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Educational Resources for People Who Want to Change the World

by Brian Kelly

Much, much more to come later. Here’s what I have so far…

Organizing

Communication

Envisioning the Future

Nonviolent Action

Social Epidemics / Tipping Points

Strategy

Power

  • The Matrix

Race

GI Resistance & Dismantling the Military

Environmental Justice

Education

U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Revolutionary Theory

History

Publications and Websites

  • ZNet
  • Z Magazine
  • Democracy Now!
  • Left Turn
  • Liberty Tree
  • Monthly Review
  • Real News Network
  • Rockridge Nation
  • Wiretap

Blogs and Sites

  • Joshua Kahn Russell
  • Michael Albert
  • John Cronan
  • Madeline Gardner
  • Pat Korte
  • Meaghan Linick-Loughley
  • Aric Miller
  • Aaron Petcoff
  • Becca Rast
  • Mark Rudd
  • Matt Smucker

Organizations Promoting: Leadership Development, Political Education, Vision, Strategy, and Capacity Building

An ongoing compilation of Organizations Promoting: Leadership Development, Political Education, Vision, Strategy, and Capacity Building. I will soon add links to their websites and descriptions of what they do. In the mean time, you can find them by googling their name. Want to help build the movement? Donate these groups and support their work - they are the people who build the capacity of the movement’s best organizers and leaders! Enjoy!

Beyond the Choir - Beyond the Choir is an analysis, strategy and training project serving groups and campaigns struggling for social and economic justice, peace and the environment. We are a collective of organizers, trainers and designers who seek to spread tools, skills and strategies to build movements strong enough to realize the change we imagine.

The Brecht Forum - The BRECHT FORUM is a place for people who are working for social justice, equality and a new culture that puts human needs first. Through its programs and events, the Brecht Forum brings people together across social and cultural boundaries and artistic and academic disciplines to promote critical analysis, creative thinking, collaboartive projects and networking in an independent community-level environment.

Campus Camp Wellstone - (a project of Wellstone Action) Campus Camp Wellstone trains students nationwide on how to run energized, community building, winning campaigns. We focus on campus and community organizing and young voter engagement.

The Center for Political Education - The Center for Political Education is a resource for political organizations on the left, progressive movements, the working class and people of color. It is anchored by a collective of individuals active in day-to-day struggles in the Bay Area. Our political approach is non-sectarian, democratic, and committed to a critical analysis of local, regional, national and global politics.

The Change Agency - The Change Agency is a collective of activist educators and researchers. We work with community organisers to help people clarify their purpose and develop plans that will enable them to be heard, focus their energies and achieve social and environmental justice outcomes. We research social change, activism and advocacy. What is successful and what isn’t? How can people organise and work together more effectively? Based on our ongoing research we facilitate workshops for activists and community organisers and also share many of our resources on this site.

Albert Einstein Institution - The mission of the Albert Einstein Institution is to advance the worldwide study and strategic use of nonviolent action in conflict. The Institution is committed to:

  • defending democratic freedoms and institutions
  • opposing oppression, dictatorship, and genocide, and
  • reducing reliance on violence as an instrument of policy.

This mission is pursued in three ways, by:

  • encouraging research and policy studies on the methods of nonviolent action and their past use in diverse conflicts
  • sharing the results of this research with the public through publications, conferences, and the media, and
  • consulting with groups in conflict about the strategic potential of nonviolent action.

Electoral Action Training (EAT) - (a project of the United States Student Association and Campus Camp Wellstone) The United States Student Association and Campus Camp Wellstone have teamed up to offer a comprehensive training to give students the skills to register, educate and mobilize their campuses for the 2008 election and beyond. With a combination of workshops, exercises, and discussions students will be equipped with tried and true electoral organizing skills (plus creative new tactics) and a sophisticated understanding of student power.

Grassroots Organizing Weekend (GROW) - (a project of the United States Student Association and the Midwest Academy) USSAF’s GrassRoots Organizing Weekend (GROW) is a comprehensive three-day training for student organizers. The GROW teaches students how to be more strategic in their fight for justice on campus and in the community. The training is a series of presentations, exercises, and discussions that teach a set of skills and concepts, which will increase the effectiveness of your student organizing. The GROW trainers are seasoned student organizers from around the country who teach by using their own personal organizing experiences. Usually 20-40 participants attend each GROW. As a participant of the GROW you will learn how to:

Highlander Research and Education Center - Highlander serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny. Through popular education, participatory research, and cultural work, we help create spaces — at Highlander and in local communities — where people gain knowledge, hope and courage, expanding their ideas of what is possible. We develop leadership and help create and support strong, democratic organizations that work for justice, equality and sustainability in their own communities and that join with others to build broad movements for social, economic and restorative environmental change.

