From: Starhawk <stella@mcn.org>
Be the Wind:
On the Upcoming Elections
By Starhawk
As you read this, a mother in Iraq is newly wailing over the body of a
dead child. A nineteen year old kid who used to be the star of
his
basketball team is being sent home without legs. A father in
Guantanamo hasn't seen his kids, or sunlight, for three years. Another
chunk breaks off the polar ice caps and the heat trapped by greenhouse
gases churns the atmosphere into new swirls of turbulence like those
that
unleashed four hurricanes in one season in the Caribbean. As I
type
this sentence, another worker loses her union job, another child is
shot
in Palestine, another farmer somewhere drinks pesticides in despair.
The stakes are really high right now. And the future is very unclear.
It
seems likely the outcome of the elections will be a cliff hanger until
the very end. Bush could win. Kerry could win. Bush
could try to manipulate, steal, or subvert the outcome. His
forces
could manufacture a last-minute surprise—unearth Bin Laden, say, or
stage
a terrorist attack. They could even try to postpone or cancel
elections altogether. After all, this particular gang of thugs
has
for decades plotted, planned, schemed, manipulated and murdered to
consolidate their power—why should they let it go for anything as
simple
as a fair election?
I don’t know when I’ve seen so many people so deeply afraid, staring
into
the future like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming
truck. Will it run us down? Do we try to deflect its path,
or
run away?
I’m hearing two schools of thought among progressives. Some are
heading to swing states to help get out the vote. Others are
saying, ‘Why vote?’ when both candidates are taking such similar
positions on the war, and serve the same corporate interests.
I’m a direct action kind of gal, and I don’t generally put a lot of
energy into electoral politics. But I believe that we need to
vote. We need to do all we can to keep the neocons behind Bush
from
further consolidating their power.
Voting is not the most empowering of political acts—but it’s the one
that
most people across the political spectrum take part in. When I
stand in line to vote in my neighborhood, I stand in a crowd that is
more
diverse than almost any other political activity I take part in.
Working class, middle class, old, young, Euro/African/Asian/Latino
Americans—everyone is there. I don’t see how we can claim to
speak
to the communities who are most impacted by the neocons policies, most
disenfranchised, most utterly screwed, if we disdain this simplest,
most
basic of political acts. How do we speak to the parents of kids
whose schools are lacking books and desks and supplies if we can’t get
out to vote for school bonds? In California, we have a chance to vote
for
Proposition 66, which would end the worst abuses of our vicious
three-strike law that now condemns mostly black and brown offenders to
life sentences for stealing a few bucks worth of groceries. If
you
can’t be bothered to vote for that, don’t claim to be an ally of
communities of color. In every area, there are crucial issues on
the ballot that go far beyond just the choice of presidential
candidate—whether they are initiatives to ban the growing of GMO crops
that we need to pass, or initiatives to ban gay marriage that we need
to
defeat.
What about voting for Nader, or the Green Party? I’ve voted for
Nader many times. I’m registered Green Party. I strongly
support Green Party candidates in local and regional elections.
I’ve seen what a Green Mayor and City Council can do in Sebastopol,
where
they have banned the use of pesticides on city property, planted a
permaculture garden outside the Police Station, are working on a
community garden and skateboard park. I think that’s one way we
can
build a Green Party or other third party as a counterforce that might
pull our national dialogue to the left—from the bottom up, in places
where we can win and build alternatives as examples of what is
possible. I thought Nader was right to run last time, to attempt
to
give voice to issues that other candidates weren’t talking about, to
start to build a new base. But this time, I see his decisions as
undermining that base. If by some miracle a candidate with his
policies got elected, she’d need to be a great coalition builder, with
a
brilliant sense of how to win over, influence, charm, and yes, and
occasionally arm-twist both allies and enemies—and I don’t see that in
Nader or the Greens nationally at this time.
I’ve heard it said that “the lesser of two evils is still an
evil.”
Kerry does not perfectly represent my vision for the world, or the
policies I would like to see implemented. I don’t expect that any
candidate for President will, under the current system which is so
driven
by money and corporate influence. But Kerry does represent
change,
a refusal to give the current evil a mandate. And here
let me quote my brother, Mark Simos, who wrote to me saying:
“I'm choosing to focus on these messages: that voting for
change right now will send the most powerful possible message to the
world, that Americans still have a conscience; that we are not
completely controlled by our media spinmeisters; that the mechanisms
of democracy are, somehow, still intact if compromised on all sides;
that we hold our leaders accountable for the consequences of their
policies, even if they themselves refuse to do so; that we are
capable of getting out of denial about realities on the ground,
instead of "changing the facts to suit our position"; and that
we are
fundamentally committed to finding more just ways of exercising
leadership in the post 9/11 world. In other words, the act of change
itself will open doors to new alternatives hard to envision right
now.”
