Van Jones' Vision of Green Jobs Will Endure

Van Jones has been hit by a nasty smear campaign designed to discredit him and his goal of creating millions of green jobs for Americans. The intensity of Glenn Beck's attacks shows once again the untold lengths the far right will go to hold on to the status quo.

Beck may be crowing about this so-called victory, but his stance on Van--and his resistance to the change he represents-- puts Beck squarely on the wrong side of American progress.

You see, Beck and his friends at Fox New are cheerleaders for 19th century energy sources--dirty coal and oil--that have run their course. Van represents a path that will turn America into the leader of the 21st century clean energy global marketplace.

Which one sounds like a communist to you? The dirty, polluting relic of the past or the beacon of future prosperity and growth?

Two years ago, Van Jones came and spoke to NRDC, and every person in the room was moved by his green jobs vision. This was before Obama was president, before the stimulus package, and before the economy faltered. Back then, Jones was just a man from Oakland with a powerful plan for how America could become a leader in establishing a clean energy economy and, in the process, lift untold Americans out of poverty.

Since that first time I heard Van speak, his vision has taken hold. In the face of the financial crisis and the threat of global warming, Americans across a broad spectrum of backgrounds have embraced it. From Ivory Tower economists to Fortune 500 executives, from workers in struggling manufacturing cities like Cleveland and Gary to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, people realize that investing in clean energy will jump start our shaky economy and generate jobs for struggling Americans.

The ideas Van so eloquently communicates have become mainstream today, and that is threatening to the far right and their friends at Fox News. They chose to tear down Van by piecing together random snippets and a few ill-advised statements.

But what I find ironic is that so much of what Van says embodies not radical talk but traditional American values.

He advocates for jobs that give people a path out of poverty--what some people call pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. He wants Americans of all colors and backgrounds to have equal access to good paying jobs--what some might say is giving people a fair shake. He wants to keep jobs in America, train Americans in the skills they need in the 21st century, and put America at the forefront of a global market.

To me that sounds like the American principles of hard work, innovation, self-reliance, and justice for all. Remarkably, it sounds to Glenn Beck like the ideas of a "communist-anarchist radical."

Van may have left the White House, but I know his voice and his vision will continue to be a force in America. Indeed, he may become an even more potent advocate, reminding us what a green economic future can and should look like.

In the spring, he inspired thousands of young people at the PowerShift 09 conference in Washington by laying out the challenge before us:

Greening this economy is not just a technological challenge or a political challenge or a legislative challenge or a business challenge. It is a moral challenge. And only your generation is diverse enough, loving enough, connected enough, determined enough to meet the true moral challenge that we face, which is this:

We have to create a green economy, but we have to create a green economy that Dr. King would be proud of. We have to create a green economy that includes everybody, that has a place for everyone. That is why we say Green for All.

That is the path to a better future for America. And while plenty of people like Glenn Beck will try to step in the way, I believe we can still get there.

This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard blog.

Comments

[abbienormal]

Ms. Beinecke, I agree with you. Apparently semantics have baffled conservatives once again. Perhaps we should have labeled "green jobs" something else, such as "manufacturing and construction jobs". This is, in fact, what they are.

[lbrty 2112]

Frances, what vision is that? Van Jones couldn't even articulate what a 'green job' actually is.

The emperor still has no clothes!

[sheila]

Anyone who supports Big Centralized Power Plants, including Big Wind and Big Solar is also a Stalinist relic who needs to be pushed aside for the MODERN MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY - decentralized, democratically owned clean, non-lethal power production within the built environment.

Bechtel, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, BP, Pickens - these are names that are synonymous with destroying everything for profits - and they are the EXACT MERCENARIES who will own the Big Solar and Big Wind power plants to re-monopolize our entire energy future while slaughtering millions of acres of our wilderness.

Please, review the policies of environmentalists carefully before donating or supporting. You will be surprised how many of them side with the devils listed above and against YOU owning solar power on your own house...

[SonnyRice]

Since that first time I heard Van speak, his vision has taken hold! How can you say that when ANY person either elected or appointed should be of American values first. I have read and heard this fanatic Van Jones make statements that should have the Government WATCHING him not HIRING him. I enlisted in the service during the Viet Nam War and came home to voices of hate for our doing our duty to America. Today my elected President hires people with un-American values. I should have died back then so as to not have to watch my country change. Double standards have replaced moral leadership. I listened and applauded as our great nation showed the world that in America all are equal. The truth is Americans should be seen, taxed and remain silent. I must have fallen asleep for many years and missed the battle for America. Please be kind enough to let me know the where an when of the battle fought in SILENCE that America lost. Also if there are any survivors please send help to get me back to the America I was born in, I would hate to die on this now foreign soil.

[SonnyRice]

That is the path to a better future for America! I pray you are wrong. If you don't realise that ANY person either elected or appointed should be of American values first. I have read and heard this fanatic Van Jones make statements that should have the Government WATCHING him not HIRING him. I enlisted in the service during the Viet Nam War and came home to voices of hate for our doing our duty to America. Today my elected President hires people with un-American values. I should have died back then so as to not have to watch my country change. Double standards have replaced moral leadership. I listened and applauded as our great nation showed the world that in America all are equal. The truth is Americans should be seen, taxed and remain silent. I must have fallen asleep for many years and missed the battle for America. Please be kind enough to let me know the where an when of the battle fought in SILENCE that America lost. Also if there are any survivors please send help to get me back to the America I was born in, I would hate to die on this now foreign soil.