If you read this diary and would like to start a movement, please consider e-mailing this link to everyone on your e-mail list. Fifty readers on dKos could easily mushroom exponentially into a force that could make a difference.
I've read enough hysterical diaries on this site recently about the horror that is the Christian Right I just want to pound my head against the wall in frustration. Except as a voting bloc to be used and cast aside every four years, these people and their wishes are COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS!!! The abortion question is a red herring when it comes to selecting judges for the federal court. The judges placed by Bush so far are much more likely to rule against individuals in favor of corporations or to deregulate polluting industries at the expense of a community long before they will even consider overturning abortion laws. While we are getting sucked into the anti-gay marriage hysteria, Bush has packed every federal agency with lobbyists and corporate hacks who with one hand write industry friendly legislation for Congressional consumption, and who loot the U.S. Treasury with the other.
Figuring out new methods to appease the Christian Right is a waste of time. What you can do is make a difference with your wallet. How often do you think you shell out money for a person or a company that actively works against your political beliefs, your community, your country or your Constitution? Anti-Americanism abroad is already having an affect on the bottom line of multinational corporations. As James Wolcott writes this week at www.jameswolcott.com:
"In late October, the Financial Times had a front page story "Well-known US brands see sales in Europe fall."
Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Marlboro, and GM were all revealing problems echoing those "already faced by Disney, Wal-Mart and Gap."
Corporate chiefs dismissed the connection between falling sales and rising anti-Americanism.
"But the timing of the decline lends credence to warnings by a marketing and advertising group after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal that US brands could face trouble. 'My sense is we are seeing a transfer of anger and resentment from foreign policies to things American,' said Keith Reinhard, chairman of DDB Worldwide, an advertising agency owned by Omnicon."
A rising tide of resentment can be equally as effective here. While it is not always feasible to purchase up and down the food chain based on principle alone, there are still a lot of things you as an individual can do. To get you started here are a number of Web sites that will help:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ This is a UK based organization but still useful for American consumption
http://www.boycottbush.net/consumers.htm This site lists the top 25 donors to the Republican party along with a wealth of consumer information. Along with the list of donors is an alternate list that directs you toward a more ethical alternative.
http://www.opensecrets.org Also a good site for determining who the major political donors are
http://www.greenpages.org Good shopping guide
http://www.responsibleshopper.org Also a good shopping guide
Other things you might try as an individual, and I know as conscientious Kossacks, you're already doing a lot of these things:
- Consume less, recycle more. Does everything you buy have to be new? Thrift stores are great resources for a number of items. Craigslist.org is up and running in a number of cities now. Work an exchange whenever you can.
- Buy from local businesses you know and trust. It's hard to determine the pedigree of every item in every store but wouldn't you rather buy from Mr. Friendly at the local hardware store than spend your money at soul-crushing WalMart? Shop farmers markets and co-ops. Buy organic...put the pesticide people out of business.
- Research the mail order companies you do business with. My husband recently had a fascinating exchange with the owner of a mail order company he frequents based in Red State Wyoming. (The catalogue has a number of Biblical quotes). The owner did engage in a dialogue but was incredibly defensive. Methinks my husband's inquiry either wasn't the first the owner had received post-election or the inquiry itself knocked him back on his heels.
- For the investors, buy stock in companies that are good corporate citizens. Though I knew if before the election, Pfizer is a big Republican Party donor. I sold my Pfizer stock last week. I also take a newsletter from the Motley Fool. I e-mailed them today and asked if they might start assigning an "ethical letter grade" to companies they recommend for purchase. Also consider at this time investing more in international stocks and foreign currencies (though I must say, if the U.S. economy comes crashing down the rest of the world will follow. Think cash, money market funds, CD's and Treasury notes.) Consider the least-worst alternative. Apple is not perfect but far preferable to just about any other computer company out there.
- Pay off your debt. Why are you paying credit card companies 20% interest rates when they are actively lobbying Congress to kill bankruptcy laws? Talk about having your cake and eating it too!
- Turn off cable news. I'd love it if there were never another "I hate CNN" diary on this site (and yes, I've been a culprit here). Why reward these guys for their bad behavior by watching their shows? Every time we bitch about them in a diary, they know they've won. Their advertisers are being seen. Also, hound your local newspaper with letters to the editor, cancel your subscription if they appear not to be serving the public interest.
- Start a bartering network. My husband and I are both artists, opportunities for exchanges are endless. If you have a marketable skill, offer your services to your barber or your chiropractor. Theoretically, these sorts of exchanges are supposed to be reported on your federal tax return, but I'll leave that decision to you. Think to yourself "What would Grover Norquist do?" if you can't decide.
- I know this is difficult for many of us, but walk or ride your bike whenever you can. My three-year-old car has less than 18,000 miles on it and I live in the SF Bay Area. I take public transportation everywhere I can't easily walk. It takes a little more trip planning but it's worth it.
- Vacation in friendly territory. Think New York City rather than Houston. I'm not going to say don't visit Red States, but at least consider sticking with the counties that are blue when you're there. When you're visiting your parents in Indiana, don't spend a dime at the WalMart.....and this may be difficult, but let the folks put you up rather than spending money at the motel chain that likely treats their employees like indentured servants.
Maybe we have to destroy the U.S. economy in order to save our country (think Fallujah...). We have more power than we think and certainly more than Our Dear Leader wants us to be aware of. If we took our collective net worth and used it against these people determined to destroy our communities, our country and our Constitution we would gain far more than if we belly-ached over Christian Right appeasement....or feckless Democratic leadership....or whatever distracting topic of conversation that meanders around but never zeroes in on the true problem. You have the power. You can use it every day.