It’s Getting Hot In Here

So, I’ll come clean. I’m just not an elections kind of guy. I wasn’t out in the streets last night celebrating, nor was I playing drinking games every time the TV uttered the word “historic”. I however, was trying to be in bed by 8:30, but was woken up by revelers screaming up and down my street in San Francisco. I’m not saying elections don’t matter, or that people shouldn’t vote - far from it. I lent far more support to electoral issues these past few months than I have in a decade, though mostly on local initiatives here in California. But I can’t help but feel that a lot of people (recovering from 8 years of a Bush administration) are thinking that a new Democratic administration will be a panacea.

Of course, it’s great Obama won. The other “that guy” would have been nearly as big a disaster as Bush has been, and his running mate would have continued the utter embarrassment and shame Americans often have when traveling abroad. It’s amazing that a person of color is president of the US. And that the president has some small background as a community organizer, can at least talk the language of activists, and mobilized a lot of new people to get engaged and vote. But really, most of his actual policies are not really that progressive, and he certainly sold out a LOT of his progressive base that helped him beat Hillary. Maybe that’s just politics - but hey, that’s politics and precisely why we can’t put much faith for true change there.

For folks that read the Wall Street Journal or New York Times - you may have seen the ad (below-the-fold) running today, courtesy of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection.

I’ve got to hand it to Al and crew. While I’ve got my share of criticisms of some of his in-depth proposals, plans, and “solutions” to the climate crisis - he’s been damn good about shaking people up, and trying to make bold statement that shift people’s consciousness and paradigms. And really - that’s what we need right now- not “pragmatic politics” - we need bold, visionary, ambitious ideas and actions that will change the course of this country, this economy, and our relationship to the environment. Any honest reading of history will show that these big paradigm shifts have come from social movements. Not from individual leaders, or charismatic spokespeople - but through masses of people taking action and opening entirely new realms of what people see as possible.

So Now What?

Many people are saying that, at least, with a new Democratic administration, the barriers to progressive change are gone. But that simply isn’t true - Democrats certainly hold their fair share of blame for blocking climate legislation, for passing NAFTA, for corporate handouts, for the war in Iraq, and countless more horrible things that we’d like to blame Republicans for, but honestly can’t. See Matt Gonzalez’ great article - What Do They Have to Do to Lose Your Vote?

The work doesn’t start now, it’s already started. Having Obama in office may change some of our strategies, and some of our tones - but will he bring the widespread, systemic change we need to build a country based on justice and ecological sustainability? Can he? Can any president? We can’t lose sight of the fact that change comes from us, not from him. As an entire movement - we need to stand strong on what we believe in, on what is right, and base our demands on what is scientifically needed and morally just - not what is pragmatic in the land of beltway politics.

So I respond back to Al - Now What?

Keep it up - tell people we can have 100% renewable energy in 10 years. Push hard to make sure people don’t rest on their laurels after this election. Keep sticking your neck out there and thinking far bigger and bolder than any of your peers are doing. And how about you join us at Powershift 2009 and join the young people of this country in taking civil disobedience to stop coal-fired power plants?

Coinciding with Powershift 2009 in early March, we are organizing to have hundreds - thousands - of people join us in the largest mass civil disobedience on the climate crisis in US history - at the Capitol Power Plant in Washington DC. This dirty, coal-burning power plant is an iconic symbol of the problems of our energy policy, and with people-power we can demand that it’s time to get coal out of Washington DC, literally and figuratively.

In every major social movement - from women’s rights to civil rights, to the 8-hour day to stopping the Vietnam War - civil disobedience has been an efective and neccesary tactic that reflects the seriousness, the committment, the urgency, and and power of people to bring justice, sanity, peace, and sustainability to our world. Let’s look at what has achieved victory for other social movements, or why the climate movement in many other parts of the world are far more successful than we are - and take action together. I want Al to join us. I want James Hansen to join us. But more importantly, I want YOU to join us.