Yesterday I posted a link to the “60 Minutes” interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Anderson Cooper interviewed her about the Green New Deal which she is the primary proponent of in the new Congress.
I’ve been talking and writing about the Green New Deal (GND), and the Sunrise Movement that is the organization working to make the Green New Deal happen. Sunday at Bear Creek Friends Meeting we talked about the Green New Deal as our premeeting discussion.
There are many reasons I’m so excited by, and committed to the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal. What the Green New Deal gets right is not only our environmental disaster, but also many of our social and economic injustices are rooted in our failing capitalistic system. The current system requires money or credit to purchase everything, and yet meaningful employment and living wages have been disappearing for decades. Good jobs have been lost to automation and moving production facilities out of the country.
And because our current economic model is based on continuous growth, that means continually increasing consumption of energy, water and other resources. Which means increasing fossil fuel consumption at the time we need to drastically reduce that consumption, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Just this morning the New York Times reports U.S. Carbon Emissions Surged in 2018 Even as Coal Plants Closed.
Following is information about how you can get involved with the Sunrise Movement yourself. There is a link to join an online call this Thursday. As stated below, 2019 will be the year that determines our legacy on climate change. The success of the Green New Deal will require millions of us to create political pressure (see the 3 steps below).
Last night, 11 million people
tuned into 60 Minutes’ segment on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, the #GreenNewDeal, and
our movement.
That’s huge. It means 11
million people witnessed a discussion about solutions to the climate crisis in
line with what the science and justice demand — and it wouldn’t have happened
if not for young people across the country relentlessly demanding the solutions
we need.
Already over 340 people have
registered — register now to help us get to 700 so we can kick off 2019 with
one our biggest calls ever.
Our movement has grown by
leaps and bounds. Thousands took action for the first time and we formed 100
new Sunrise hubs across the country. The number of politicians supporting the
Green New Deal is surging.
2019 will be the year that determines our legacy on climate change. It will be the year we make it clear to all politicians, especially the presidential hopefuls: if you want our vote, you need to back our movement, not the fossil fuel billionaires.
We will build the power we
need to make the 2020 elections a referendum on the Green New Deal so that 2021
can be the year we finally pass policies in line with that the science and
justice demand.
Here’s our plan for the next
two years to make that happen:
Launch the “Road to a Green New Deal Tour” to reach tens of thousands people around the country, and give them to tools to get their politicians signed on.
Turn up the heat on every Presidential and Congressional candidate to back the Green New Deal.
Build our movement in every corner of the country so we can reach the millions of young people who are scared about climate and keep building support for a Green New Deal.
The primary force behind the Green New Deal in Congress is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Yesterday’s interview of her by Anderson Cooper provides a good exploration of her surprising political victory, and of her vision of the Green New Deal.
For years I’ve been writing to try to express a vision of community that came to me during Quaker meeting for worship, similar to what Martin Luther King, Jr, called Beloved community.
For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence. Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.
As I wrote in the post Design and Build Beloved Community, I believe we are already experiencing an environmental catastrophe, the effects of which will be rapidly, increasingly destructive. Much of the increasing heat from increasing greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed by the oceans. But they are basically heat saturated, so air temperatures will begin to increase more rapidly. The other major danger is the release of methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, as permafrost melts in the artic regions.
The havoc from increasingly violent storms and development of large areas of drought will overwhelm our economic and political systems. Municipal services such as water, power, sewage and trash processing will fail. Food will no longer be transported to grocery stores. We need to begin to prepare now. Not wait until the day water is no longer flowing from the faucet as may be the case for 4 million people in Cape Town, South Africa in matter of weeks, with more cities to follow. Not wait until more of us are left without infrastructure as in the case of Puerto Rico. Not wait until millions are forced to flee coastal cities as the oceans flow into their streets.
