Act to counteract bitter, divisive politics
Apr 29th, 2010 by terry
Photo: US Social Forum/People's Movement Assembly
The bitter, divisive politics that has swept this country threatens our great democracy. When we give into the corrosive, pervasive feelings of fear and scarcity, we sink into despair. We must counteract this trend by rebuilding our country, neighborhood-by-neighborhood. Join the with the millions who are on the case. Get off the couch, put down your cell phone and find a group that shares your passion. Four years. Go. says it all.
The ascendant leadership is coming from the neighborhood organizations and movements that clamor for healthier communities and a commitment to green technology. Paul Hawken wrote about it in Blessed Unrest.
From billion-dollar nonprofits to single-person dot.causes, these groups collectively comprise the largest movement on earth, a movement that has no name, leader, or location, and that has gone largely ignored by politicians and the media. Like nature itself, it is organizing from the bottom up, in every city, town, and culture. and is emerging to be an extraordinary and creative expression of people’s needs worldwide.
Although there is plenty to be discouraged about – the heinous Arizona law that requires everyone to carry identification proving that they are here legally, the heinous Supreme Court decision that grants corporations the ability to give unlimited campaign contributions, the heinous suffering in Haiti and elsewhere – movements for positive change springing up everywhere give plenty of reason to hope.
- Four years. Go. connects and supports all movements for positive change.
- Transition Towns are forming all over the United States and the world to create communities that are resilient, resourceful and less dependent on fossil fuels.
- The Fellowship for Intentional Communities promotes living intentionally with others as a healthy lifestyle choice.
- The TED Talks bring you fascinating discussions for free on the Internet.
- Mindful Metropolis, a free monthly publication, covers the Chicago green scene, art, culture and health.
- Chicago for the People May Day Release Party in Logan Square raises awareness, commitment and funds for people attending the Detroit Social Forum in June.
- The US Social Forum takes place in Detroit from June 22 – 26.
The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our struggle to build a powerful multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational, diverse, inclusive, internationalist movement that transforms this country and changes history.
We must declare what we want our world to look like and we must start planning the path to get there. The USSF provides spaces to learn from each others’ experiences and struggles, share our analysis of the problems our communities face, build relationships, and align with our international brothers and sisters to strategize how to reclaim our world.
As polarized as we have become, putting the greater good above self interest may seem impossible. Given our vast diversity and competing interests, what is the greater good? Ensuring decent, affordable housing, nourishing affordable food, schools that provide a good education, jobs that earn a living wage and safe neighborhoods should not be too much to ask. Although these should not seem like lofty goals, achieving them from the ground up, neighborhood-by-neighborhood is the only durable solution. It won’t be easy. It will be messy. The shift is well under way.
For more info: New Community Vision is working to spawn a movement to think about our social and housing paradigms in a new context. Community gatherings to address our universal challenges are the fertile soil in which durable solutions take root. Please subscribe to this blog and contact us for more information.