Hollyhock Leadership Institute: A School for Social Change - The Hollyhock Leadership Institute empowers current and emerging leaders to create high impact social change. We build alliances, catalyze new visions and re-kindle inspiration.

Paul Kivel - Paul Kivel’s work grows out of three decades in community education, engaged parenthood, political writing, and practical activism all focused on one overriding question: How can we live and work together to nurture each individual and create a multicultural society based on love, caring, justice, and interdependence with all living things? Paul believes we each have a responsibility to help create a world worthy of our children. As Rabbi Tarfon wrote many centuries ago: “It is not upon you to finish the work. Neither are you free to desist from it.” This web site offers you Paul’s articles and books, links and exercises, bibliographies and videographies, all to support personal growth, community education, progressive activism, and effective organizing.

Labor/Community Strategy Center - The Labor/Community Strategy Center is a multiracial “think tank/act tank” committed to building democratic, internationalist, Left social movements and challenging the ideological, economic, and political domination of transnational capital. The Strategy Center’s work encompasses all aspects of urban life in the United States: it emphasizes class-conscious labor organizing and fighting for environmental justice and ending climate change, immigrant rights, and first-class transportation, as well as actively confronting the growing criminalization, racialization, and feminization of poverty. The Strategy Center synthesizes grassroots organizing-The Bus Riders Union and Community Rights projects-with education, policy development, and artistic culture production-Strategy Center Publications, The National Center for Transportation Strategies, the National School for Strategic Organizing, Voices from the Frontlines radio show, and AhoraNow periodical-to generate a creative and aggressive response to the growing power of the corporate-led political Right in the United States. The Strategy Center is committed to multilingual organizing, including the development of multilingual publications, productions, and visuals arts.

The Midwest Academy - Midwest Academy is a leading national training institute for the progressive movement. The Academy advances the movements for social change by teaching a strategic, rigorous, results-oriented approach to social action and organization building. The Academy provides training (introductory and advanced level) and consulting, equipping organizers, leaders, and their organizations to think and act strategically to win justice for all.

Movement Strategy Center - The Movement Strategy Center brings a cohesive plan to strengthen these emerging efforts and build the progressive social justice movement. They do this by supporting individuals, organizations, alliances and sectors to be more strategic, collaborative and sustainable.

New Tactics in Human Rights - The New Tactics in Human Rights Project, led by a diverse group of partner international organizations, advisors and practitioners, promotes tactical innovation and strategic thinking within the international human rights community. Strategic and tactical thinking, long used by business and military strategists, is an effective means for the human rights movement to expand options and possibilities of what can be done. Innovative tactics are emerging that may more effectively advance human rights and end persistent human rights problems. Many innovations have been valuable, yet are not well known outside their regions.

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond - The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), is a national and international collective of anti-racist, multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social transformation. The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, affectionately known in the community as The People’s Institute, considers racism the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism™/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, PISAB helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society.

Project South - Project South is a leadership development organization based in the US South creating spaces for movement building. We work with communities pushed forward by the struggle to strengthen leadership and provide popular political & economic education for personal & social transformation. We build relationships with organizations and networks across the US and global South to inform our local work and to engage in bottom-up movement building for social & economic justice.

RANT Collective (Root Activist Network of Trainers) - RANT is a small collective that formed in February of 2001. Our primary purpose is to provide training, education, and information to local, national, and international organizations, groups, and individuals working for global peace and justice. We are consensus based, non-hierarchical and collectively oriented.

Rainforest Action Network - Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is made up of 43 staff members in San Francisco, CA and in Tokyo, Japan, plus thousands of volunteer scientists, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens around the world. We believe that a sustainable world can be created in our lifetime, and that aggressive action must be taken immediately to leave a safe and secure world for our children. Dubbed “some of the most savvy environmental agitators in the business” by the Wall Street Journal, RAN uses hard-hitting markets campaigns to align the policies of multinational corporations with widespread public support for environmental protection. We believe that logging ancient forests for copy paper or destroying an endangered ecosystem for a week’s worth of oil is not just destructive, but outdated and unnecessary.

