Comments on: What are we waiting for? We need to be Bigger, Stronger, Louder, and NOW!

By: Barbie

Barbie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:56:47 +0000

I totally agree with everything, but we also have to remember that there are other organizations out there working for the same things we are, but in different areas of the country and have different memberships. Groups like the League of Conservation Voters and Alaskan Wilderness League have been getting petitions and emails sent to legislatures, which is great. But I wonder if it would be better if we were more united, instead of 4 smaller petitions, one BIG one!
So it’s important for us to remember that a lot of small voices can make one big one, and to let each organization do their own thing individually. But I think there could be more unification, too…

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:52:09 +0000

Here, here, Jessy! The next few months are an incredibly important opportunity for youth to build up a movement to be reckoned with. Having been on the campaign trail for 6 months earlier this year, I can testify that it’s an open playing field. If youth came forward with a bold vision for our country, solutions to the economic, social, and environmental problems facing us, and a smart and compelling campaign to engage millions of new voters, we would dominate this election. That’s what Power Vote can become if people get engaged. Let’s do it!

By: Why Green Social Networks Don’t Work « La Marguerite

Why Green Social Networks Don’t Work « La Marguerite — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:01:22 +0000

[...] are popping all over the place. This morning, I got word from Meryn, of yet another one, and another one. Frankly, I have stopped keeping track. They want us to become engaged, and to change our [...]

By: onenuss

onenuss — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:07:40 +0000

YES! Jessy, I share your sentiment to my core. We are big but can be bigger. We MUST be bigger if we are to match the scale of this great challenge. It has to be now and it has to be massive! I am ready for this movement to reach its tipping point. Ready for us to reach that crescendo of undeniable proportions when we are a force so large, so powerful, and so active, that that it shakes this nation to its core. This fall is a historic opportunity to grow our movement like never before.

Teryn, I respectfully challenge your characterization of “our parents movement” as “just trying to stop a war or equalize civil rights.” While it is true that we face an unprecedented challenge with the climate crisis, a challenge that requires new and innovative thought and tactics, this interpretation of past movements is limiting and sets us up to miss out on some of the great wisdom we can draw from the past. These lessons will be essential for the success of our struggle.

“Thought movements” where inherent in the grassroots philosophies of the peace and the civil rights movements. These movements, like ours, wanted nothing short of a transformative shift in social paradigm and practice. They where not just seeking a change in government policy but to fundamentally alter the violent legacy of racism and redefine what it means to be treated like a human being in this country. Their movement was comprehensive and sought to revamp our economy, housing system, communities, schools, government, and foreign policy to reflect true human cooperation and compassion. These great visions where manifest in their courageous nonviolence in the face of unspeakable physical harm to themselves and their families. Much of their movement sought to embody the new world they hoped to create. Let us follow in their footsteps.

I wanted to share something I read today that provides some more historical context. The quote is from Ivanhoe Donaldson, Michigan State student and member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1963.

“It [the March on Washington in 1963] does represent a continuum in the struggle, and the need from time to time to create exclamation points and questions marks and commas, so that people can define themselves in some time frame, which is also important to an organizer, to bring something to a culmination, to take people to a next step.” Excerpt from the book: Voices of Freedom, by Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer

Power Shift 07 was some spectacular punctuation. Now lets make Power Vote our exclamation mark!

By: Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:28:58 +0000

Teryn,

Can you clarify what you mean by needing to “transcend the models of the past”?

Thanks,
Brian

By: Quinn

Quinn — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:47:32 +0000

Jesse and others. Please take a brief moment to view our website. We are a group of dedicated citizens attempting to build the largest earth day rally in history and couple it with a demand of the new president to act to fight global warming. Power Vote should not be an end in itself, it should not be organizing simply for organizings sake, we need a common vision or action. Many organizations out there have money, but do not have large and decisive actions, which is what it will take to make progress. This election will be one of historic proportions, and we need to use that momentum to push our issue, and we can. The Will Steger Foundation of Minnesota is our first official partner, but we have contacted nearly everyone. Please join with us in making next earth day an historic one for the environment.

http://www.marchforyourmother.com/about

http://www.marchforyourmother.com/takeaction

By: Teryn Norris

Teryn Norris — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:58:20 +0000

Jessy is right on — we need a youthquake this coming fall and spring, calling for massive federal investments in clean energy. Young people today are faced with an unprecedented opportunity to define a new politics for a new century and spark a clean energy revolution.

But is this really just good old-fashioned community organizing? My feeling is that this is as much about a thought movement as a traditional grassroots movement. We need both — old-fashioned, on-the-streets community organizing — in addition to the tough thinking, policy analysis, writing, reading, and blogging.

After all, this is a challenge unlike any before. Unlike our parents, we’re not just trying to stop a war or equalize civil rights. We’re trying to create an entirely new global economy — a fundamentally different undertaking that requires us to transcend the models of the past.

Keep up the good work, Jessy.

By: JP Kemmick

JP Kemmick — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:29:05 +0000

amen