Regarding White Folks [View all]
"We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society." -- LBJ; May 22, 1964
It was fifty years ago today, Rachel Maddow has reminded us, that President Lyndon Johnson spoke of his dream -- of the Great Society. It was a beautiful dream, though US involvment in Vietnam turned it into a nightmare. Ever since, the corporate media has done everything possible to convince the American public -- you and me -- that the very concept of the Great Society is impossible at best, disastrous in practice.
Indeed, one need only look at American society today to see that it is divided even more between the masses, or the 99%, and the economic elite, or 1%.
It is, in my opinion, a situation that can only be confronted at the grass roots up. All politics are local, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan said. A foundation for a true constitutional democracy -- capable of bringing about social justice -- needs the grass roots foundation to be built upon.
Yesterday, an old friend running for a seat in Congress and I had an interesting conversation. Although he lives in another state, today's technology easily allows me to assist him from a distance. I'm volunteering as a speech writer.
The night before, I won re-election on the local school board. Today, I spoke with some leading democrats in our region, about my running for state office this fall. I also spoke with leaders from the Democratic Left, so that I can run on more than one slate this fall. While computers will play a role, a lot of this can only be accomplished by an investment in shoe leather.
I also met with a teacher from a NYC art college. He is publishing a book on the need to protect the environment. I added a list of quotes by Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman, specifically about the power of clean water.
There has been so much going on, that I wasn't able to travel to Cooperstown today. President Obama was scheduled to vist the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was supposed to talk about tourism -- which was ironic, as the Hall of Fame was closed to the public today. Groups from across the state were prepared to show up, to rally against hydrofracking.
I believe that these public demonstrations are important. It;s an activity that is protected by Amendment 1. But, if we are to move towards becoming that Great Society, we have to do more than demonstrate. We need to begin to Occupy Public Office.
Peace,
H2O Man