We Have Forgotten How Real Political Change Happens
When you are just one person sitting on a warming planet -- when you see economies collapsing, wars raging, and reasons for fear on every corner -- how should you react? What can you do? The current cluster of crises has stirred mood-responses that you can hear in every bar and coffee shop. It's worth looking at them, because beyond their siren messages, there is a road to real change that is being neglected.
The first mood is to feel powerless, and to turn this into a defiant pessimism. You know the script. I can't make any difference. It's all going to happen, whatever I do. The political conversation is remote and boring and has nothing to do with me anyway. I'm going to buy an extra-big lock for my door, hug my kids a little tighter, and sit out the storm.
We all have these moods from time to time, but they have now turned into the default mode of citizens in the supposedly advanced democracies.
The second mood seems to be the opposite, but is actually its flipside. It says: what we need is a heroic leader who will save us. Enter Barack Obama. He's clever and articulate and has a conscience. He's the photographic negative of George W. Bush. He will sort things out. Leave it to him; breathe out at last.
Both these moods leave you -- the ordinary citizen -- inert. All you can do is focus on your own personal life and wait, for disaster, or salvation. But these twin dispositions leave out the real option that is waiting for you. It is the only one that has ever delivered political change in the past, and it is the only one that will pull us out of the ditch now. It is where ordinary individual citizens -- you -- come together and raise their voices and offer solutions of their own.
To get there, you have to deal first with the people who say that politics is irrelevant and boring and they don't care. I always offer them one fact. According to the best scientific evidence, if we have five degrees of global warming -- which is now a significant possibility in my lifetime, unless we change our behaviour fast -- there will be global crop failure. Food will not grow.
Are you bored by this prospect? Is that dull? You won't be bored when you are hungry. Martha Gellhorn, the great war correspondent, said: "People will often say, with pride: 'I'm not interested in politics.' They might as well say, 'I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future or any future.'" Be serious. It might seem remote; it might seem difficult; it might be a world away from the arcane mumblings of Nancy Pelosi and Michael Steele; but unless you are a psychopath, you care.
Far from being some dreamy call to kum-by-ya, collective political action is the single biggest reason your life is incalculably better than your great-grand-parents'. When people first called for equality for women, when people first started to conduct scientific experiments, when people first suggested paid weekends and holidays for ordinary workers, they were greeted by the same glib pessimism we hear today. It'll never happen! What can we do? But ordinary people who believed they were necessary gathered together. They spoke and argued and marched and lobbied in their defence -- and they won.
These achievements were never handed down by people at the top. Who was the leader of feminism? Who was the leader of scientific progress? Who was the leader of workers' rights? Sure, there were inspirational individuals along the way. But they happened as a result of millions of ordinary people demanding it, and never giving up. If we had waited for leaders to spontaneously see the light, we would be waiting still.
That's why the unquestioning faith in Barack Obama of the past year -- now slowly dispersing -- has been as disempowering as despair. Both ask nothing of you. In reality, Obama will only be a good president if ordinary people pressure him to be one -- if they shove him away from his errors (like aerial bombardment of Pakistan) and push him to pursue his good goals more vigorously (like building universal health care at home).
Trusting him to do the right thing is a basic misunderstanding of how progress happens in a democracy. You choose the best leader available within the power structure -- which Obama undoubtedly was -- and then you pressure him like Hell. Great democratic leaders permit the public mood to prevail over the entrenched vested interests blocking their will. It's an art, but it's not the most important art: that lies with you, and me, and all ordinary citizens.
That's why I get angry when I see movies or plays venerating leaders as quasi-Messiahs. In the otherwise-excellent new play at London's Trafalgar Studios, The Mountain-Top, Martin Luther King is given a premonition of Barack Obama as The One that will come after him. In the movie Bobby, about the assassination of Robert Kennedy, one character asks in tears: "Jack's dead. Bobby's dead. King's dead. Who's left?" The response is -- all of you. Bobby Kennedy's mind was changed on Vietnam by the vast public protests by ordinary people; Martin Luther King had power because he was part of a huge movement of concerned citizens. Neither were lone heroes: there is no such thing in political life.