Even if you don’t believe these changes will happen, or not happen soon, there are other compelling reasons to design and build new communities. Our economic system has not adapted to the loss of jobs overseas and to automation. There are simply not enough jobs for millions of people, and many of those who do have work are paid at poverty levels. Forced to depend upon increasingly diminishing social safety nets. That is morally wrong. Building small communities in rural areas will give people fulfilling work to do, food to eat, shelter, and a caring community to belong to, restoring their dignity.
I immediately recognized the Green New Deal as a practical plan to build the Beloved communities of my vision. And recognized the Sunrise Movement as the organization devoted to make the Green New Deal happen. I’ve joined the Sunrise Movement, and have been writing about what I’ve been learning from and doing with the Movement.
The core of the Sunrise Movement are the principles. You can see nonviolence is a fundamental principle, as it also is in Martin Luther King’s Beloved Community. As it is in my vision.
Sunrise Principles
These are guidelines of our movement which we all commit to uphold. Any action that does not embody these principles is not a Sunrise action.
We are a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good-paying jobs in the process. We unite to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.
We grow our power through talking to our communities. We talk to our neighbors, families, religious leaders, classmates, and teachers, in order to spread our word. Our strength and work is rooted in our local communities, and we are always growing in number.
We are Americans from all walks of life. We are of many colors and creeds, from the plains, mountains, and coasts. A wealthy few want to divide us, but we value each other in our differences and we are united in a shared fight to make real the promise of a society that works for all of us.
We are nonviolent in word and deed. Remaining nonviolent allows us to win the hearts of the public and welcomes the most people to participate. We need maximum participation in order to achieve our goals.
We tell our stories and we honor each other’s stories. We all have something to lose to climate change, and something to gain in coming together. We tell our individual stories to connect with each other and understand the many different ways this crisis impacts us.
We ask for help and we give what we can. We all have something to offer to the movement. Some of us give time through volunteering anywhere from 1 to 50 hours per week. Some of us give money. Some of us donate housing or meeting space. We invite our community into the movement by asking for the help we need.
We take initiative. Any group of 3 people can take action in the name of Sunrise. We ask for advice — not permission — from each other to make this happen. To make decisions, we ask ourselves, “does this bring us closer to our goal?” If yes, we simply do the work that is exciting and makes sense.
We embrace experimentation and we learn together. We welcome imperfection, share innovations, and learn through honest mistakes followed by honest conversations that help us move forward together. If we see something we don’t like, we contribute with something we do like, modeling an alternative.
We take care of ourselves, each other, and our shared home. We maintain our health of body, mind, spirit, and environment to the best of our ability so that we can maintain a strong movement together. We respect that for each of us this looks different.
We stand with other movements for change. Stopping climate change requires winning and holding power at every level of government. This is a huge job and we can’t do it alone. When it makes sense, we work with other movements who share our values and are also working to win political power.
We shine bright. There are hard and sad days, to be sure. This isn’t easy work. But we strive to bring a spirit of positivity and hope to everything we do. Changing the world is a fulfilling and joyful process, and we let that show.
Much more information is available on the Sunrise Movement website, including the 4 year plan. There is already resistance to creating legislation for a Green New Deal in the new U.S. Congress, although over 40 House members, 3 Senators, and many of the candidates for President support the Green New Deal.
When Democrats retake control of the House in January, Nancy Pelosi has pledged to create a new toothless “House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming” that will have no power to advance climate legislation. It will only have the power to “convene hearings” to talk about climate change. The committee doesn’t have a plan. It doesn’t even have a plan to make a plan. (See articles here and here for background).
Are you serious?!?! In 2018 with climate change bearing down on us, our generation will not stand for words without action. This committee (as it’s currently proposed), is nothing more than a front for Democrats to claim that they “care” about climate change while NOT making it a central part of their legislative agenda. This. Is. Unacceptable.
So the situation is fluid in Congress. The important thing is even if work is not begun on the Green New Deal there now, the Sunrise Movement will continue to work now so as to elect people in 2010 who will support the Deal. And the work the Select Committee would have done, is being done by others outside of the government. One area of work is to build political power. Changes will have to occur at all levels of government. We will work with state legislatures and local governments to implement pieces of the Green New Deal.