But won’t things get so bad if Bush gets in again that people will
finally wake up and make the revolution? Oh, if you believe that
you weren’t around or have forgotten the same arguments in ’68 and ’72
and ’80 and ’84 and on and on. What actually happens when the right
wing
triumphs is that progressives become demoralized, the economic elite
gains and keeps more power, the national dialogue shifts further away
from progressive goals, and things get worse. Maybe it’s hard to
imagine that things can get worse than they are, but I’ve been to
Palestine and I’m telling you, they can get a whole lot worse.
And I believe that in many important ways Kerry will be significantly
better than Bush. On issues of women’s rights and on the
environment, there’s a world of difference between them. Kerry
has
fought to prevent Bush from rolling back clean air and water
standards. He supports a shift to renewable energy sources,
and is aware of the global warming crisis. He’s a strong supporter of
women’s right to choose, and is pledged to nominate judges to the
Federal
bench who will support our liberties.
At minimum, he seems to inhabit roughly the same reality I do, in which
Iraq is a mess, the economy is a disaster, and people all over the
world
are suffering. Listening to Bush in the debates, I began to
wonder
if he is actually the president of some other country, where foreign
wars
are going well, the economy is booming, African American children are
dutifully doing their homework in the homes their parents own and
getting
the test scores they need to go on to college, and the environment is
something invented by liberals to hamper business. That would
explain a lot, since I know he wasn’t actually elected president of
this
one.
For the American people to ratify the Bush policies of greed, lies,
empire and war, or to let them continue out of apathy or misguided
principle, would be to contribute to crimes against humanity. I have no
illusions that Kerry will be a beacon of pacifism and revolution, but
at
least he knows that Iraq is a disaster, that nuclear proliferation is a
danger, that jobs are evaporating, and that the environment actually
exists and has some bearing on our quality of life.
And Kerry windsurfs. That’s a quality I want in a president,
because we need to be the wind.
We need to be the force that politicians have to respond to. It’s
useless complaining about Kerry’s positions or about how frustrating it
is to not have a viable candidate that can really raise the issues of
the
war and globalization. We need to raise those issues, as we have
been, and continue to raise them so strongly and loudly that they
cannot
be ignored. Regardless of who is elected, we need to build the
base
and the movement that can shift the political currents away from the
right-wing shoals of empire back to the harbor of real democracy.
If Bush wins the election or steals it, if there is fraud or attempts
to
disrupt the process, we can’t sit back this time with that
paralyzed-rabbit-stare. We need to be organized and prepared to
hit
the streets and raise such a ruckus that the fraud cannot be
ratified. We can complain all we want about Gore and the
Democrats
rolling over and playing dead last time—but how many of us were in the
streets urging them on to fight? This time, we need to be
ready. So at the bottom of this email you’ll find a call from the
NO STOLEN ELECTIONS campaign, and a pledge you can sign to participate
in
protests including nonviolent civil disobedience if fraud occurs.
I’ve signed it: I hope you will too.
If Kerry wins, we also need to be prepared to hit the streets, to
celebrate but also to agitate, to let him know that we actually do want
health care and good schools, taxes on the rich and the corporations,
and
end to the murderous mess in Iraq and our civil liberties back. Oh yes,
and that small problem of the basic life support systems of the planet
heading toward collapse—could we begin to address that? In San
Francisco, we have demonstrations planned for November 3, regardless of
who wins, calling for Healthcare, not Warfare—beginning with a 9 AM
rally
at Justin Herman Plaza, a march through the Tenderloin district and a
convergence at noon at the Federal Building. It’s part of an
overall national campaign, Beyond Voting,
www.beyondvoting.org
<http://www.beyondvoting.org/>
. You can check the website to find out what’s planned in your
area, or plan an action of your own.
And whoever wins, we need to actually build the world we want to live
in, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. That’s a longterm
project, and I won’t outline the full program here. But here’s
what I intend to do on November 2:
My house is across the street from our neighborhood polling
place. We’re going to set up a free café in our garage,
and invite the neighbors to stop by, before or after voting. For
some free coffee, and some homegrown apple pie, and some conversation
about what our neighborhood wants and needs. Maybe we’ll set up a
mini Really Free Market, and give stuff away. Give out sidewalk
chalk to the kids and let them draw their visions on the street.
It’s a small action, but any time we start to reach out across the
barriers that keep us isolated and build community, we undermine the
empire.
A year ago, my friends and I were blockading and dancing outside the
walls of the World Trade Organization’s collapsing Ministerial,
chanting in Spanish, “We are the wind that blows the Empire down.”
We need to be that wind.
www.starhawk.org
<http://www.starhawk.org/>
Starhawk is an activist, organizer, and author of Webs of Power: Notes
from the Global Uprising and nine other books on feminism, politics and
earth-based spirituality. Her latest book, The Earth Path, has
just been published by HarperSanFrancisco. For details of her
upcoming events, see her website above.