If you don't turn onto politics, politics will turn on you. In any society, the people who already have power will try to get the state to work in their interests. Every day, the oil companies and the billionaires are lobbying for their interests -- and they speak far louder than their numbers, because they have so much hard cash. If you sit back, shrug, and say you can't do anything, their interests will prevail over yours.
That's how we got into the credit crunch that endangers your job, and the climate crunch that endangers your ecosystem. Banks spent billions on lobbyists and PR-mongers to make our governments scrap the rules restraining them, so they could then pile up mountains of risky profit. In the end, it caused the financial house to fall down on us all. Similarly, Big Oil and Big Coal spend a fortune to stop governments making the urgent transition to clean energy that we need. It will cause the ecological roof to fall in. In both cases, a small concentrated private interest prevailed over the public interest -- and you were screwed.
Politicians respond to the pressures put on them. The banks and oil companies and billionaires never stop putting on their pressure, waving their cheques, and making their threats. We need to make sure our collective voices talk louder. The only way to do that is to give your time and energy and dedication to demand genuine democracy.
This isn't something remote. It's very simple and very practical. Choose one or two groups, and donate a few hours of your time a week. There are a thousand of brilliant campaigning organizations -- I'd recommend Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Womankind Worldwide, and Common Sense for Drug Policy, just for starters. They all have work for you to do, now. If there isn't a group for the cause you most believe in, start your own.
Political change rarely happens in a satisfying orgasmic flash, but if enough of us demand it, it comes in the end. Democracy -- real, campaigning democracy, not the dessicated Westminster variety -- works like those Push Ha'Penny machines you find in old arcades. You remember: thousands of two pence coins lie on a moving shelf, and you have to drop in coins of your own in the hope it will cause the pennies to tumble down for you to collect. Sometimes it feels like you are wasting your coins and the piles aren't moving even a millimeter -- but then a ker-ching landslide happens, often when you least expect it.
You are not powerless. You are surrounded by millions of people who share your frustrations and share your instinct for justice and rationality. It is your job as a citizen to connect with them. Together, you are powerful. If you remain alone and apart and soaked in cynicism, you can be sure the Rupert Murdochs and Wall-Marts and Exxon-Mobils will be fighting for their interests -- against yours, and humanity's.
Johann Hari is a writer for the Independent. To read more of his articles, click here . You can email him at johann -at- johannhari.com
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...sitting on a warming planet....
oh please, give me a break! Do you think that if you casually "throw" those words around enough people will just slurp them up like the kool-aid you're serving and believe it?
1. There has been NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE that humans have any impact on climate changes.
2. It is most likely that climate change we have been able to measure (miniscule as it is) is most likely caused by solar flares, which are in turn regulated by the "valves" at the poles.
Please keep your comments to your point...and stop beating a drum in an attempt to brainwash more people into believe nonsense.
this is helpful, but what about those of us who have fought tirelessly for years and years only to be out-bid by special interests EVERY SINGLE TIME? we do not get endless access to lawmakers like lobbyists do. we do not get to write legislation, buy airtime, renovate legislators' homes, take them on lavish trips. we get to email them through forms on their websites, and receive irrelevant, generic, boasting replies. we get to speak to (or meet with) receptionists in their satellite offices, or sit in the back of a crowded conference room while they pontificate at the front.
we write and sign petitions, join groups, send letters, make calls aaaaaaannnnnddddd.... nothing. we work hard to educate the public and the press about issues about which they are being lied to by these same big interests (T. Boone Pickens comes to mind), but the "party line" prevails no matter how many solid, indisputable facts are presented.
the fact that you appear to be completely unaware that Chevron, BP, Goldman Sachs and other Robber Barons are behind the huge push to industrialize our wilderness with Big Solar, Big Wind, and Big Transmission, while ABSOLUTELY BLOCKING the efforts of millions of us to establish loan and feed in tariff programs so that WE can be the center of a renewable energy revolution is a case in point. how can anyone advocate wholesale wilderness slaughter instead of clean, reliable, affordable solutions within the built environment? PROPAGANDA.