RESIST Grants - RESIST funds activist organizing and education work within movements for social change. As a foundation, RESIST is unique because we are part of the movements we fund. We do the work individual donors don’t have time to do: reaching out to activist organizations and researching their campaigns and projects. We operate on a national scale and know the big picture, and we challenge grantees to connnect their own issues with the concerns of other activists. Our frequent funding cycle means we can respond to time-sensitive organizing campaigns. RESIST is more than a foundation. We’re also a resource center, providing grassroots organizations with technical assistance and information about other funding sources. Finding Funding: A Beginner’s Guide to Foundation Research gives progressive activists a quick entry-point for grant-writing. Resist also publishes a highly respected Newsletter.

The Rockridge Institute - The Rockridge Institute is committed to the democratization of knowledge about politics. Our mission is to deepen and broaden the public’s understanding of the political world. Rockridge studies the worldviews, values and ideas behind conservative and progressive policies, issues and political discourse. Using the tools of neuroscience and cognitive linguistics — combined with decades of practical political experience — Rockridge promotes the effective articulation of progressive values. We do this by monitoring public debate and suggesting both long-term and short-term options for framing that offer a progressive perspective. We work primarily at the level of values and ideas across specific policy areas. At the level of language, we point out ineffective word choices and suggest argument forms and phrasings that better express progressive values.

Rosenberg Fund for Children - The Rosenberg Fund for Children was established to provide for the educational and emotional needs of children whose parents have suffered because of their progressive activities and who, therefore, are no longer able to provide fully for their children. The RFC also provides grants for the educational and emotional needs of targeted activist youth. Professionals and institutions will be awarded grants to provide services at no or reduced cost.

The Ruckus Society - We are living in a time of extreme challenges: stopping the war in Iraq, thwarting climate change catastrophes, reclaiming the commons from corporations, conquering our addiction to oil, and protecting human rights. In order to effectively meet these challenges, now, more than ever, environmental and social justice organizers must develop winning strategies that are creative, nonviolent, and take their lead from impacted communities. By building on the traditions of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., we, at The Ruckus Society, provide our partner organizations and activists with the tools, training, and support necessary to tackle these problems and achieve their goals.

School of Unity and Liberation - SOUL is working to lay the groundwork for a powerful liberation movement by supporting the development of a new generation of young organizers - especially young women, young people of color, queer youth and working-class young people. We believe that – in order for young organizers to build an effective movement for fundamental social change – they need support to develop the nuts-and-bolts organizing skills they need to mobilize their communities and to deepen their political analysis and their visions for fundamental social change. SOUL is a training center designed to support the growing youth sector of the social justice movement. We run political education and organizing skills training programs, designed specifically to meet the particular needs of our generation of emerging movement leaders.

smartMeme - The smartMeme collective is a group of skilled, creative and dedicated change agents who work to support grassroots movements with strategy and training resources, values based communications tools, and meme campaigning. We work to build a culture of strategy, vision, and change, connecting struggles for democracy, peace, justice, and ecological sanity.

Tools for Change - Tools for Change has been providing consulting, training, mediation and facilitation services nationwide for over 15 years. Founder Margo Adair formed Tools for Change to promote the integration of spiritual and political perspectives to promote personal, spiritual and political transformation to help bring about a just society. She and other associates around the country, have forged multi-cultural and multigenerational alliances in many different settings.

Training for Change - Since 1992 Training for Change has been committed to increasing capacity around the world for activist training. When we say activist training, we mean training that helps groups stand up more effectively for justice, peace and the environment. We deliver skills directly that people working for social change can use in their daily work.

War Resisters League - The War Resisters League has been resisting war at home and war abroad since 1923. Our work for nonviolent revolution has spanned decades and been shaped by the new visions and strategies of each generation’s peacemakers.

Z Education Online - ZEO stands for Z Education Online. It is an offshoot of the Z Media Institute that operates entirely online - and it is a component of Z Communications and ZSpace that includes (or will include in the future):

  • do it at your own speed instructionals with associated forums for discussion…
  • text and audio lectures
  • special presentations and chat sessions
  • and extensive faculty-taught courses in ZSchool with associated forums, etc.

