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N O R T H C O A S T T IM E S E A G L E , SEPTOBER 2004
SO WAYS TO GET POLITICAL
2 c Promote military conversion campaigns. The fact a sizable
portion of our economy is dedicated to the technology of kill
ing contributes to a political climate that tolerates war. Support
efforts to wean industry away from the military.
Run for elective office. Attend meetings of local government
27 city council, school board, park district, whatever — to learn
how they work and be a voice for reasoned sanity and balance.
Then run for office, or volunteer for appointment to an advisory
council. The “system” really is a product of the individuals who
participate in it.
Support campaign reform. This is a must. Anything that
2 8 elevates the quality of political dialogue above the level of
“soundbite” and reduces campaign dependence on big money
will help people to reclaim politics.
Start a shadow government. If you’re thoroughly disgusted
29 with the decisions of your legislature or city council, start your
own! Your mock resolutions won’t have the rule of law, but they
will help you articulate your concerns and values — and you
might draw some media attention to your point of view.
Be a media guerrilla. Use fax, E-mail, photocopies, T-shirts,
30 newsletters, bumperstickers or whatever to broadcast the
message of your choice. Spread empowering information!
Buy third-world products. Especially those produced by small
31 family-owned businesses and co-ops.
« 2 Don’t buy third-world products. Especially plantation crops
J 2 like coffee, cocoa and bananas that displace food production
for local people, unless you know they were bought directly from
small farmers.
Spend less money. The less you spend, the less you need
33 to make and the more time you have available to talk, read,
campaign, etc.
Earn less money. The less you earn, the lower your tax rate,
^4 and the less you support things like political corruption and
nuclear weapons programs.
«c Earn a lot less money. Many people arrange their lives so
that they can live simply and pay no taxes at all, which has
obvious political advantages (but might not endear you to tax
payers).
Earn more money — but live simply and give away the
36 surplus cash to efforts to promote a sane and livable world.
Give away your inheritance. If you come into money, use it
3 ' t o support efforts to create change for the better. Or invest
your money, live off the interest, and devote yourself to volun
teer work.
Reclaim your inheritance. National forests, the airwaves,
38 public parks — all of these belong to you. What would you
like to do with them?
~q Use a condom. For lots of reasons. Protecting yourself from
AIDS, reducing population, and reducing the chances of an
unwanted birth are all profoundly political acts.
Adopt a politician. Write a monthly letter to your Represent-
ative, Senator or President. Invite a schoolboard member to
lunch. Sometimes making friends is the most politically effective
thjng you can do.
Eat lower on the food chain. Food is the most under recog-
41 nized confluence of the personal and political. Eating less
meat will positively impact everything from your health to public
land management.
^ 2 Fly an Earth Flag. National borders are human inventions,
but the planet isn’t. Pledge yourself to the service of your
planet, bioregion, and community.
Write to foreign governments. Let them know that you care
43 about what they do, and hold them to the same standards of
human decency as you would hold your own government.
AA Write to your own government. Let them know you care
44 about what they do, and hold them to the same standards
of human decency as you would a foreign government.
Get rid of your television set. Spend the time you save on
political activities. This is easily the most radical item on the
list, as it involves permanently unplugging yourself from the
national propaganda machine we call advertising.
Watch television — critically. If you don't want to pull the
46 plug (or want to plug back in), tune in with discrimination.
You can learn wonderful things from TV and use it as a tool
for political education, or you can pollute your brain and get
drowned in propaganda. It’s up to you.
A 7 Buy a share of stock. This entitles you to attend a company’s
4* annual meeting of stockholders, vote and voice your opinion.
Praise or chastise the company’s directors, as appropriate.
. _ Don’t get mad, get involved. If you don’t like something, work
48 with others to try to change it. If you can’t change the big
things, change the small ones. Politics is not someone or some
thing “out there” — it’s something we create together.
-q Expect success. When you approach a problem expecting
4“ failure or defeat, you will be defensive, and that is more likely
to generate opposition than if you demonstrate an expectation of
cooperative problem-solving.
Don’t worry, be happy. No, we’re not kidding. Worry comes
50 from an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning to choke, strangle,
injure, or violate Worrying doesn’t do much political good.
Happy — which comes from the same root as “happen" — is a
state of mind It's not about denying our problems, but deciding
to do something about them with a creative mind, a compas
sionate heart and a courageous spirit. Easy choice, right?
2®
GERALD MOSS
BY THE EDITORS OF ‘IN CONTEXT’ MAGAZINE
o n Buy produce at a farmers’ market. If your community doesn’t
u have one, get one started.
2-i Be eco-wise.Compost, save water, conserve energy, car pool
4 ’ — all of these contribute to the public good and model good
behavior, and also shift the political center of gravity in a green
direction.
2 2 Correspond with someone in prison. The United States
. imprisons a larger share of its population (0.4%) than any
other nation. More than one million Americans are in jail, either
awaiting trial or serving time. Yet prison is one of the political
institutions some people say we need more of. Get to know
more about it and see whether you agree.
» , Join a study circle. Self-education is a fast track to political
empowerment. Pick an issue you care about, hook up with
some friends who feel likewise, and start reading, thinking and
talking about it. If you then come up with some better ideas than
the people currently holding the levers of power and your plans
are adopted it won’t be the first time such things have happened.
Carry a camera. Amateur video and photographic records
can shine light on an issue, sometimes raising it to national
prominence overnight.
