Most of us on this site are passionate about health care reform. We differ on goals and even on tactics, but we share a conviction that the status quo is not fair or just, and will lead to economic insolvency for the nation before very long.
Recent controversy over whether we are allowed to fund our own activists to devote more time to the health reform cause inspired me to compare the tactics of the left and right in this fight.
On the right, corporate sponsors who will get richer--both personally and organizationally--if the public option fails have paid a lot of people to shout down reform supporters: on the radio, on cable TV, and at townhalls across the country. I call this corporate powered activism.
On the left, individual donors, some of whom would like insurance themselves, but many others who have insurance but would like their friends and neighbors to have insurance as well, or are concerned about the health insurance industry's stranglehold on the rest of the U.S. economy, have set up a modest fund to support very articulate spokespersons and advocacy campaigns.
This is people powered activism.
What is People Powered Activism?
1. Of the people.
People Powered Activism is funded by individual donations, rather than by the health insurance industry. While each individual may hope to gain something (ie, health insurance coverage, for themselves or for friends, or both), they do not stand to profit from selling insurance to others, nor do they have a financial motivation to deny someone else coverage.
2. By the people.
People Powered Activism is led by genuine believers in health reform--people with a long history of dedication to the cause, service and advocacy--rather than PR firms, advertising companies, and paid "demonstrators." People powered activism harnesses individual contributions to pay proven leaders to advocate: through direct delegations to Congress, through lobbying efforts, or through informational and mobilization campaigns on activist websites.
3. For the people.
People Powered Activism seeks to make the truth evident and available to the public. Its goal is to bring the facts to light for the greater public good, to serve the peoples' interests and the nation's economic health. It provides a community service. It works to counter the misinformation, scare tactics and sleights of hand used by profit-oriented corporate powered activism designed to deceive the public against its own interests.
It makes good sense for us to pool our resources and support a team of people to advocate for the cause. Most of us are just too busy to devote the hours and hours required to engage in this labor-intensive work. We'd love to have more than a few minutes here and there, but we don't.
This is why labor unions hire organizers. The underdogs don't have huge bank accounts and slick PR campaigns. All we have is one another.
Let's just keep in mind the differences between our cause and the corporate cause. Should we hold ourselves to the highest standards of disclosure and openness? Of course. We do.
The purpose of our activism, however, is to hold Congress to the highest standards and keep the pressure on until we have a fair, equitable bill, that keeps the profit-oriented insurance corporations honest and in the business of providing (rather than denying) insurance, signed into law.