Z Media Institute - Z Media Institute was started in 1994 by the cofounders of Z Magazine (1988) and South End Press (1977) to teach radical politics, media and organizing skills, the principles and practice of creating non-hierarchical institutions and projects, activism, and vision and strategy for social change. Classes are held around Eel Pond in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

April 11, 2008   No Comments

My Review of “Remembering Tomorrow” by Michael Albert

by Brian Kelly

The following is a review I wrote for ZNet on April 21, 2007. It’s one of my favorite books and super relevant for building powerful movements for social change. Check it out:

Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism, a memoir by Michael Albert, published by Seven Stories Press, is a must read for every young organizer serious about winning long-term, systematic change in the world. It critically analyzes the social movements of the past with the goal of building the stronger, more explosive and powerful movements of the future. Rather than ignoring persistent movement problems, it asks the hard questions that far too many experienced organizers avoid. Its look at the sixties and decades since, addressing culture, political events, and especially activist organizing, presents history not only honestly, but as we need it. Its focus on vision and strategy challenges our current over emphasis on only critique. Its exploration of what type of society we really want by way of historical examples and experiences is truly remarkable.

How can we bring more people into our movements; even make our movements gravitationally attractive and compelling? How can we make it easier for people in the movement to lead normal lives? How can we relate to new and broader audiences? How can we frame reforms in a radical context, and direct them towards future social gains? What role should militancy play in the movement? What might a revolution in the United States look like (and how can we get there)? All of these pressing questions, and many more, are addressed at length and in depth in the book. Albert walks readers through decades-worth of practical lessons that can be immediately applied to their own grassroots organizing; whether in schools, in workplaces or communities, or in youth and student organisations such as the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) or Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

He explains how by thinking strategically and focusing on vision, we can provide the inspiration needed to overcome cynicism, counter critics, and draw masses of people into the movement- retaining instead of losing them, with an ever growing commitment.

Remembering Tomorrow is a true gift to young leftists- providing the knowledge they need to begin a life-long journey of political organizing and radical change. It is a timely addition to left organizing- at a point when the need for energetic young organizers to join in the development of vision, not only within the economic sphere, but also for kinship, culture, politics, and education, is greater than ever before. While each lesson from Remembering Tomorrow can be a powerful tool in and of itself, the central message of the book- that vision and strategy can give people the inspiration to fight and as such should be central to movement organizing- is a lesson that each of us should bring to broader audiences. Michael presents this theme perfectly, saying:

“If a person thinks a society promoting solidarity, diversity, equity and self-management is potentially attainable, then for him or her to say it should be morally off the agenda and therefore that people should not try to define it, explain it and forcefully advocate for it, would be to say that humanity should stop progressing…”

The memoir follows Michael Albert’s life, from his college experiences as a young organizer with Students for a Democratic Society, to his work as a founder of South End Press, and finally to the creation Zmag and Znet, and the development of Participatory Economics (Parecon)- the visionary post-capitalist economic model- with Robin Hahnel. It incorporates lessons not only from Albert’s life, but also from the lives of his friends, classmates, and fellow organizers. Drawing on his experiences at each stage of his life, Michael explores the positives and negatives of many trends in activist organizing- with an eye towards improving how we build movements. Analysing how we could forge a powerful Left formation- and what that would look like and require from us- is something that we do far too seldom.

While exploring the book, readers are engaged with diverse organizing experiences- from student organising at MIT, UMass Amherst, and the Harvard Education School, to teaching in schools, prisons, and eventually at Z Media Institute (ZMI)- a leftist summer institute. They will gain tremendous insights in the field of independent publishing and media, following Albert’s major role in South End Press, Z Magazine, ZNet, and Z Media Institute. Albert brings readers into his life, taking them around New England, the United States, and the globe; from his life as a student organiser, to his work as a lifelong author, activist, movement strategist, and visionary anticapitalist- at each step along the way, sharing with them his successes and failings, his insights and uncertainties.

Remembering Tomorrow provides countless examples of where strategic action could have yielded vastly different outcomes- from what was learned organising with SDS to that organisation’s tragic death; from the civil rights movement to the movement against the War in Vietnam; and from the Women’s Movement to advocacy for an entirely different form of visionary economic system. Albert is always up front where the movement could have acted more strategically, and his role in those actions, be they successes or failures.

