More and more people are becoming painfully aware about the root causes of the corruption that has engulfed the country, and the social and political dysfunction it has caused. By now many of us understand that both major political parties have been corrupted by what is in essence a system of bribery where wealthy individuals and organizations by and large fund the campaigns of elected officials, and also provide them with lucrative jobs after they leave office, among many other enticements.
Every major problem we face, when it comes to the unresponsiveness of politicians to the will of the people, the destruction of the environment, the tearing down of the social safety net, the undermining of constitution rights, war profiteering, etc., can be traced back to the choke-hold the moneyed elite has on our government, and the levers of power.
It pains me to see the frustration and increased anger people feel about this situation. There is fatigue among social justice activists... Nothing seems to move the power elites, the government, to do the right thing. Not huge protests, nor letter-writing campaigns, nor petitions.
And nothing will until we gain the strength to impose our will; the will of the people; the will of decent, hardworking citizens (in the broad sense of the word).
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what a people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.
- Frederick Douglass
We (the people) need to organize. All social justice groups need to find a way to join forces, to collaborate, to have a clear agenda. A lot of the necessary ingredients are already there... There are multiple groups around the country taking on the plutocracy in different ways, but now we have to form very strong coalitions.
Strength lies in organization, in careful long-range planning and implementation, in consistency of action over an indefinite period of years, in the scale of financing available only through joint effort, and in the political power available only through united action and national organizations.
- Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell
Because of the urgency of the situation we are facing, I will reach out to activists and progressive organizations around the country and encourage them to form strong coalitions, by asking them this question: What is preventing them from forming strong, cohesive and highly strategic coalitions capable of gaining the strength necessary to take on the plutocracy?
I will also demonstrate what I mean by that by organizing activists into a nationwide network with the objective of eventually being able to coordinate strategy and act in concert.
In that effort, I'm currently seeking to connect with people from all over the country with the objective of establishing groups of activists at the local level (cities and towns), and then connect those groups into a national network.
My suggestion for each group is that we focus on identifying how business cartels and wealthy individuals (and special interests) corrupt our system of government at the local level (cities, towns, states), and how these cartels operate nationally, i.e., ALEC, the Koch Brothers-funded groups.
Then we'll share that information, identifying patterns, identify exactly how the money flows from the business cartels to each politicians and their staffs.
Then we'll develop a multifaceted approach to take on the corruption, including research (to identify the exact manner in which the corruption is taking place), letter writing, targeted protest campaigns (ongoing, relentless, nonstop), etc.
In the meantime, we'll do a lot of constructive stuff, like helping promote the formation of employee-owned businesses, food and housing collectives, helping spread and grow and support labor unions across the country.
Anybody can join. If you are a busy mom with three kids, and a full-time job, and can only contribute 15 minutes a week, join us; you are welcome, and your contribution will be greatly appreciated. If you are a hard-core (peaceful) activist willing to lead a group in a city, join the group. Clergy, students, union members, retire people, business owners, the unemployed, all people of good will, let's unite!
Here are some tools I'm putting together for the formation of the groups...
Check out a list of people who have join the online community I've setup. Check out John Tehan's profile (see his photo with Senator Elizabeth Warren). He created a "Massachusetts Group" and is recruiting people to join it!
Here are some basic steps: Join the online community. Once you join, you can create a "Group" for your area. I've created some groups for San Francisco, Miami, and New York City... You can create your own.
Once you create the groups, you can add events (for local activists meetings), share photos, start discussions.
I'm also developing a site called "Market For The People." The purpose of that site is to promote sustainability concepts, employee-owned businesses, housing and food collectives.
For those interested in participating in the project, here are some links: Join online community; Join email list. Our fellow Kossack Words In Action, who has done excellent work on sustainability issues, will be helping me in populating the website. Check out one of his latest diaries: "The Growing Cooperatives Movement & How You Can Get Involved - YES! Mag Conf Call, Chat Notes."
In closing, I know that the challenges we face seem daunting, and that many people feel frustrated about the political dysfunction (and paralysis) in Washington, D.C. I encourage you to try these ideas I'm proposing... Let's get together, like-minded people of good will who care deeply about this country, about our fellow human beings, about our environment, and about future generations.
I guarantee you it will be fun as well... Check out my diary about my meeting with another fellow Kossack, AoT: "About My Meeting With Fellow Kossack AoT Last Night..."
And finally, I also guarantee you that the last thing the corrupt PTB expect is for people to come together in this type of cohesiveness and understanding about the actual state of affairs... There is a lot of billionaires monies being spent right now in trying to confuse people, in trying to keep us from uniting, in trying to pit one against the other, in trying to keep us in front of the TV watching hour after mindless hours of reality shows, while they are robbing us blind.
Let's not go along with that plan... Let's create our own narrative, our own plan!
Each blue dot on the map below represents a member of a growing nation-wide network of social justice and anti-corruption activists committed to finding the best way forward. Join us in the effort!
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Ray Pensador |
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