NO STOLEN ELECTIONS!
www.Nov3.US
<http://www.nov3.us/>
"I remember the stolen presidential election of 2000 and I am willing
to take action in 2004 if the election is stolen again. I support
efforts to protect the right to vote leading up to and on Election Day,
November 2nd. If that right is systematically violated, I pledge to
join nationwide protests starting on November 3rd, either in my
community, in the states where the fraud occurred, or in Washington DC."
Sisters & Brothers,
We all remember the votes that were never counted in Florida
2000. While we are all working hard for a positive outcome on
November 2nd, we also have to be prepared for a repeat of a 2000 stolen
election. Below is a pledge for people to sign, supporting
efforts to mobilize and protect the vote on November 2nd and making a
commitment to protest starting on November 3rd in the case of a
fraudulent vote count. By signing this pledge, you will be
joining with thousands of others in the November 3rd Urgent Response
Network. Please sign the pledge at www.Nov3.US <http://www.nov3.us/> and pass it around
far and wide.
We are setting up a Fair Elections Advisory Council made up of U.S. and
international elections experts who will give us their assessment on
election day itself. If they find significant fraud, we will activate
the Urgent Response Network on or immediately after November 3rd,
calling on people everywhere to engage in protest, including
non-violent civil disobedience, in front of their local federal
buildings and other appropriate places. We will also be asking
those who can to converge in the states where the most serious fraud
occurred, as well as in Washington DC.
In addition to signing the pledge, please work with other people and
groups in your area to protect the vote on November 2nd and to build
the Urgent Response Network. Pick a venue for your local protest
in the case that the Urgent Response Network is activated, and list the
time and place on the website at www.Nov3.US <http://www.nov3.us/> We also recommend
that you set up a place to jointly watch the election results on
November 2nd.
Let us commit ourselves to making sure that this time around, the
person who occupies the White House is the one who won the
election.
No Stolen Election Pledge of Action:
"I remember the stolen presidential election of 2000 and I am willing
to take action in 2004 if the election is stolen again. I support
efforts to protect the right to vote leading up to and on Election Day,
November 2nd. If that right is systematically violated, I pledge to
join nationwide protests starting on November 3rd, either in my
community, in the states where the fraud occurred, or in Washington DC."
Please sign the pledge now at www.Nov3.US
<http://www.nov3.us/>
Initial Signatories:
Stewart Acuff, Organizing Director, AFL-CIO
Fred Azcarate, Jobs with Justice
Patrick Barrett, RadFest: Midwest Social Forum
Brian Benford, Madison Common Council
Medea Benjamin, CodePink
Adrienne Maree Brown, League of Pissed Off Voters
Mike Brune, Executive Director, Rainforest Action Network
Dennis Brutus, poet
Andrea Buffa, Global Exchange
Linda Burnham, Women of Color Resource Center
Leslie Cagan, United for Peace and Justice
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies
David Cobb, Green Presidential Nominee
Steve B. Cobble, political strategist
Rev. James Demus, III, Director, NAACP, Chicago Southside
Charlie Derber, Professor of Sociology, Boston College
Karen Dolan, Institute for Policy Studies & Cities for Peace
Theresa El-Amin, Southern Anti-Racism Network (SARN)
Daniel Ellsberg, author
Larry Fahn, President, Sierra Club
Lisa Fithian, Root Activist Network of Trainers
Arun Gandhi, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
Ed Garvey, Fighting Bob Fest
Greg Gerritt, Executive Director, Friends of the Moshassuck
Ted Glick, National Coordinator, IPPN
Jim Goodman, Family Farm Defenders
Rev. Graylan Hagler, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice
Jody Grage Haug, Green Peace Action (GPAX)
Andy Heidt, Madison Common Council
Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH
Reverend James Lawson, civil rights leader
Natalie Johnson Lee, Minneapolis City Council
Van Jones, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun
Pete Karas, Racine Common Council
Brenda Konkel, President, Madison Common Council
Doug La Follette, Wisconsin Secretary of State
Barbara Lubin, Middle East Children's Alliance
Ben Manski, Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
Jessica Marshall, National Youth and Student Peace Coalition
Elizabeth Martinez, Institute for Multiracial Justice
Mike McCabe, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Robert McChesney, Free Press
Holly Near, singer-songwriter
Maya O'Connor, Labor Greens Network
Jamala Rogers, Organization for Black Struggle, St. Louis
Rebecca Rotzler, Alder, New Paltz
Marc Sanson, Co-Chair, Green Party of the United States
Renee Saucedo, La Raza Centro Legal
John Sellers, Ruckus Society
Charles Shaw, Newtopia Magazine
Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes
Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority
Damu Smith, founder, Black Voices for Peace
Starhawk, activist and writer
Ajita Talwalker, United States Students Association
Chuck Turner, Boston City Council
Chris Vaeth, This Time We're Watching
Jason West, Mayor, New Patlz, New York
Bob Wing, War Times
Dean Zimmerman, Minneapolis City Council
Howard Zinn, historian
Please join us by signing the pledge now at www.Nov3.US <http://www.nov3.us/>