Another area is to work to get millions of people to join us. That may sound unrealistic. But I believe we are at a tipping point. The idea of environmental chaos can not longer be disputed. We are all experiencing climate chaos in one way or another. People are frightened and looking for answers, finally. The Green New Deal has the answers. I would encourage you to explore the resources on the Sunrise Movement website. It is especially important to engage with young people about that. It is their future that is on the line, and they know it. They also have the passion needed to make the Green New Deal happen.
In another post I’ll talk about the specifics of the Green New Deal. Here I wanted to share the convergence of my vision, Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of Beloved Community and the vision of the Green New Deal. How our dysfunction economic model is a major part of the problem. How a Green New Deal will address far more than just environmental damage, but is more a re-orientation of our values to value people instead of corporate profits.
I see one of my new friends in the Sunrise Movement in this crowd
In a blow to creating a Green New Deal, the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives instead proposes a Select Committee on the Climate Crises. There is no prohibition against members of the committee from taking fossil fuel money. No plan for economic or racial justice, or a just transition to renewable energy.
Incremental changes to address climate change cannot work, because our entire economy is based upon increasing consumption and growth, when we need to drastically cut consumption. Our economy is “fueled” by resource depletion at a time when radical resource conservation is required. Incremental changes that are narrowly targeted don’t address the fundamental inequalities and injustices of a failed economic model. Incremental changes mean more of the same, when a complete overhaul is our only hope.
A Green New Deal now is our only hope. Our youth clearly understand this. Their whole lives have been lived in environmental and economic chaos, and they understand the consequences of continuing to ignore the causes. They understand the urgency of making these changes right now.
If you care for today’s youth and future generations, you need to listen to what they are saying, which is “we need a Green New Deal today.” And the way to get that is to demand that Congress appoint a Select Committee for a Green New Deal. #GreenNewDeal
The new progressive members of the House of Representatives owe their election in large part to the youth who worked on their campaigns. Establishment members of Congress should take note. Supporters of the Green New Deal will never support anyone who takes fossil fuel money.
#NoFossilFuelMoney
But in their first day of power in the new Congress, Democrats must stave off a liberal rebellion after prominent Democrats said they would oppose the entire rules package that has been carefully assembled by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and a top lieutenant. Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) said they would vote against the rules changes — in the second vote Democrats will take in the majority after ostensibly electing Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the new speaker — because of the inclusion of a fiscal measure known as “pay as you go,” or paygo. That rule, echoing a provision in federal law and in the Senate’s rules, would require the House to offset any spending so as not to increase the budget deficit.
The liberal hard-liners argue that paygo amounts to a legislative straitjacket that could impede their efforts to pass ambitious social programs. And they are especially dubious of its necessity after congressional Republicans waived the law in 2017 to pass a tax bill that added more than $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over its first decade.
Most of us living in the United States feel frustrated, and often helpless, in the face of so many social, economic, racial, political and environmental problems and injustices.
We know fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions are destroying our planet in many different ways. Again we feel helpless to make significant changes because our cities and communities are sprawling but often don’t have mass transit options, making us feel we have to have a car. The stock market and banking systems appear fragile. Our communities, economy and governments are collapsing under the weight of damages from increasingly severe and frequent environmental chaos.
All of this is looking a lot like the Great Depression of the 1930s. The policies of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal pulled the country out of that depression.
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1936. It responded to needs for relief, reform and recovery from the Great Depression. Major federal programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly. The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs focused on what historians refer to as the “3 Rs”: relief for the unemployed and poor, recovery of the economy back to normal levels and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression
The difference now is environmental chaos is added to all of these problems. This is a global threat, and we have no choice but to fully engage to tackle our environmental crises right NOW. The alternative is the extinction of humans and most other life on Mother Earth in a very short time. That is why the new plan is called the GREEN New Deal.
