I have to admit it: I'm envious. For many years now I have been trying to get the message across to social justice activists and liberals that in order to take on the all-out assault on our democracy and on American values from billionaires-funded groups, the Left needs to coalesce into a cohesive movement capable of planning ahead, strategizing, and acting in concert, nationwide, with short-, mid-, and long-term goals and objectives.
That we need to change our mind-set to one of going on the offensive, instead of always reacting, and being on the defensive. That on every issue, be it public education, climate change, labor (and unions), social security (social safety net), and government corruption (Citizen's United, revolving door bribery), we need to think not only ten steps ahead, but 20, or 30, or 100, or as many as the human intellect allows.
I've talked to so many people over the years; I've attended so many protest rallies, and debated with other lefties and progressives about this issue, and I'm often left feeling like I'm banging my head against the wall, that what I'm proposing is so alien to the mindset (or worldview) of my interlocutors, that I may as well grab a huge sign, go to Powell St. (over there by the cable cart station) and just start yelling in the middle of the street, to the amusement of the tourists over there...
Today I decided to visit the Koch-funded propaganda outfit, Americans for Prosperity's website. Oh my God! Am I on the wrong team? I was blown away. Here I am, a veritable Joe-six-pack with no money (at least, not billions and billions of dollars), but this website is put together exactly (to the tee) as I would do it; as I would envision it.
Putting aside for a second the fact that Americans for Prosperity and the myriad other astroturf "grassroots" organizations are basically corporate propaganda front groups designed to advance the selfish interests of these billionaires (and their plutocratic brethren), when it comes to a disciplined approach in moving their agenda forward what they do is close to perfection. It is as if they value their agenda, their worldview, their aims, their vision, and they act accordingly, with lock-step efficiency. Where is the mirror of this approach on the Left?
Yesterday I wrote a diary (Herding Cats: Marshalling The Power of Social Justice Activists). In it, my main message is that when it comes to taking action the Left needs to coalesce into a cohesive nationwide movement; that there has to be a political action component, a research component, a counter-propaganda (media) component, and a boots-on-the-ground component.
Then today, I go visit Americans For Prosperity's website, and it is all there: Issues (Budget & Spending; Energy & Environment; Health Care & Entitlements; Taxes; Labor, Education & Pensions; Banking & Financial Services; Property Rights; Technology).
Now, we here know that those "issues" are actually "targets." They are targeted in a systematic manner: Tax policy to benefit the rich and starve the government (destroy democracy); Labor and education policy to destroy unions, make it hard to unionize, and to privatize public education; Energy policy to benefit Koch Industries...
But for each issue, they design carefully-crafted propaganda to reach the dunces that easily fall for that type of bullshit (they have 760,000 facebook likes, for example), using words like "freedom," "prosperity," "entrepreneurship," etc.
It's a formula, but they do oh so well...
I'm well aware of the challenge we face. They (billionaires-funded propaganda) have the money to "incentivise" (buy off, bribe) key people in the corrupt system to move their agenda forward (politicians, academics, universities, media), and so these people do their bidding more readily (Pleas read: The Treason of the Intellectuals, by Chris Hedges). We on the other hand are fighting for social justice for all (a more amorphous concept), and in essence there are no immediate rewards or incentives for that work.
In addition, as I've heard many times, people are trying to survive, working, taking care of kids, elderly parents, etc., and don't have the time to get involved in serious activism. I know about that... I had to give up 98 percent of my TV watching to dedicate more of my time to activism (in addition to my work as a small business consultant). But to me, giving up 98 percent of TV watching was worth it. I'm more energized by having done so.
So yes, funding and incentives represent a big roadblock, but I just see it as just another challenge to try to resolve.
Either way, I'll continue plugging along reaching out to people, with a very specific agenda: The formation of a highly cohesive activists network at a national level, able to formulate short-, mid-, and long-term strategies, and able to act in concert.
Finally, I think that here at Daily Kos there is an incredible network of people from all over the country. If I see people forming highly organized and strategic groups that can coordinate action nationwide, I'll be interested in joining forces with them, especially if the action goes beyond signing petitions (which I know is important).
Please check out this video... If you don't have too much time, start at minute 18.5, where it starts covering information about the propagandist group, Americans For Prosperity. Also, please check out their website, and study it carefully so you can see what I'm talking about.
Each blue dot on the map below represents a member of a growing nationwide network of social justice and anti-corruption activists committed to finding the best way forward. Join us in the effort!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Pensador |
Email List |
Twitter |
Facebook |