FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009
The Speech President Obama Should Deliver
David Korten
We All Share Obama's Responsibility for Change
John Nichols
Looking on the Bright Side
Tom Atlee
Eat the Stimulus
Tom Philpott
Making Dirt
Moksha Mokma
Small Scale Grain and Bean Growing
Jody Woodruff
Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project
Xan Augerot
Transition Towns
Shaktari Belew
Cultivating Self-employment in Our Changing Economy
Crystal Arnold
Local Enrepreneurs Can Compete With Global Competition
Michael H. Shuman
Towards a More Harmonious Way of Life
Peter Wells
Why Now is the Best Time to Start Your Own Business
Dave Pollard
Cosmic Calendar
Salina Rain
By Deborah Mokma
“Change does not happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up … from people arguing, agitating, mobilizing, and ultimately forcing elected officials to be accountable.” – Barack Obama
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” - Buckminster Fuller
“Power yields nothing without a demand.”
- Frederick Douglass
Many of us seemed to be holding our breath between the election last November 4 and inauguration day on January 20, much like a couple with pre-wedding day jitters. Would everything go as planned? Would there be an unexpected event which would ruin our special day?
As I watched the inaugural coverage unfold on television, the scene from the Washington Mall—where millions had gathered in frigid weather to participate in this extraordinary day—alternated with scenes from all over the country, even the world, showing the emotion-filled faces of the rest of us who were sharing in this special moment. There was a palpable sense that we were all participating in a commitment ceremony, with Barack Obama committing to us as much as we were committing to him. And to each other.
The sense of exhilaration and of a new day dawning continues as the first full week of Obama’s presidency has now come and gone and he has begun putting into motion some of the change he promised. With a stimulus package that includes $125 billion for schools (tripling federal spending on education), expansion of insurance coverage for the unemployed, a $500 credit against social security payroll deductions (the most progressive change in the tax code in forty years), and much more, this is the kind of swift action that shows a strong start out of the gate. And yes, there’s much more that needs to be done—in fact there’s much more for all of us to do.
Norman Solomon, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, was an elected Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention. The author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death, Solomon recently wrote in a commentary for CommonDreams.org:
“Obama has often said that his presidential quest isn’t about him nearly as much as it is about us—the people yearning for real change and willing to work for it. If there’s ever a time to take Obama up on his word, this is it. Crucial issues must be reframed. The national healthcare reform debate, for instance, still lacks the clarity to distinguish between guaranteeing healthcare for all and mandating loophole-ridden insurance coverage for all. With the exception of Rep. John Conyers’ single-payer bill to provide “enhanced Medicare” for everyone in the United States, each major congressional proposal keeps the for-profit insurance industry at the core of the country’s medical-care system. Barack Obama never promised progressives a rose garden. His campaign inspired tens of millions of Americans, raised the level of public discourse and ousted the right wing from the White House. And he has pledged to encourage civic engagement and respectful debate. The rest is up to us.”
The following ten winners of the Ideas for Change in America Competition at Barack Obama’s website, Change.org, are an indication of the possibilities which lie before us if his administration continues to uphold its promise to listen to the grassroots:
Support Higher Education for All Students
Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace
Free Single Payer Health Care
Develop & Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability
Pass Marriage Equality Rights for LGBT Couples Nationwide
Make the grid green in 10 years
Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana
Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act
Save Small Business From the CPSIA
Health Freedom is Our First Freedom
As a newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt told labor leaders when they arrived with plans they wanted him to implement, “I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.” So must we help President Obama follow through on his promises (and more) by making him do it. From the bottom up.
Along with this national “to-do” list are numerous actions needed to bring about change on the local level as well. We have spent many years and many pages talking about why reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels is essential. We have also discussed why our local economies would benefit from this type of change. We are now at a point in time where the focus must shift in large part from the “why” to the “how.” In this, and many more issues to follow, we will be profiling members of our communities who are not only embracing these ideas but beginning to put them into practice. Essential food crops like grains and beans, which for the most part come to us from distant producers, can be grown locally, improving our food security while building a stronger local economy. Biofuels and other crops can also be part of the local economic fabric. While introducing community members who are offering products and services which you may not yet know about, we will also seek to inspire others to consider how they too may become “ecopreneurs” and take the plunge into one of these emerging areas of sustainable business or agriculture.
In this vein we will also be including two ongoing columns which we hope will assist us all in learning how to relocalize our economies—one on the Transition Town movement by Shaktari Belew, and one on economic topics concerning business, local currencies, and community efforts to develop resilience by Crystal Arnold.
As always I invite you to join in the fun, in whatever way fits best for you. Together, we will create the change we wish to see.