The Green New Deal has many parts similar to the New Deal of the 1930’s. Converting to 100% renewable energy within 10 years will create millions of good jobs. A large part of the Green New Deal (GND) is the just transition to this new economy, making sure those who are disadvantaged by our current society get the new jobs and other benefits of these changes. Guaranteed jobs, Medicare for all, and free education are part of the GND.
There are many options for paying for the GND, including re-prioritizing our budget, including shifting billions of dollars from the military budget. Government loans and taxes on fossil fuels are other income sources.
We have the solutions to address climate change and create millions of new jobs. In the process we will create a more just society. The fossil fuel industry, and the politicians that have taken contributions from that industry, are trying to block this plan.
We have no choice but to begin to implement the Green New Deal right now. New Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a bill that will create a House Select Committee for a Green New Deal that over 40 Representatives and 3 U.S. Senators support. Unfortunately the Democratic leadership in the House is not putting it on the new House agenda.
If Congress continues to refuse to support the Green New Deal, our backup plan is to use other sources to develop the plan. But to not develop a GND is just not an option. We are out of time. It would be very helpful if you would let your Congressional representatives know how important you feel a Green New Deal is.
The Sunrise Movement is a well organized, youth driven organization to make the Green New Deal happen. You can find a great deal of information, including how to get involved yourself, on our website: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/
The following video explaining the Green New Deal is from the Washington Post.
As a new year begins, we have the chance to review what has happened in the past, and reflect on changes we want to implement in the days ahead. There were opportunities in the past to do things we chose not to do, things that involved risks we were afraid to take. What sets apart the people we admire are the risks they took.
To create change always involves risk.
Of course it doesn’t make sense to take any random risk. The risks you take must come from beliefs you have deep within you. Its like the inner pressure from your purpose grows and creates such a force that it bursts out as the action/risk you know you should take. Then you have to decide to do so, or not.
The high points in your life were the times you took risks. These risks may seem relatively small, but always have an impact. That act may have influenced someone in a way you will never know. Taking the risk will give you confidence to take more risks, and reward you in surprising ways.
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something”
― Neil Gaiman
What has been needed is a plan, and a strategy and the leadership to implement it. Young people have created the plan, the Green New Deal, and are providing the leadership to make it happen. The Sunrise Movementis the main organization working for the Green New Deal. They are taking the risks, including nonviolent civil disobedience in the halls of Congress.
The reason for dwelling on risk is because it is urgent today, this new year, that millions of us take risks to begin to heal Mother Earth before it is too late for future generations to survive. In the process we will create a better world for us all.
The risks we need you to take are not (necessarily) to be arrested, but to talk to your family, friends and neighbors. We really need to have our youth involved. They are the ones who have the passion and concern. It is their future we are fighting for. We need to spread the story of the Green New Deal, to build pressure on politicians at all levels of government to create and enact legislation to begin to build the Green New Deal.
I had hoped the new, Democratic majority in Congress would begin to create and pass legislation for we, the people, and especially to address our existential threats of environmental chaos. Unfortunately early signs are disturbing.
The Democratic National Committee has lifted it’s ban on members accepting fossil fuel money #NoFossilFuelMoney.
Millennials and Generation Z will be the largest voting bloc in the 2018 and 2020 elections, and we’re registering to vote in increasing numbers. We cannot responsibly support politicians taking money from the companies which directly imperil our future.
Millennials were crucial to the Democratic wins in recent special elections. We come from diverse communities already feeling the impacts of the crisis, including record-breaking, life-shattering events like Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Harvey, and California’s wildfires. So, unsurprisingly, we can only support candidates demonstrating a significant break with their district’s status quo on climate issues like Representatives-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and Rashida Tlaib (MI).
It’s especially painful to see the DNC take this step backwards because 950+ individual Democratic candidates have pledged, embracing a stronger stance on fossil fuel contributions than the party’s previous June resolution. Democrats hoping to win back the House and contend in 2020 need to inspire higher millennial voter turnout. Since eighty percent of young people want to transition America to clean energy by 2030, pledging #NoFossilFuelMoney is a good place to start. We are asking you to stand up to the DNC’s decision to realign themselves with fossil fuel industry lobbyists. Protect the health of our homes, our families, and our democracy.
