambassadors for the program.  HealthCorps is currently in 50 schools in 9 states, and we are growing!! Come learn more about the organization and job opportunities available!

As a HealthCorps Coordinator, I work in an alternative high school in Manhattan.  I work with students who comprise a particularly high-needs population–many of my students have dropped out of school and come back, have children of their own, struggle with gang involvement, or have tumultuous home lives.  People of color and low-income people are encountering the health risks associated with obesity and poor nutrition at startling rates.  1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will develop type 2 Diabetes, but that statistic jumps to 1 in 2 for non-white children.  I believe that health education is an essential component of social justice work and that HealthCorps provides an empowering, grassroots way to work.

Please reach out to me with any questions you might have about it through this blog!

Thanks! -Sarah