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Class dismissed!!
...do you know what socialism is?
Socialism is many things, but what it usually is construed as is the government taking an active and at times majority role in certain idustries, often labeled "Heavy Industries" though in the past quarter century this can be expanded to certain social industries (such as healthcare). That doesn't take away the reward, like averaging grades, it just takes away the capitalistic market (calling it a free market is just a misnomer, there is nothing free about it) from playing with things we can't afford to lose. The Tech Bubble? painful when it burst, but that was just a growing pain of capitalism. some peopel lost big, some didn't, we all moved on. But the housing bubble? much more painful, because where people live isn't something that should be gambled on in the free market the way that new technology can. becasue not all things are equal. some things we cannot do without, and so shouldn't risk unduly.
So, are you proposing we should do away with the free market? Your post makes some valid points, but I am not sure what your conclusion is: HPD
You, or whoever concocted your little story, have completely misunderstood how real "socialism" works.
In a socialist system, a classroom wouldn't have grades, in the sense that you're talking about, at all. In a socialist classroom, children would learn for the pleasure of learning, and for the purpose of serving the greater good through self improvement, which is, after all, what education really is.
In a pure socialist system, if such a place could exist, each student would probably be somehow graded against his or her own aptitudes, and his or her own progress, and will to progress. (Such educational models certainly exist, but I'm no expert, and couldn't name them or point to them...)
But like most people who insist on demonizing "socialism," you probably can't follow why such an idealized "socialist" classroom would be, if not intrinsically an improvement on our current American classrooms, certainly more likely to turn out happy, productive citizens. If you're raised to care about the community as much as your self, you take better care of yourself, so as to be more useful to the community. Education included.
In reading Marx, Gant, Nietzsche and many other utopian statists, I completely understand socialism and all of its kindred ideologies. They all promise many of the same things, but when put into practice, they are proven abject failures. I understand the allure that you and many others have with the concept of socialism, but can you actually name a society or civilization that has made things better for their citizens with this model of society?
Wow, on what planet do you live...??????
If we were all robotic, perfect people, your example would work great. But we are flawed humans. And thankfully -- some people still have an entrepreneural spirit -- that should be rewarded. They don't want to just exist and do the same things as others -- they want to excel! They want to achieve! They want to be rewarded for good work! [in ALL socialist societies -- when everyone is put on the same plane -- achievement overall drops]. After all -- if there is no reward for achievement -- why do it?
I'm afraid your aspirations for a purely "socialist" society are a pipe dream -- tried by many societies in the past -- and has failed miserably. The result ALWAYS is that a select FEW leaders emerge and have power over the masses.
No thanks.
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Wow, on what planet do you live...??????
If we were all robotic, perfect people, your example would work great. But we are flawed humans. And thankfully -- some people still have an entrepreneural spirit -- that should be rewarded. They don't want to just exist and do the same things as others -- they want to excel! They want to achieve! They want to be rewarded for good work! [in ALL socialist societies -- when everyone is put on the same plane -- achievement overall drops]. After all -- if there is no reward for achievement -- why do it?
I'm afraid your aspirations for a purely "socialist" society are a pipe dream -- tried by many societies in the past -- and has failed miserably. The result ALWAYS is that a select FEW leaders emerge and have power over the masses.
No thanks.
Your analogy was amusing thank you but flawed. First of all we have a class society based on a combination of things built up over time and money and status. To be an upper class citizen one only needs large sums of money. Thank capitalism but Socialism would provide that as well the difference being Socialist cultures dont give a damn about Upper strata people or their lives.
It's assumed that the elite (grade A students) earned or worked for their status in class. That doesnt' translate into reality. Most wealthy people inherited their wealth. Even hard studing students who earn a Harvard degree while working their way through life and paying their way through life give birth to families who dont. And the trend continues.