I am a 23-year-old college student and people my age have not been given much reason to be optimistic for the future. My generation has a downright apocalyptic prognosis for the future and the primary reason for this is the specter of climate change. We have been acutely aware of this crisis from a young age, as Al Gore’s film on the matter came out when I was just 11. It has been grim seeing how this issue seems to go totally unaddressed with every political cycle. Maybe it is due to a generation gap, but leaders of both parties seem to have little imagination for how our lives will completely change if we continue down this path. Some hope has recently emerged though. Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been pushing members of the Democratic Party to form a House select committee for what has been branded a “Green New Deal.” She hasn’t been met with adoration from the Democratic establishment. Many have hand-waved her as being naive and her ideals too lofty. I disagree; ambitious ideas are exactly what my generation needs. At least for me, this burgeoning movement within the otherwise cynical Democratic Party has rejuvenated a long-dormant optimism. RILEY O’NEILL Oakland
The Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats didn’t only turn out in the largest number in the last 7 midterm elections, but also worked hard on the campaigns of those they endorsed, and contributed significantly to the Democratic success in this midterm election. 20 of the 29 candidates they endorsed won.
There is definitely a generation gap. I’m involved in the Sunrise Movement leadership training, and am in the minority in terms of age, which is both hopeful and appropriate.
I can tell you not supporting the Green New Deal is not acceptable to these young people. Any candidate who accepts fossil fuel money will not be supported. #NoFossilFuelMoney
The Democratic leadership has already made the mistake of not supporting the Green New Deal, yet. But there is going to be in immediate and intense backlash. Yesterday I got the following text messages from the Sunrise Movement:
Jeff, yesterday, Nancy Pelosi appointed Florida ep. Kathy Castor to lead a special committee on climate change.
We’ve head that the committee won’t have the legislative power, investigative power, or a mandate to create a climate plan we need. Without these provisions, it’ll be even weaker than the Committee from a decade ago.
Nancy Pelosi says she wants to fight climate change, but refuses to campion a Green New Deal, a plan that would actually address the crisis at the scale that science and justice demand.
The Democratic leadership turned their back on young people and the will of the vast majority of Americans, and instead chose to prioritize the special interests of fossil fuel billionaires.
This fight is far from over, Jeff. The Green New Deal has communities fired up all across the country.
Our generation won’t back down. In 2019, we’ll scale our movement by the thousands and make sure we get a Green New Deal because our lives depend on it.
text messages from the Sunrise Movement 12/29/2018
I am completely invested in the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal. I encourage you to become engaged as well. I especially ask you to talk with your children, other family members, friends and neighbors about the Green New Deal. And I hope you will let your Congressional representatives know their support for the Green New Deal is important to you.
As Jeremy Ornstein says in the video below that I’ve shared before:
Now, now is the day. I have hope in her and I have hope in the Democrates who I have worked so hard to support. Because my grandparents, they needed hope to survive. You know, please, Speaker Pelosi. Come of age with us. Care for us and we’ll care for each other and we’ll join in that great American tradition of rising to meet a challenge. Join us, come on. But if you can’t–if you’re too scared to try, if you’re too corrupt or cowardly–Democrats, if your hands are too deep in the pockets of the fossil fuel executives to try, then get out of the way. Because we are the leaders that we need. Because now we know we have no choice but to get to work. Because we know that we have no choice but to hope. Because I know that I have no choice but to hope. So join us as we demand a Green New Deal.
Last night I was able to attend another Sunrise Leadership Orientation meeting online. The Zoom application was again used, that allowed everyone (who had a computer camera) to see and hear each other, and to view the slideshow of topics as we discussed them. When you are in a Zoom meeting there is a Chat window that you can use to ask questions or make comments the meeting host and participants can read. The meeting host can also split up small groups into Breakout groups to allow discussions among those in the group. The Basic Plan is free, and has all of these features, for a meeting with up to 100 participants.
