A few weeks ago, I attended
a planning group for the East Bay Social Forum. I want to thank Laura Wells for her leadership on this event. I think this effort is important and I encourage everyone to consider participating. There are
two dates currently on the calendar: Jan 2, and Jan 28.
Please save the dates and plan to attend if you are in the Bay Area. There are several events and projects being planned nationally, which I find very exciting if not also
a little disconcerting. However, I want to share with you my thoughts about developing
a meaningful endgame. There is
a confluence
of ideas, energy, aspirations and desire which like the many tributaries
of a great watershed, are flowing towards the same ocean. I am including several key individuals in this e-mail/newsletter because I am aware that we are all working towards the same solution.
I am hopeful because I know every effort to organize will contribute to bringing ideas and people together into
a more focused and coherent
movement. My sense is that multiple events are necessary and productive. Although multiple events may not individually have the full impact we are collectively hoping for, they are nonetheless important. The recent action to surround the White House for the sake
of the Tar Sands Project is
a good example. That said, the Tar Sands Project is not DOA...yet!
I am concerned because these events, taking place in different parts
of the country and on different days, may distract us from developing
a more effective endgame. If there is no focus on
a singular event representing the various facets
of the
movement,
a very important opportunity may be lost.
Any real success should be measured in terms of how well we organize these movements into one expression and set of solutions. Our power will inevitably be judged by our numbers. Calling the country to Washington D.C. for
a national occupation
of the Capitol is, in my opinion, the correct beginning. How we organize that occupation will be pivotal.
This occupation must be large enough to confront the existing structures
of power: the Military Industrial Complex, the National Security State, Wall Street, K Street, the Supreme Court, the Media, and the bankrupted two-party political system. We need to control the debate going into the election and we need to clarify the message in
a way which will resonate with
a vast majority
of Americans.
Unity is everyone's goal, yet there are still many parallel actions emerging without
a common goal between the disparate groups in the
movement. I have been advocating Americans hold our own "People's Congress" since January
of 2011 for
a number
of reasons. The Congress is not representing "We the People”, and it is currently besieged by the lowest approval ratings in it’s history. We need to demonstrate our ability to self govern. We need to declare our independence from corporations, and we need
a framework which can accommodate
a representative body
of the American People, one which is familiar to every American.
Rocky Anderson has established the Justice Party; Ben Manski is now working with Jill Stein, who is running for president on the
Green Party ticket. Margaret Flowers, David Swanson and Kevin Zeese are calling for an
Occupation of Washington D.C. in March. Joe Lombardo and
UNAC are calling for a conference in Stamford CT in late March followed by
a demonstration against the
NATO/G8 summits in Chicago in May. There are multiple efforts across the country to continue the momentum
of the Occupy
Movement. There are plans to
Occupy the Courts on Jan 20,
a Continental Congress in July and another call for
a National Assembly, and the
Harmony Festival in California.
It is obvious that together these movements could become very formidable, large and strong enough to actually change the direction
of this country. It will take millions
of people and much more focus than ever before to actually secure that change, and we cannot underestimate how challenging it will be to unite
a vast majority
of Americans. For that reason, we all need to be very clear about momentum and potential being lost as we work along these very parallel paths. At some point our paths must converge to be effective and they must yield towards the greater good
of the Nation.
At this moment it is vital that we all work together and communicate effectively with everyone involved. I believe this
movement has indeed come
of age. It is within all our hearts and mental capacity to do so, and I am certain we will succeed if we commit to working together. It will require all
of us to bend
a little, to join hands and to be ever more inclusive. It will require all the vision and focus we can muster to align the governance
of this great country with the needs
of the 99% who built it. We will succeed, our biosphere depends on our success.
My only focus is in co-developing
a neutral and robust framework for all movements
of social justice to unite under. We all need to think big; we are essentially working for the same changes. Together with the inclusion
of the Occupy
Movement, we would be
a formidable political force, even
a very substantial base for
a viable third party (in the future) such as the one Rocky Anderson has proposed.
Holding our own People's Congress would be
a very compelling event for the country for several reasons:
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