Taking it further, Michael explores how Participatory Economics could be the economic basis for a future society; a society whereby humans could organize an advanced industrial society in a manner which promotes solidarity, diversity, equity, self-management and efficiency. Weaving together issues of sex, gender, race, and class, of what has been and of what could be, of people and their lives, places and their conflicts, and events and their implications, all culled from personal experiences, makes for a wonderfully human book that is also inspiring and edifying.

All-in-all Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism sheds light on many of the movements of the past; renewing debate on many so-called “settled” issues, and starting new discussions on the issues that many leftists fail to address. It serves as both an extraordinary introduction for new leftists and a sobering wakeup call for experienced ones. I recommend it for all those who are serious about struggling to win a better world.

Note: Readers who enjoy Remembering Tomorrow and wish to further explore the need for our movements to develop vision and strategy, should also consider reading ParEcon: Life After Capitalism, and Realizing Hope: Life Beyond Capitalism and visiting Zmag.org

February 16, 2008   No Comments

Marching to Freedom

by Brian Kelly

The presidency of George W. Bush, at its infancy through peak, represented the conservative movement’s crowning achievement. After 40 years of building, it looked as though their movement was unstoppable. But while the Republican Party marveled in its own glory, others were quietly and patiently planting the seeds of its demise.

While nothing is certain, all the signs of a coming realignment are beginning to take root. Rightwing analysts, such as David Frum at Financial Times, and others are talking about their worst nightmare being realized: a strong realignment of progressive forces which enables the left to control our society for decades to come - maybe longer. In Frum’s article in Financial Times entitled “Beware the coming Democratic sea-change”, he says whoever the Democratic Party nominee is, if they win the Presidency, we can expect:

“A greater government role in healthcare, higher taxes, tighter regulation, more social welfare, an increased flow of low-skilled migrants with amnesty for those already here, a cut-and-run from Iraq…”

All of these things are promising. Luckily for him he doesn’t know the extent of the coming progressive realignment.

So what are the signs? And, more importantly, what does this mean for progressive forces committed to pushing America further and faster to the left?

THE CONTEXT

World Events, Situations, and Trends

The Climate Crisis

Along side weapons of mass destruction, global climate destabilization is the greatest threat the world has ever faced. As the globe continues to warm and the climate continues to destabilize - fueled mainly by the West’s addiction to fossil fuels - we will face greater consequences ranging from rising sea levels (which could cause millions of deaths, and possibly billions of refugees), a rapidly increasing rate of species and habitat extinction, runaway pollution levels, erratic and catastrophic weather patterns, resource scarcity (the latter of which could lead to increased incidents of water wars, ethnic cleansing, and the like), and much more.

Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction

After the fall of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, a gigantic number of weapons of mass destruction and materials went missing, were sold to unstable or hostile nations, and have been kept in unsafe storage. More alarmingly, the United States has taken actions which, if unchecked, could escalate into another Cold War. One key factor in this new escalation is America’s “missile shield” system which is planned to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic, based on a recently brokered deal with Poland. The “missile shield” which claims to be for protection against “Iranian missiles”, has much more sinister and grave implications. The Iranians are universally considered a threat by almost no one and questions arise as to what the purpose of such a system could be. As many have pointed (see Brian Dominick’s “Media Distorts Missile ‘Defense’ Plans” on ZNet & “European Missile Defense: The Technological Basis of Russian Concerns” by George N. Lewis and Theodore A. Postol in Arms Control Today), since such a system isn’t really for use solely against the Iranians, nor would it be effective in protecting against a Russian first-strike nuclear attack, one can only conclude that the “missile defense shield” is actually an offensive first-strike, weapons system designed to protect against missiles not taken out by a first-strike American attack - with major opponents in the region being Iran and Russia, and elsewhere - China.

The War in Middle East - Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon

The U.S. occupation of Iraq; the U.S.-Israeli occupation of Palestine; the U.S.-Israeli attack against Lebanon; the U.S.-backed dictatorship in Pakistan; U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan; perhaps more than any other place in the world, the Middle East is quickly spiraling out of control into a regional war (or conglomeration of wars), caused by a battle(s) for resources, wealth, power, and influence. The regional conflicts are fueling increasing fundamentalism and violence alongside prodding grassroots resistance and pro-democracy movements (i.e. Pakistan). After over a century of colonial rule, artificial boundaries and borders set up by colonial powers are threatening to rupture and fragment - with secessionist and nationalist movements growing in size and commitment. The Middle East is a region in turmoil. Like everything else in our current context, there is tremendous threats, juxtaposed with tremendous opportunities.