I continue to be impressed with both the organizing knowledge, passion and positive attitude of the Sunrise Movement leaders and participants.
Last week’s meeting was a history of the Sunrise Movement and its work to get support for the Green New Deal. Following are the steps the fossil fuel industry used to deceive the public and gain political power:
From the late 1970’s the fossil fuel industry knew about the problems that would be occurring from burning fossil fuels, but worked very hard to keep that from the public.
Next the Koch brothers and others spent millions of dollars to help elect fossil fuel friendly legislators.
The third step was the consolidation of political power, for example Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator.
To counter that, the Sunrise Movement and Green New Deal’s plan is
A just transition to 100% renewable energy that leaves no one behind. One way to do that is to make sure the new ‘green’ jobs are distributed fairly.
Immediately halt any new fossil fuel projects.
Break up large energy monopolies and move to local, democratic control of energy production.
Last night’s training was about strategies to get support for the Green New Deal. We learned about and discussed a lot of ideas. One of those was the spectrum of support/allies tool:
The idea is to determine the relative numbers of people in the categories above, and who those people are. That can help you see who you need to target in order to gain supporters.
Good news: in most social-change campaigns it is not necessary to win over the opponent to your point of view. It is only necessary to move the central pie wedges one step in your direction.
This is important. If we shift each wedge one step, we are likely to win, even if the hardliners on the other side never move. That means our goal is not to convince the fossil fuel industry to end themselves. Instead, it is moving the rest of the society to shut them down.
Often activists have the mistaken idea that they need to win everyone to their side (which invites despair), or that we need to change the fossil fuel industry or other people actively fighting against the campaign (again inviting despair). When organizers bring an optimistic attitude, instead of one of despair, to the task of mobilization, it is a lot easier to get people on board. https://trainings.350.org/resource/spectrum-of-allies/
Polling is a way to approximate how many people fall into each of the categories in the spectrum tool. For example
90% of millennials support a just transition to clean energy.
1 in 8 people say they would risk arrest for nonviolent civil disobedience in actions to support efforts like the Green New Deal. That is 38 million people!
We are at a crossroads. The path we choose will literally determine whether there is a chance for our survival, or not.
I don’t know how you feel about the idea of “New Year’s Resolutions”, but we are at a point where we have a chance to change direction in our own lives, the lives of our loved ones, of everyone and every living thing on Mother Earth.
For decades now we have moved in a downward spiral of political corruption and economic, racial, social and environmental injustices. We are complicit in this because of our complacency. My intention is not to make you feel guilty because that usually results in more lethargy and inaction. But we can’t begin to solve problems without first identifying what they are.
These problems are so large and interrelated, that piecemeal efforts are ineffective. We need a bold plan large enough to correct these interrelated problems. That plan is the Green New Deal I’ve been studying, attending training sessions and writing about. It’s easy to be dismissive about yet another plan, but there are several differences this time. We have put off tackling these problems so long, that the resulting damages are happening now. Our youth have come of age experiencing environmental chaos, political corruption and inaction, and social, racial and economic injustices. Have come of age knowing they might be shot in their classrooms. That their water might be poisoned with lead. The air they breath is unhealthy. Unarmed youth of color are killed by police. And grieving for their peers who have experienced these things.
Our youth know we have failed to provide the leadership and the will to deal with the injustices they are growing up with. I keep thinking about the slogan “never trust anyone over 30” that we believed during the days of the Vietnam anti-war and civil rights movements. Youth today know we have to make radical changes in multiple dimensions if they are to have a viable future for themselves and their children.
