Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

43 comments

  2. jsfox

    past the intro. When fear is all you have you haven’t got much. These people deserve nothing but scorn.  

  4. Jjc2008

    yesterday I was so upset, so angry, so hurt for my country.   After the last two weeks, hearing Limbaugh and some republican WI congressman, and frankly people from across the spectrum trash public workers, teachers in particular, my level of despair was high.

    I kept telling myself, “Let it go…  You’re done.  You, in good conscience taught for forty years, doing your best for your students, being an activist for political causes.  You marched, you walked the walk, talked the talk, worked for social justice, and candidates who supported those things.  Let it go and just enjoy your last 20 or so (if I am lucky) on this planet!”  

    I have found the lack of knowledge, interest or activism on the part of so many of in my own family, peer group and circle of friends, to be quite disconcerting.  

    SIGH.

    And then tonight I went down to Colorado College, a liberal arts college, a free thinking, open minded island, here in the middle of Conservateria Land that is dominated by Tea Partiers and Evangelicals.

    Why did I go there?  Van Jones, formerly of the Obama administration, was speaking.  A friend and I enjoyed an early dinner and talk, and then went to the lecture held in a church on the campus.  

    Of course, not surprisingly, there was a band of tea partiers near the entrance with their stupid signs and bull horns declaring how Van Jones wanted to “redistribute the wealth” and carrying signs highlighting their stupidity (not that they needed to do so 8)).  I was not in the mood for even being around ignorance, and as I walked by them I impatiently let my disgust shine through…with a roll of my eyes and a “sheesh” whereupon a man, a good foot taller than me and probably outweighing me by a good 150 lbs or so, headed toward me.  I kept walking, right around him, not stopping, and not changing my expression. At best there were maybe 15 of them.

    I was delighted to get inside and see the church rapidly filling, not just with students from the college.  Of course there were many professors (and we know they are all liberal commies); but also many other gray heads like mine.  Contingencies from the Peace and Justice Coalition; from the Gay/Lesbian Community, from the AA churches, and from our small, independent, free weekly newspaper, the only alternative to our daily right wing rag.

    VAN WAS GREAT (and handsome too).  He had gone outside himself to talk to those protesting his arrival, and invited them in to listen.  About five of them came in.  They happened to sit in the pew directly across from me.  Never clapped, never cracked a smile, but at least there was no rudeness from them.

    He gave a great talk.  The subject was of course about a “green economy” but he used humor, openly got in support for the public employees in WI and the right to collectively bargain, while still explaining how it will be the private sector and the free market that will eventually make the turn to clean energy.  

    He opened with Hope and Change and seriously challenged the young people to keep HOPE alive and understand that CHANGE is hard….even with lots of Hope.  But he reminded them (the college students) how they had the knowledge, the skill set, to change.  He also reminded all that regardless of the naysayers and the “American education” sucks crowd, young people today are more informed, more connected, more environmentally conscience than any generation ever and THEY would make the change.  He cited MLK Jr’s age when he went to Montgomery.

    Van Jones helped me out of the funk I have been in over the way the bullies of the right (corporations, talk radio, FOX News) have been using money and power to drown democracy.  

    I hope the students there were listening and I hope his confidence in the youth on our college campuses is on the mark.

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