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Democrats and Direct Action
I cut my teeth in political organizing around direct action with a long term focus on building a community of resistance. I found it far more energizing than electoral politics, more immediate, and far more fun.
Speaking truth to power and engaging in active non violence shaped who I was. I also engaged in influence campaigns that worked within the system. As a young field organizer in Utah I helped gin up significant opposition to an inadequate wilderness prevention Bill generating thousands of postcards and turning out hundreds of students at a critical public meeting.
That shifted the Utah delegation and the bill was defeated. The next year a bill was passed that includes an additional 1.2 acres of mostly Red Rock desert permanently protected as wilderness. I thought about that 1.2 million acres a lot and how we freed the weed by petition gathering, voter registration, organizing a GOtV and passing the California Compassionate Use Act.
My support of electoral politics further strengthened as a three term City Council Member in Columbia, Missouri I saw a laundry list of progressive accomplishments and good government wins all through campaigning for votes. As I completed The Practical Guide to Building a Better World, I formed a Political Action Committee to support my national level local organizing.
After the inauguration we all witnessed the unconstitutional and illegal invasion of government systems and employee relations by unaccountable billionaire Elon Musk and his high tech goons. A spontaneous movement on Reddit called 50501 for national protests at state capitals.
I was intrigued but unavailable. I hope as also a little shocked by the general reception by Democrats and other activists not wanting to take part because they didn’t know who was organizing it. Folks who shared information were encouraged not to participate because of a lack of permits and no identified organizers and folks speculates it was a setup.
So most of the folks I know stayed home. But not all. I heard reports from Michigan where the crowd was robust and inspiring and I saw news reports on many other protests.
In spite of being 50 states, 50 protests, 1 day a President’s Day protest was called by the same network. In Leavenworth the local Democrats put out a call and on a frigid day 40 or so concerned citizens came out with signs and flags and it was beautiful.
When I got home I enjoyed seeing protest photos from across the country. We think protests need leadership and organization, and both can be helpful to win concrete victories but they are not necessary. During the Vietnam protest era the largest protests happened after the national leadership splintered and went silent. The protests kept growing.
We live in an era of increased suspicion and less and less trust. The more that we can rebuild our ability to organize together on a common cause the more effective we are going to be. The New American Community is embracing and promoting decentralized grassroots movements and we encourage others to do likewise.
We have to be wise. There are agents of chaos and misinformation that drive divisive activities. There are risks to trusting strangers. There are also risks from not trusting others we do not know. The risks of being isolated and powerless and having our cherished institutions destroyed without an effective public outcry.
We need to be wise and structure for safety. Do your homework, withhold judgement, make sure if you go to an action you have an exit plan and support. But please don’t stay at home out of fear. The next big action is the February 28th economic blackout.
I don’t know who is planning it. I know it makes sense. I know I want to do it. I know it’s safe. Now more than ever we need a mass mobilization to protect our democracy and our way of life. When the call to action is just and proper and good I am acting, whether I know who made the call or not.
long week
Wow what a week. I have been on the go in a way that I wouldn’t have imagined was possible. I have made pervasive changes to my life and moved into a, if not frenetic, a one thing after another from rise until bed kind of being. I have certainly been this way before but not for a long time. Feels good in some ways, put a pep in my step, but had a hard hard week at work and its left me a little rung out.
I’m tired, which is good. When you don’t sleep and your not tired, that way madness lays. Fido misses me. He was acting out, chewing leaves off the kiefer lime tree. Yesterday I walked him to the dog park and spent a fair amount of time there for a cold day. There were the regulars and I am getting much better at introducing myself to strangers and chatting people up. People like to be listened to and everyone has ideas about how things ought to be better.
Chris, a guy with a Great Pyrenees named Harry (he had another Chester but he passed on recently) had tried to walk an older lady down the side of the ravine but she couldn’t hop across the icy rocks to get across Bear Creek. I asked if he was heading back that way if I could walk with him always wondering if there was a back way in. Gave us a good chance to talk and he told me about the history of the park. It used to be all an off leash areas. The city at one time wanted to fill in all the wetlands and put in soccer fields but the neighbors organized and stopped it. But eventually they rounded the dogs up into a smallish fenced in area. Probably good for the water fowl and such but we could use more space and some solar lights perhaps.
The trail was pretty cool, snakes through the woods leaving the dog park following the creek. The river crossing was a little hairy with one rock completely covered in ice so a little leap was involved. Probably wear my water proof shoes next time and I won’t be so nervous. When John and I were kids we would go down to “the creek” [actually a drainage ditch to my adult eyes, memory is a funny thing, or maybe kids just see better] and play on the ice. We often stayed until one of us broke through and we got “a soaker” and we would have to wrap it up. It was always a cold walk back to the house with one or two wet shoes in the winter. Now there’s goretex.
This morning I went to a legislative update with 3 state reps. I introduced myself to Chris Kelly who is my favorite Missouri politician. He was a judge and I was in his court a number of time with clients and he was always funny and fair. He used to be in the state legislature and when term limits devastated wiped out the population of experienced legislature he came out of retirement to show the kids how to pass law. He’s a democrat in a state with a Republican super-majority and he still got a committee chair. He’s the master of the political compromise. They just passed a cap on spending bill so that if revenues go up again the extra goes into rainy day and school funds so we get out of this boom or bust cycle. He got some nice concessions from the Republicans and was the only Democrat to support it. He’s that kind of guy.
In his speech he railed against the Governator (Nixon of all people, Missouri’s funny) for his 12% cut to higher ed this year even though Nixon’s a Democrat. He praised the Republicans in charge and then raised the question why he’s not a Republican. Then he said “the crazy train” is leaving the station and they will pass laws about prayer, guns and bullets even though no one is threatening those so they can hide the fact they’re selling out the state to big corporations. None of the Republicans countered it. It was amusing.
I also introduced myself to Joe Bechtold of “Truck Stop Missouri”. I told him I was a fan before he had a reality show and told him about Dad being a truck driver and we would visit there and sometimes stay in his hotel, go the restaurant and bar and make a weekend of it. He seemed touched even though he carries himself like a bit of a rock star.
After work I went out for a happy hour at Ragtag with Trevor and an improbable assemblage of former Peace Corps Zambia folks (five, would have been six if Lisa wasn’t baby sitting). I had a Schlafely barley wine which was really good. Since I probably only slept a couple hours last night I was spun on a glass. We had good conversation and I chatted some people up. Got word on a possible housemate. An artist and hipster gal I think highly of. Might to a full or partial labor swap and see if I can advance some projects. Might not, you never know and Fido and I are pretty content.
Well Fido’s not. He just pulled the squeaky out of his cheap ass donkey I got him for Christmas. Its been leaking stuffing all week. Gonna have to take him toy shopping soon. I have had two offers to hang out with him. I should brush him. I have a photo shoot tomorrow and I am going to take him to see if he will play with the photographer’s Newfoundland puppy. Maybe he’ll get his picture taken.
Multiconstruct 
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