If you’re “over 30” you can still help make the Green New Deal happen. You have a choice to make. Talk with young people. Learn from and support them. More and more youth have already made the choice to work on the Green New Deal and the movement is growing rapidly. The Sunrise Movement is the main group working for the Green New Deal. https://www.sunrisemovement.org/gnd/
If you haven’t seen the video below, it is a power statement by high school student, Jeremy Ornstein, Sunrise Fellow – teenager and grandson of Holocaust survivors, who demands climate action now. (The emphasis on Democrats is because these young people feel Democrats tend to support working on environmental problems and are thus more likely to consider supporting the Green New Deal.)
Now, now is the day. I have hope in her and I have hope in the Democrates who I have worked so hard to support. Because my grandparents, they needed hope to survive. You know, please, Speaker Pelosi. Come of age with us. Care for us and we’ll care for each other and we’ll join in that great American tradition of rising to meet a challenge. Join us, come on. But if you can’t–if you’re too scared to try, if you’re too corrupt or cowardly–Democrats, if your hands are too deep in the pockets of the fossil fuel executives to try, then get out of the way. Because we are the leaders that we need. Because now we know we have no choice but to get to work. Because we know that we have no choice but to hope. Because I know that I have no choice but to hope. So join us as we demand a Green New Deal. Thanks everyone, let’s keep it up.
FORGIVE EVERYONE EVERYTHING is inscribed on a bench in Reconciliation Park, Mankato, Minnesota. The photo of the memorial above also shows a list of 38 names.
Who are those 38 people? What needs to be forgiven?
Those 38 are the names of the Dakota men who were all hanged at the same time in what is now Mankato, Minnesota. A raised wooden platform, with 38 nooses along the sides, was constructed. It is said nearly 4,000 people witnessed this, the largest execution in U.S. history, on December 26, 1862. As to who needs to be forgiven, there are many answers to that. At the heart of this is the genocide and land theft of the tribal nations by the white settler-colonialists. More specifically this history came about as the Dakota were forced into smaller and smaller land areas, to the point they could not sustain themselves.
Detailed stories and resources are available for this part of history sometimes referred to as the Dakota War of 1862 here: http://www.usdakotawar.org/
In the spring of 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, found himself in a dream riding on horseback across the great plains of South Dakota. Just before he awoke, he arrived at a riverbank in Minnesota and saw 38 of his Dakota ancestors hanged. At the time, Jim knew nothing of the largest mass execution in United States history, ordered by Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862. “When you have dreams, you know when they come from the creator… As any recovered alcoholic, I made believe that I didn’t get it. I tried to put it out of my mind, yet it’s one of those dreams that bothers you night and day.”
Now, four years later, embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. “We can’t blame the wasichus anymore. We’re doing it to ourselves. We’re selling drugs. We’re killing our own people. That’s what this ride is about, is healing.” This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.
This film was created in line with Native healing practices. In honoring this ceremony, we are screening and distributing “Dakota 38″ as a gift rather than for sale. This film was inspired by one individual’s dream and is not promoting any organization or affiliated with any political or religious groups. It was simply created to encourage healing and reconciliation.
Jim’s vision is for riders from all Dakota tribes to ride over 330 miles from Lower Brule Indian Reservation to the site of the mass hanging in Mankato, Minnesota. The ride is in December to honor the men, women, and children who were forced to march across the cold winter prairies either to the mass hanging in Mankato or to a large concentration camp of Dakota families at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The riders finish at Reconciliation Park in Mankato on the anniversary of December 26.
We take the youth on the ride, so that they may connect with their culture in a more physical way. By being a part of the ride they are connecting themselves with their ancestors and their horse relatives. It is through the ride that they are able to see the beauty in the history and their culture.
I have watched this moving video many times. My friend and former roommate from Scattergood Friends School, Lee Tesdell, teaches in Mankato, and has spoken about this with me. Lee also spoke at one of our evening discussions during the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March.
Lee Tesdell speaking during First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March
This morning I was glad to see that Jimmy Tidwell, who I walked with on the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March, was sharing several Facebook Live videos from Mankato showing the arrival of the horses at the end of this year’s ride.
Quakers, social justice and revolution 