sust-mar: FWD: Moving a Movement

Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 16:21:32 -0400
From: adainow <adainow@dal.ca>
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____________________________________________________________________________
>===== Original Message From tooker gomberg <greenspi@web.ca> =====
Hi Friends:

I wrote this piece for Alternatives Magazine.
http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/ Thought you
might like to see it. Feedback is always welcome,

-tooker

Moving a Movement
by Tooker Gomberg

Activism is sometimes like a wild fire. In no
time flat, surprise campaigns emerge and catch
fire. They spread rapidly and unpredictably, and
dramatically alter the landscape.

This happened in February when millions stepped
into the streets and postponed a war. Nothing
like it had ever happened before. The planet spun
through space, and as the sun rose in each time
zone on February 15th, people stepped forward for
peace. It was front-page news around the world,
and it was effective.

Nobody knew when the Berlin Wall was about to
come down. Nobody knows how much dry tinder and
kindling is lying around waiting to be sparked.
Nobody knows what we can accomplish for a healthy
planet until we stretch and experiment with
courage and vigour.

The fire that started in February has largely
been put out. The war began and the movement
stalled. Then horror stories of SARS and West
Nile and mad cows distracted and frightened us.
We forgot our power.

Here are some ways to re-light those flames and keep them burning longer:

1. Declare February 15th "World Peace Day". Stay
home from work and spend that time working for
peace. Give a day's wages to a local peace group.
Or take the money and print up a hundred fliers
for peace and hand out one out to everyone you
meet. Hand them two and ask them to pass one on.

2. Break the gasoline habit. Help stop the next
war before it starts. As we use less gasoline we
break our oil addiction and loosen the tentacles
of power that are trashing the earth and
international relations. Hitchhiking, walking and
bicycling should become signs of good citizenship.

3. Fill the jails. Thoreau went to jail in 1846
for refusing to pay taxes to fund the immoral
Mexican-American war. In March, more than 2000
San Franciscans were arrested for protesting the
Iraq war. Three months later the charges were
dropped "in the interest of justice." Imagine
what impact it would have if millions of people
were prepared to risk arrest for their principles.

4. Disobey immoral laws. Public schools teach us
to obey, but where do we learn to question
authority? The Ruckus Society <http://Ruckus.org>
leads week-long camps on the art of civil
disobedience. How about regular monthly workshops
in towns across the land on how to push for
change, how to go limp, what your rights are, how
to write a press release? What if framed diplomas
of Disobedience lined office walls?

5. Talk to politicians. Don't settle for talking
with their assistants. Explain what a waste it is
to buy tanks and planes to kill people when that
money could be better spent buying real security
through conflict resolution, and by investing in
a healthy environment.

6. Fire up the photocopier. Freedom of the press
belongs to those with a printing press -- or a
copy machine. Find the best material you can and
start printing thousands. Hand out material on
the subway. Print stickers and stick 'em up in
toilet stalls. Let's make our desire for peace
and ecology visible.

7. Fly the Earth Flag. The US of A is awash in
stars and stripes. The maple leaf separates us
from "others." But we're all in the same boat on
this blue planet. Pledge allegiance to the world
(http://www.notinourname.net), and fly the flag
that shows how interconnected we are.

8. Launch peace cafés. Working for the earth can
be isolating and demoralizing. Peace cafés would
be places to sip soup and plot revolution
together. Without a place to gather we'll keep
twiddling while Kyoto burns.

9. Un-elect incumbents and elect our own. In
politics, getting elected is what matters. Let's
identify the worst and the most vulnerable
politicians and boot them out of office
(http://www.environmentvoters.org). At the same
time, let's run our own candidates - to win. As
an activist, my days spent on Edmonton City
Council were the most productive.

10. Be creative and persistent. Creativity and
decentralization are our strengths. We shut down
the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999 because nobody
expected us to do it.

No one expected the wild fires this summer
either, but the forest floor was ready for that
spontaneous spark. Let's get this movement
burning.

Tooker Gomberg has been paying his rent to Mother
Earth by engaging in activism for change for over
20 years. He has been an Edmonton City Councillor
and was runner up for Mayor of Toronto in 2000.
Tooker writes about ecology and justice at:
http://www.greenspiration.org

--
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