Van Jones gave an incredible speech at
Netroots Nation. I wanna vote for this
guy for something. He said many things
that made a lot of sense to me. Watch
the video.
One was, reelect Obama, then hold him
accountable. You can’t elect a
president, then say “Mission accomplished!” and go home. That was the fundamental error of 2008. You have to stay active and committed and
push the guy to do the right thing. It reminds
me of what Saul Alinsky said:
It is not enough just to elect your candidates. You must keep the
pressure on. Radicals should keep in mind Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to a
reform delegation, “Okay, you've convinced me. Now go on out and bring pressure
on me!” Action comes from keeping the heat on. No politician can sit on a hot
issue if you make it hot enough.
The same lessons apply to
unions. Support your union. Make it stronger. Then hold it accountable. You can’t declare
victory and leave. The pressure has to
be applied continuously. Unions built
the middle class. Everything Jones says about Obama applies to unions.
Let’s take it down another order
of magnitude. Our local just reached
tentative agreement with the school district.
We have controversial provisions.
Yes, you can get pissed off and walk away. But Jones’ message resonates even here:
ratify, then administer. If you ratify,
then go home for four years, you deserve what you get.
Organizing and activism are a
pain in the butt. Too bad. That’s the price we pay for democracy.
This is so true! Thanks for sharing! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Madonna! Please tweet and share as well. One thought: ever hear so much about Alinsky before the Fellowship?
ReplyDelete