The Possible Recession (or Depression!)

Peak Oil and The Cost of Petroleum

The Blackwater Effect: The Rise of the For-Profit, Private Military (and Private Prisons)

SIGNS IN OUR MOVEMENT

The Movement

Elections

Shortly after John Kerry’s loss in the 2004 election, Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, sent out an e-mail to MoveOn members saying:

“For years, the party has been led by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base… But we can’t afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers. In the last year, grass-roots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the party doesn’t need corporate cash to be competitive… Now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it, and we’re going to take it back.“

What he meant by this e-mail, I think, is that the Democratic Party could no longer ignore the grassroots and expect to win campaigns or stay in power. He and others at MoveOn and other organizations have said this repeatedly. Whatever you think of MoveOn, or their efforts to engage with the Democratic Party, it’s fairly hard, I think, to discount the role they’ve played in pressing the Party to move away from the center-right politics that they have leaned towards in the past. They’ve raised many crucial issues to national prominence - all very good signs and actions.

In 2004, many prominent liberals and progressives put out an incredibly informative book called Start Making Sense (which I talk about in an early blog post here), which discusses many things that progressives need to do to start winning (electorally) again. Almost every lesson can be applied to how grassroots movements for longterm transformative change can give entrenched interests a run for their money - and win. It also has many lessons that a Left Electoral Campaign should take to heart in the future.

New Brunswick, progressive danes, green party

The Obama Campaign

Huge portions of the American Left has ignored these positive signs.

And you can see tremendous progress in huge parts of the progressive community:

Youth1

Despite Thomas Friedman’s proclamation that the youth of the nation are “Generation Q” or “The Quiet Americans”, my generation (learning from both history, experience, and world-class mentors) is organizing to take America to new heights. That Friedman didn’t see was that, while Facebook and Myspace (and the Internet in general) can be a distraction for young people, it is also being used in a exciting new ways - linking groups who have never interacted with one another, popularizing dissent, and breaking down barriers to activism.

During many previous periods of social upheaval, groups in society - especially young people - have often had raised hopes and a sense of entitlement. It happened right before the civil rights movement when black soldiers came back from war. It happened before Venezuela took a turn town its path towards liberation, when there were decades of raised hopes around both capitalism and representative democracy - which are now being abandoned in terms of “socialism for the 21st century” and participatory democracy. And its happening again in America. Generation Change is was raised with parents who often had social security, unemployment insurance, and other social safety nets. The last remnants of the New Deal are being dismantled before our eyes. We will be the first generation in half a century which is worse off than our parents were. And on top of that, as the first generation to be raised during the age of information technology, we have extremely high hopes and a strong sense of entitlement. Whatever sense of hope cynicism still held onto, reality will shatter. If history is any indicator of what might occur, our objective conditions as a generation will soon lead to mass rebellion and upheaval.

A few projects to watch: Baltimore Algebra Project, Sustainable South Bronx, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)

Environmental Justice

Green For All, Apollo Alliance, Energy Action Coalition, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Powervote

Peace

Iraq Veterans Against the War, Winter Soldier, AFSC, WRL, shifts in UFPJ

Religious Left

The Network of Spiritual Progressives, Tikkun

Messaging

In the world of messaging and learning to tell effective stories and narratives, there are already those in progressive circles working hard on figuring out new ways to communicate our values with the public. The smartMeme project is one of the groups pioneering a field they call “story-based strategy”; an exciting initiative which challenges progressives to reframe the debate using alternative narratives to counter dominant myths around social programs.

Another small collective, Beyond the Choir, is also doing innovative work on how progressives can communicate our values using strategic and well-planned organizing, education, campaigns and actions.

George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute is also paving the way in taking back language from the rightwing.

Media

Z Communications, The Real News Network, Democracy Now!

