Fiddling While Rome Burns
by Blair Bobier

The Left is infamous for its boundless capacity to shoot itself in the foot. While the Right unites, the Left eats itself for breakfast. By failing to act in concert, the Left blows one opportunity after another. It would be a crying shame, for instance, if the Left failed to capitalize on the outrageousness of having the presidential election stolen. After such a blatant demonstration of the shortcomings of our electoral system, what better opportunity could present itself for reform?

While political reform is essential for creating a modern and equitable democracy, it's only one part of the puzzle. America is a capitalist country, and if the Left wants to play ball, it needs capital: hard, cold cash. It's the American Way.

The Left, whatever that means and whoever it includes÷nonvoters, Independents, Greens, Democrats, gays and lesbians, environmentalists may never agree on political issues and candidates. But can't we agree that it's ridiculous to hand our money over to the destroyers of our planet?

In America, money talks and a lot of money speaks very loudly. It's time for the Left to do what the Right does: put its money where its mouth is.

Supporting candidates and nonprofits is a good start, but we need to go further. If we want to replace the pervasive capitalist-consumer system, we need something with which to replace it. Progressive, egalitarian pioneers need to step forward and create the cooperative economic models that will flourish in the twenty first century. Everyday, millions of corporate-bashing lefties hand over billions of dollars to banks, insurance companies, oil companies, media conglomerates, supermarket chains and those global terrorists known as the federal government. These entities need to be transformed and replaced.

Individually, we can take our money out of banks, self-insure where feasible, ride bikes, use mass transit, grow our own food, shop at co-ops and reduce our federal tax liability or become tax resisters. Collectively, though, we can do even more. We can create cooperatives for just about everything including food co-ops, insurance co-ops, car co-ops, credit unions, alternative energy co-ops and land trusts, to name just a few."" There is virtually no limit to the ways we can create and control our economic destinies." Not only will we deprive the multinationals of our hard earned bucks, but we'll be building enduring institutions and creating community in the process."

We also have to reckon with the omnipotent and omnipresent media. The internet is an incredible and accessible tool for organizing but its use is not enough to counter the brainwashing which emanates from blue screens in 99% of the homes in America.Whether it's the "news" brought to you by defense contractors, images of anorexic models, or a steady stream of commercials for gas-guzzling SUV's, the boob tube influences and defines American culture for better and, mostly, for worse.

Community-based institutions such as public radio stations and cable access channels need to be supported and expanded, but we also need to be bigger and bolder. The time has come for progressive television and cable networks and a national newspaper. These things, of course, require money, lots of money.

Especially with Bush II in the White House, the Left needs to be united and pro-active and see beyond the boom and bust cycle of elections. In order to succeed, we need two things: common ground and capital.

In the Monty Python movie The Life of Brian, the Left is ridiculed in the guise of rival rebel factions who, though collectively fighting the Romans, declare that the only people they hate worse than the Romans are the other rebels. No matter what we do, unless we understand the power of money and the need for unity, we're taking one step forward and two steps back: just fiddling while Rome burns.