Diarist’s Note: As noted, this is a donor match. For those of you waiting for such an opportunity jump to the end and click on the donor links ::two ways to donate::
We have arrived at a unique place in our nation’s history. The true nature of our democracy and what we stand for has been directly challenged by forces that appear greater than us. We’ve all heard people variously blame the terrorists, China, immigrants, Walmart or Big Business. But at the core of the matter are our elected leaders, and what and whose interests they represent. And this moment, our Democratic primary, is our window of opportunity to determine who those leaders will be.
Politics in practice, even with the best intentions, gets mired down by its own inertia. Put off dealing with this and that difficult issue and continue to make money the old well-worn ways. But will that old, familiar way be enough to make the kind of changes we need to resist the challenges to democracy that we face? How do we take this opening before us and use it to make a profound difference through the candidate we nominate?
Most politicians talk about change but keep expectations low. Same is easy. Concede the ground early and avoid promises on tough issues. When absolutely necessary, pledge small, incremental change. Work from within the institutions. This sounds so familiar because it describes themes familiar to almost every candidate’s platform, past and current. The best they can do is promise the false security of doing things the same old, familiar way.
This may be difficult because it requires believing that one of the nominees can actually take on the enormous challenges we face. It may be easier and more comfortable to tread the same deep grooves in our lives and not do anything that seizes the chance to make a real change. We read the same news, listen to the same stories, comment on the same diaries. But is that enough? This is our window – this is the chance to make a real difference.
I know I can’t wait for tomorrow to come. The status quo is not working. The center will not hold. The world can’t wait for us to realize man-made climate change is real. People dying of HIV and treatable and curable diseases can’t wait for "reasonable drug prices. We can’t wait for health insurance companies to grow a soul. Our children can’t wait until they are old enough to undue the harm we are inflicting on them now. The biggest threat to us, our democracy and the world is now - as it was before September 11th - the unchecked influence of the federal-industrial-military complex.
How did it come to be more important for Congress to grant immunity to AT&T, Verizon and Bell South for breaking the law and allowing the invasion of our right to privacy rather than protecting that right? Or how did it come to be that big business can send industry leaders to write energy policy and trade agreements? And that they have lobbyists to lower their taxes and weaken environmental standards? How is it that a corporation can have more rights and freedoms, and less regulations and penalties than the ordinary citizen?
We have a government without checks and balances, a revolving door between industry, government, and lobbyists, and an evisceration of the independent media, military, and other democratic institutions. How can the for-profit industry really be expected to run a national health care system that is in the public interest? Or a for-profit educational system or for-profit social security for that matter? How did the individual citizen come be seen as merely a consumer or a raw material?
Looking back over the last 6 years, we’ve had one wake-up call after the other, one a near-death experience after the other, one tragic loss of a loved one after the other, and one wretched injustice after the other. Right now, we all have the opportunity to be a force of change: to take part in our democracy and shape the national agenda by what we advocate for, by volunteering, by donating and by whom we nominate. We have to step into the fire.
I think this is exactly what Edwards has done. I went to Hanover, New Hampshire earlier this year to see John Edwards in person. He gave this remarkable speech (text) that impresses more when I re-read now. I have been cynical when it comes to believing politicians and their motivations, but once I understood what he is fighting for; whom he is fighting for; and why he is fighting, I have a new standard. He gets credit for giving politicians a good name.
I also think he gives Democrats a good name. I never thought I’d see the day that someone’s campaign was actually about more than just getting elected. Edwards threw down the gauntlet when he announced his candidacy from New Orleans. He has made the poverty crisis we face a cornerstone of his campaign and took his campaign on an eight-state Anti-Poverty tour. Edwards has set a policy goal to eliminate Poverty in 30 years. Edward has given us more than hope – Edwards has given us the language and the possibility of actually bringing about change ourselves. Edwards is someone who feels this in his bones – this window of opportunity is something he has taken very personally. In every way, his campaign represents the opposite of the black hole of moral and responsible leadership that has occupied the White House for the last six years.
If you have another moment, please read some more of his platform from his website or watch this interview with Charlie Rose. If you are motivated, consider volunteering or donating to him if you can.
Two ways to match your donation:
Your first donation and subsequent ones up to an initial $250 total will be federally matched only if you donate directly through Edwards campaign site.
Your $251 dollar will be matched if you donate through my Actblue page. Together with a fellow Edwards supporter we will match up to $2500.
UPDATE: Donate through my Actblue ONLY if you have already donated your first $250 through John Edwards website!!!
The Edwards campaign goes beyond the banal slogan, goes deeper than a brand, and is about much more than a strategy for getting elected. We all have our opportunities and Edwards has taken his and opened up a door a mile wide. To get where he's going, he needs us to walk through it with him.
Thanks for reading --Democracy is Coming
Excerpt from John Edwards Hanover speech:
The choice we must make is as important as it is clear.
It is a choice between looking back and looking forward.
A choice between the way we've always done it and the way we could do it if we dared.
A choice between corporate power and the power of democracy.
Between a corrupt and corroded system and a government that works for us again.
It is caution versus courage. Old versus new. Calculation versus principle.
It is the establishment elites versus the American people.
It is a choice between the failed compromises of the past and the bright possibilities of our future. Between resigning ourselves to Two Americas or fighting for the One America we all believe in.
As always, at these moments, the choice we make is not for us, but for our children and our great country. And this time, like no other time, the consequences for our children are truly profound.
Will we halt global warming, protect our environment and humanity from the cataclysmic consequences of inaction and leave our children a livable world rich in the resources that were left to us?
Will we prevail against terrorism by stopping those who would harm us and winning over the minds of those who have yet to take sides so that instead of an ever more dangerous and war-torn world, our children live in a nation that is safe, strong and once again viewed throughout the world as a truly moral leader?
Will corporate greed be all we value as we move further into the global economy, or will we put workers and families first, so that all jobs pay fair wages, every American has health care and corporate profits work for democracy and not the other way around?
Will we face our future as individuals, each of us asking, "What's in it for me?" Or will we return to the central value that makes our nation great? That we are all in this together and each of us has a responsibility to the common good.