I know this isn't going to make me beloved among the masses, but I can't help it. Last night I watched the documentary, An Unreasonable Man, and it opened up all the wounds of 2000 for me. Watching the footage of him talking at Madison Square Garden, I started sobbing, full of regret & loss for the hope I had once upon a time, and the horror of all that has happened since then.
After the movie, I couldn't sleep. I cradled my sleeping baby and wept for the world my children will inherit. Will any of their generation feel the same drive to active citizenship that Nader embodies? See the beauty of the American legal and judicial system? Will my smart & charismatic daughter still want to be a senator when she grows up?
Go back with me for a moment to the dark days of pre-Y2K. That winter, I was working on an multimedia exhibit for the millennium. Thinking about the next thousand years was profoundly depressing, and I finally figured out that the problem (as I saw it) was that the survival mechanisms that have made humans so successful as a species are killing us now- overconsumption and overpopulation. This could be changed by consciously turning away from our instincts, but the corporate, consumer-driven culture was blocking that, by disseminating a philosophy (through advertising) of the primacy of the individual, and the right of the individual to meet his or her needs and whims at the drop of a credit card. After months of research and discussing my ideas with people who tagged me as a crackpot, I figured it was hopeless, and the human race had seen its last millennium.
July 4, 2000, pregnant with our daughter, we decided to celebrate Independence Day by watching about 8 hours of campaign miscellany a friend had taped for us (we don't have TV reception). He had taped the entire Green Party convention for us, and Ralph Nader, accepting the party's nomination, said everything I had discovered for myself over that dark winter. But rather than stopping there and throwing up his hands in disgust and resignation, like I did, he offered hope, a way forward, and leadership.
I will never forget watching, tears streaming down my face, as this child of immigrants reminded me why I should be so proud to be an American, and why my duty to my country requires my active citizenship. For the first time in years, I felt hope, pride, and a determination to put myself back on the front line of politics (I had dropped out after Dukakis). I was already a registered Green Party member, and I went to work with a will. I kept a picture of Nader on my desktop, and when I got too discouraged, I closed all my applications, and leaned my head against my screen. It sounds moronic, but my hope was so fragile, and only this one man was keeping me going.
I caught all kinds of grief that year, and many people stil haven't forgiven me, including my own parents (and I suppose many people here), for supporting Nader. In 2004, I left the Green Party and joined the Democrats so I could vote for Dean in the primaries. That failing, too, I held my nose & voted for Kerry, although I was still furious at what he & Gephardt did to Dean. Didn't make a difference. In 2006, I worked my little fanny off for the Dems at the state level. Still didn't make a difference. The Dems haven't moved left, the world has gotten worse, and the polls indicate that disgust with our government and politcians is pervasive.
But seeing the movie last night reminded me why I love Ralph Nader with every fiber of my being. He believes in the people, in the American government, and in the possibility of change originating in the grassroots. He sees clearly what corporations and corporate money have done to this country, but also sees a way to end it, simply through fulfilling our duties as US citizens. He is funny and smart, cogent and honest. To me, he is a light on the shore in a stormy night, and in the late, sorrowful hours of last night, I swore to myself that I will never again regret joining him in his struggle to make America the best democracy it can be, nor will I stop working in every way I can to move this country towards government by the people.
For those of you who are still sore over 2000, I understand your anger and pain. Bush is so horrible in every way that the thought of another, better world that might have been is painful. I have argued the case that Gore lost his own damn campaign for 7 years (or won by a hair, and was shot down by the evil Republican machine), and I'm not going to take it up again. Watch the movie, the documentary covers the issues very well.
But since then, I don't think any candidate has carried the torch of the American dream as high and as proudly as Ralph Nader. He has done so much for this country, and continues to work obsessively to bring about positive change. Even if you hate him forever, try to take his words to heart. We must take our citizenship seriously, as a sacred duty. We can change the system from within through persistent vocal and legal opposition. The American system of government is beautiful, but not working so well. It's up to us to fix it, to make government and politics a good thing again, so that smart children will want to grow up to be Senator, and they don't have to sell their souls to fund it. I promised Nader in 2000 to spend 100 hours and $100 dollars a year on progressive causes. I have done that, for seven years, and I will continue to do it, even when I get discouraged and disgusted.
Thank you, Ralph Nader, for giving me hope and inspiration.
Thank you, Ralph Nader, for your life's work making America safer and cleaner.
Thank you, Ralph Nader, for believing in for a government of the people.
Thank you, Ralph Nader, for standing up to corporate bullying.
Thank you, Ralph Nader, for renewing my pride in my country.
I love you, and I will not give up on our fight.