2c Adopt a creek (or a tree, or a hillside, or...). Learn to care for
2 ° it, learn everything you can about it, and we guarantee it will
heighten your political sensibilities.
“Civilization is not natural," Bill Moyers wrote. “It is
an accomplishment of politics and culture. It is not just what
happens; it is what we make happen." In some ways, to suggest
that we must get political is inaccurate. Politics is simply collect
ive decision making, something we make happen every day.
But there are always more and more effective ways to play.
Use this list as a brainstorming tool to improve the quality o f
your own public life, and share it with your friends.
AfVwt d rti
i. '
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*
Vote. People have sacrificed their lives for the right to vote,
1 yet in the USA, fewer of us do every year. Voting is your
hard-earned right and your official voice.
« Don’t vote — and let people know why. If you feel strongly
that you have no genuine choices or that the system is
broken beyond repair, then say so. But speak up about it; don’t
just let it slide.
_ Register people to vote. One reason the political game’s
gone sour is that too few of us play. Many of the non-players
are on the low end of the economic ladder. Sign them up — they
have important things to contribute.
. Vote with your dollars. Buy selectively! Boycott companies or
4 products that violate your principles, and write those compan
ies to tell them what changes you think they should make.Then
buy what you need from companies that are socially responsi
ble. (See Shopping for a Better World, published by the Council
on Economic Priorities.)
Travel. Get some first hand experience in how things happen
5 in other places, and bring home some questions about how
you do things at home.
_ Don’t travel. Travel wastes energy and your troubles come
6 with you. Stay home and concentrate on improving your
community.
Grow a garden (or support local growers). It makes you less
7 dependent on agribusiness, and more aware of your depend
ence on — and relationship with — the Earth.
„ Recycle. First reduce consumption, then reuse what you can.
8 Recycle everything possible of what’s left. Promote this
practice in your community and workplace. Besides voting,
recycling is currently one of the few ways we participate in public
life on a mass scale voluntarily.
q Write letters to the editor. Published they can change minds,
” and even unpublished, they impact the newspaper. (See
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Writing a letter to the editor is a wonderfully effective
way of reaching thousands of newspaper readers about almost
any political issue. Equally important, politicians keep a close
watch on letters to the editor to monitor public opinion, and this
directly affects the actions they will take. Furthermore, each
newspaper gauges its readership’s interest in various topics by
reviewing letters to the editor, including those it does not print,
and this, over time, affects what topics the newspaper actually
covers. Editorial boards in particular keep a close watch on
letters to the editor in determining topics on which to editorialize,
and letters referring to current printed editorials are especially
noted to sense the climate of public opinion.
W e’ve made the point that letters don’t have to be pub
lished to have an effect. Still, publication is best and certainly
reaches the maximum number of people. Here are a few rules
to help assure that your letter will be selected:
-U se a hook. Always refer to and comment on an article
or editorial that already appeared in the paper.
-Keep it short. Look at the letters published in the news
paper to which you’re writing and stay within that length.
-B e emotive. Show that you care about and believe in
what you're writing If you’re moved or angry, get that on paper.
Being funny, while harder to do, is also a big plus.
-H ave a clear point and make it. Have someone else
read your letter to check you on this one
-Include an interesting fact or argument. Pick one that
may be new to readers. The provocative and/or controversial is
by no means out of the question.
-B e legible, and include your name, address and phone
number to enable editors to verify your letter. Your letter should
be mailed to “Letters to the Editor” at your newspaper's address.
National newspapers or national, regional or local magazines
are fair game too, just remember you have to have a hook —
some reference to an item previously published
If you can get some friends to write to the same paper
you have on the same subject, especially if this occurs over time
with increasing numbers, it looks to the editors like a movement
is emerging. And it is!
sidebar.)
Write a song. Political songs are great tools for organizing
10 and inspiring people. Where would the Civil Rights and
anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s have been without
the music?
. . Learn about unions. If you don’t belong to one, get someone
’ 1 who does to explain their purpose, history, and current status.
Unions are where many of the most important political battles of
our era were fought — and often won.
. 9 Get to know your neighbors. It’s hard to reclaim politics with-
■ 2 out some sense of community. Once you know and trust
each other maybe you could even talk politics.
. _ Start political conversations. You can do this anywhere, with
13 anyone. Talking politics (and listening) is critical for a vibrant
democracy.Start with a question: “So what do you think about..."
.
Make friends with someone of another race, ethnicity, age,
• 4 ability, gender or sexual preference. Ask questions, and learn
to listen to the answers.
Learn another language This will expand your political (and
15 cultural) horizons in manifold and unexpected ways.
Teach someone to read. Politics is a dialogue, and those who
16 can’t read can’t participate as fully or as easily.
Mount a “slow streets" campaign. Downtown pedestrian malls
17 and low speed limits mean more pedestrian traffic, which
means more personal interaction, which can support develop
ment of a true civil society. It won’t happen if we re all driving
around fast in metal boxes
. _ Ride a bike. You’ll get healthier, make a statement, and add
■ ® yourself to the constituency of cyclists calling for slow streets
and bike trails.
. Q Call a radio talk-show. The good ones are often the town
1 9 meetings of the airwaves. Talkshow hosts (the good ones)
will especially appreciate you if you talk common sense about
a currently divisive topic.
-CARLA COLE
Carla Cole wrote this for IN CONTEXT She adapted
it from educational material produced by RESULTS, a hunger
lobbying group.
I
“50 Ways to Get Political" is reprinted from IN CONTEXT,
A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture, which is published
at Bainbridge Island, Washington.
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