Negative trends in progressive media include a lack of support and consistent funding for these organizations. Where solidaristic attitudes and federations of progressive media outlets would prevent any one organization from falling apart or closing its doors due to lack of funding, we’ve seen an opposite trend occurring. With the rise of the internet, which has opened countless new doors for our movement, many of us have started to think that media is “free” - that no one should have to pay for it - or the labor that made it. This is a fantasy. Our movements should drive towards more relationships of solidarity, cooperation and community. No quality progressive media organization that has proven itself should have to close its doors due to financial hardship. Progressive media is the backbone of our knowledge base.

Democracy

Liberty Tree, New Brunswick

The Bolivarian Revolution

One of the most hopeful developments in the last 40 or more years, is undoubtedly the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, lead by President Hugo Chavez. Its aims? Transcending capitalism and representatative democracy. The alternative? “Socialism for the 21st Century” and Participatory Democracy. I’ll write more later, in the mean time: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

TASKS FOR THE LEFT

Mentors

If there is anything my generation needs right now, it’s smart mentors. We need folks to tell us what worked and what didn’t worked in the past. We need to be able to tap into the collective experiences of the last 40 years. We don’t want to repeat your mistakes; we want to learn from them. The youth of American are setting out on the journey of our lives. We are setting out to recast our country from the fires of own creativity, passion, and hope. I’m not talking about dozens of mentors. I’m not even talking about hundreds of mentors. To set ourselves on a winning path, we need thousands of you to start stepping into that role. Not just teachers (though they are invaluable). Not just older activists (though we need plenty of activists of all ages). What we need are mentors. We need folks who will help us through a learning process. We need to have the space to make mistakes, be creative, and push the envelope. But we shouldn’t have to make the same mistakes over and over again. We need to learn from those in the past who were victorious. And we need to learn from the (non-cynical) organizers of the past who lost - and know why they lost. Commit to supporting younger folks in our journey to save our country. Do it consciously as a progressive. Don’t hide what you are doing - our future depends on urgent, overt action. Your conscience (and your Social Security checks) will thank you for it. So will I.
Capacity and Infrastructure

Z Media Institute, Training for Change, the Change Agency, Midwest Academy, Project South, Beyond the Choir, smartMeme, Ruckus Society, the Highlander Center, War Resisters League, New Tactics,

A TRAJECTORY OF CHANGE

Will finish off later!

–

1. Note, by sectioning-off various sections of the Left, I don’t mean to place artificial barriers where they need not be placed, but rather do this to highlight some exciting developments. “Youth”, for example, are working on dozens of issues, including peace, human rights, and environmental justice.

February 15, 2008   No Comments

Language Warriors

by Brian Kelly

Language is yet another field in which Progressives lag light-years behind the Right. It isn’t bad enough that our movements are hard to be apart of, are often alienating to outsiders, and ask too much, too quickly of their participants. We have to take it to the next step and talk to people like we are from a different planet. And when our language is accessible we are usually don’t understand how people are receiving what we are saying, nor do we grasp the full implications of the assumptions our language are creating or reinforcing.

Language matters. Progressives frequently enter a discussion, lose their temper or are annihilated by their opponents, and then can’t seem to fathom why they lost the debate. Even worse, some times they blame their loss on the audience – as if the public is the cause of our inability to effectively communicate our values and vision. What we almost never realize is that we regularly lose the debate before it has even starts.

The Language Around Global Warming

Take global warming. Open a copy of the New York Times and find an article about global warming. Take out a highlighter and highlight every form of the word “global warming” you see (“global warming”, “climate change”, “climate crisis”, etc…). Then tally up the number of times each term is used. There is a good chance that the most common term you will find, is “climate change”, often used 2 to 3 times as much as “global warming”. A few years ago, the term “climate change” didn’t exist in newspapers, and the term “global warming” was used every time the concept of environmental chaos was discussed. Today the opposite is true. Newspapers, television news outlets, and even progressive activists all regularly use the term “climate change”.

Well, as one might have guessed, this wasn’t an accident. A man by the name of Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster and strategist, advised Republican politicians to use the term “climate change” instead of “global warming”. This effort by conservatives popularized the term and it is now a popular term. Why did he do that? Because the term “global warming”, as he put it, was “too hysterical”. The word caught on and is now part of the narrative that is told to the public and repeated by the public about global warming and environmental destruction. In a 16-page document entitled “The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America”, Luntz Research Companies advised conservative politicians on what language they could use to argue that there is “no consensus” on the issue of global warming. Hell, even Democratic Party leaders now regularly use the term.