While the lower graded students are described as not earning their grades or not working for their grades but receiving a benefit that would make them successful. Thats false also. The poor and average income people work harder than anyone else on the planet. And the benefits bestowed upon them from the nominal amounts of assistanced shared from forced government intervention isnt sufficient to make them wealthy or even average just helps them SURVIVE with a D.
Your story was amusing though you just need to tweek it with a tractor size wrench.
Overall, I agree with this but it is still reasonable to be deeply interested and involved in politics and remain sceptical as to how much change you can affect. You suggest choosing, "one or two groups, and donate a few hours of your time a week". Although I agree with this you present it as the sole solution whereas I think how change occurs is much more complicated and diffused, liable to various factors and particular circumstances.
Thank you!
I'm so impressed by what you wrote that I'm going to use certain parts of it for energizing the people in the orgs I speak to. I am sorry however if it upsets you that what we are fighting for may very well be what you are fighting against, but that's the nature of Democracys.
May the best Community Organizers win.
The secret that these would be dictators know that frightens the crap out of them is this; they really have no power, it all resides in the hands of the people. You say you want single payer health care? Do you want it badly enough to just cancel your current policy and not buy another until you get what you want? It wouldn't work if just a few of us did that, but what if we came together as a people and did it together? What could the crooks who exploit our desire for healthy lives do about that? Gandhi and his followers defeated what was then the world's greatest empire by doing just that. But it took tremendous courage and sacrifice.
Does anyone believe that our population is so divided by an act of God? Or is the schism in our society created by those who use it to exploit us? They keep us apart by race, divide us by artificial political divisions, keep us separate with disparate theologies, and the list just keep going on. We are kept at one another's necks to keep us from recognizing our real enemies, them. If we can decide on just one goal and come together as a people to accomplish it, then we will become aware of our power and as long as we keep that power we will be truly free,
Regrettably the vast majority of Americans are in exactly the mode you describe, waiting for President Obama to save the day. There are positive aspects of the failed "health care reform" (failed in the sense that what is being proposed now is a shadow of what the people want), and that is that everyone has become strikingly aware of the role of lobbyists in thwarting it and the inability of the White House to do anything about it.
My fear is that any real outbreak of mass action and protest will result in an unprecedented brutal response with the "war time" powers the government have given themselves. Hey I guess that lesson has to be learned too. There are already clear indications of military surveillance of activist groups the purpose of which doesn't leave much to the imagination.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-goodman/obamas-military-is-spying_b_246655.html
I think that many are afraid of stepping out because of said surveillance which is hugely unfortunate as they are succumbing to the true intentions of those operating that surveillance and dispersing harsh responses.
But remember , a Government that bills itself as " OF the People" has a price to pay if it kills it's citizens because they are unhappy and are lawfully assembled in "their" streets.
Keep in mind Countries like Canada, England, France don't have to kill their people over Healthcare.
Kent State did not stop the protest, they got stronger. Beating those Black People in Al. didn't stop them
it defeated the oppresors.
Yes, yes, yes! I could not agree more.
Would that this were so, but it's largely wishful thinking. The truth is, progress occurs very infrequently in America. The most progress, in the 1960s, was caused mostly by a demographic fluke -- the baby boomers -- coinciding with a technological revolution. Aside from that golden era, progress in the U.S. has been quashed routinely by conservative interests, just as health care reform is being quashed now, along with most other progressive efforts. And none of this is likely to change any time soon, so America will rapidly lose its status as a world power and soon will be replaced by a more sensible entity such as Europe, China or Brazil. America is essentially a nuclear-armed banana republic.
You seem to make the mistake of looking at all progress as being good. Most progress, if it's worth it, should come very slow and deliberate.
What an absurd statement. "Progress" means -- or should mean -- correcting inequalities, inefficiencies and injustices. By your reasoning, we still might be pondering whether to stop drowning witches, enslaving African Americans or paying workers a livable minimum wage. We wouldn't want to embrace progress too quickly!
Progress, by definition, implies improvement. So why should improvements be made slowly and deliberately?
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