As soon as we use the word “climate change” in front of an audience, we are triggering a whole slew of conservative stories and arguments that the right has built up around that term. And they do this for every issue!

Moral of the story: When we use their language, we lose.

How Language Traverses the Brain

But it goes deeper than that! It is telling to look at how the brain processes language and what that means for our political work.

A recent study by Sam Harris (author of Letter to a Christian Nation), Sameer Sheth, and Mark S. Cohen unearthed new evidence that shows how seriously language triggers deeply held opinions and assumptions. Their study, entitled “Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty”, explores how the brain processes statements that of “belief”, “disbelief” and “uncertainty”.

What did they find? The study found that while a statement’s validity was processed in more advanced parts of the brain, it always passed through more primitive portions (the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula – portions of processing reward, emotion, pain perception, taste, and disgust) where it received a “final stamp” of “belief” or “disbelief”. If a participant thought a statement to be true, parts of their brain linked to reward, emotion and taste showed activity; statements which they perceived to be untrue activated sections of the brain linked with pain, disbelief, and taste.

If these findings are indeed true, what would that mean for the left? What would it mean for how we frame things, how we relate to people, and how we choose our words if the consequence of a poor or alienating word choice is that our statements actually make the public “feel” discomfort, bad taste, and disgust?

The study seems like it could help to explain a lot. It would help to partially explain things like “stubbornness”, and people voting “against their self-interests”, and many trends that progressives often display contempt for.

Perhaps that’s our primitive brain applying disgust to things we should have much more sympathy towards.

What we are up against

The republicans are often quite honest about their intentions. Take Gary Bauer for example. Bauer was a 2004 republican presidential hopeful. In describing politics, he said: “We are engaged in a social, political, and cultural war. There’s a lot of talk in America about pluralism. But the bottom line is somebody’s values will prevail. And the winner gets the right to teach our children what to believe.” I don’t see any reason to doubt the sincerity of their stated intentions. We should respond accordingly.

Even though we are young, are we going to sound like raging, angry lunatic? Or will we be the voice of reason that helps to guide people through the darkness and into the light.

Solutions

When a republican or evangelical gives a speech, they tell you what they think, what they want, and how they plan to get it. They are usually quite honest about their intentions. They use highly inspiring and hopeful language, talking about everyday people and popular themes (many of which they helped create). We need to be talking using the same type of inspirational language from a progressive perspective.

Luckily for us, there are already those in progressive circles working hard on figuring out new ways to communicate our values with the public. The smartMeme project (www.smartmeme.org) is one of the groups pioneering a field they call “story-based strategy”; an exciting initiative which challenges progressives to reframe the debate using alternative narratives to counter dominant myths around social programs.

Another small collective, Beyond the Choir (www.beyondthechoir.org), is also doing innovative work on how progressives can communicate our values using strategic and well-planned organizing, education, campaigns and actions.

George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute (www.rockridgeinstitute.org) is also paving the way in taking back language from the rightwing.

While much more is needed, we should all challenge ourselves to begin a much needed dialog about how our words, our actions, and our attitudes are received by the American people. Our victory depends on it.

Recommended Links

Progressive:
George Lakoff – www.georgelakoff.com
Rockridge Institute – www.rockridgeinstitute.org
Beyond the Choir – www.beyondthechoir.org
smartMeme – www.smartmeme.org

Conservative:
Frank Luntz – www.luntz.com

Recommended Articles

  • What Prevents Radicals from Acting Strategically by Beyond the Choir (Matthew Smucker in collaboration with Madeline Gardner) www.beyondthechoir.org
  • Building a Successful Antiwar Movement by Beyond the Choir www.beyondthechoir.org

Recommended Books

Progressives Books:

  • Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff
  • Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff

Conservative Books: (note: Luntz is the same way, but from a conservative perspective. It is very interesting to read his stuff both for concepts and to learn how the other side thinks and is framing almost every issue.)

  • Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Frank Luntz

Bibliography

Harris, Sam, Sameer A. Sheth, Md, Phd, and Mark S. Cohen, Phd. “Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty.” Annals of Neurology (2007). Wiley InterScience. 28 Dec. 2007 <http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/117858891/HTMLSTART>.

February 6, 2008   1 Comment