Today's Headline

It was a dark day for Darwin when Dover, Pa., became the first school district in the country to mandate the teaching of "intelligent design," which challenges the theory that man descended from apes. School board members Carol and Jeff Brown (above) resigned in opposition to the curriculum change.

As frustrating as that must be for Carol and Jeff, their resignation angers me as much as Americans whose answer to the current administration is moving to Canada. In my opinion, that's giving up and giving in. Who's going to stand up for our progressive values and fight for freedoms if we all go away?

Here's the rest of the article.

Gratitude

We have a lot to be grateful for. Well, at least I do. I am healthy and strong with a well-functioning mind (most of the time=). I am in a loving relationship. I have many caring friends and family. I have food to eat and clean water to drink. I have a cozy place to call home. I have had opportunities to travel and access to education. I have had many opportunities to grow and become a more understanding and patient person. I am a woman. I have a job that I enjoy that contributes to the well being of the planet. I live a simple and rich life. I can vote. And I'm wearing a fuzzy pink scarf.

It wasn't always this way. I used to hate pink and less than a century ago women were not allowed to vote. After the election, I realized that there was a lot I didn't know about past movements to increase the rights of underrepresented people. I figured that to be the most valuable participant that I can be in the next revolution, learning what has worked before might be handy. So I started reading about the civil rights movement and the women's vote movement.

These are excerpts from one of the books I read, Let Women Vote! by Marlene Targ Brill.

Page 15 – “Most early American could not own property or sign contracts. Their husbands owned their clothes, household goods, and anything they brought to the marriage. If a woman earned wages, they belonged to her husband.”

Page 16 – “Divorce between husband and wife was almost impossible. And if a divorce was granted, the woman lost all rights to her children, no matter how badly the father behaved.
After visiting the United State, French author Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, ‘No people, with the exception of slaves, had less rights over themselves in eighteenth-century and early nineteenth century America than married women.’”

Page 23 – “After abolitionists Angelina and Sarah Grimke toured New England, Massachusetts clergy issued a strong letter attacking their speeches. Churches throughout the state read the letters condemning the women. The clergy claimed that ‘when a woman assumes the place and tone of man as public reformer…her character becomes unnatural.’
Sarah Grimke answered the clergy in a series of letters. She argued that they misquoted the Bible to keep women down. She wanted equal rights for women.
‘All I ask our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God designed us to occupy,’ she wrote.”

Page 26 – “On July 13, 1848, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Stanton, Mary Ann McClintock, Martha Wright and Jane Hunt met for tea. “At the July 13 tea, Stanton admitted to the women how truly miserable she was.
I poured out, that day, the torrent of my…long discontent, with such vehemence and indignation that I stirred myself, as well as the rest of the party, to do and dare anything.
…The following day, Stanton announced the Women’s Rights Convention in the Seneca County Courier. The notice read:

A convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious rights of woman will be held in the Wesleyan Chapel, Seneca Falls, New York, on Wednesday and Thursday, the 19th and 20th of July.

The next morning the women met to plan the meeting and prepare a statement of basic women’s rights. At first, Stanton searched through papers from antislavery meetings for ideas. Then she read the United States Declaration of Independence….

Stanton rewrote the Declaration to include the work women: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal….” Then the women agreed on a list of demands for true equality with men. They include the right to earn wages, go to college, own property, pursue a career, have equal say about children after divorce, and be heard in court. Stanton added one more demand – the right to vote….Some women feared that wanting the vote went too far…”

I'm extremely grateful that Stanton dared to go too far.
What are you grateful for?

The Optimism of Uncertainty

From an article by Howard Zinn, brought to my attention by Jen E. Thank you, Jen!

A big fat YES!

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2004-09/30zinn.cfm
"I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played.

The metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.

...

Even when we don't "win," there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope.

An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.

If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Past and Future History Lessons

I've been reading a lot lately about the Civil Rights Movement because I realize that I didn't know much about it and could learn from the brave activists that came before.

I came across this quote in one of the books, and it struck me as oddly familiar...

“While campaigning, President Kennedy had taken several highly publicized stands in support of the civil rights activists that encouraged black ministers to endorse him from the pulpit the Sunday before election day. This brought out the record black vote that gave Kennedy the narrow margin of victory he needed to win against Richard Nixon.”
Page 87, Black Women Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, by Zita Allen, copyright 1996.

How will history books characterize this election 35 years from now?
“While campaigning, President George W. Bush had taken several discreet stands in support of the sanctity of marriage, defined as between a man and a woman, that encouraged middle America minister to endorse him from the pulpit the Sunday before election day. This brought out the record Christian vote that gave Bush the narrow margin of victory he needed to win against John Kerry.”
Page 87, Leaders of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement, copyright 2039.

Do Not Despair!

From: Jessica Nusbaum
Sent: Thu, Nov 04, 2004 11:28 pm
Subject: Do Not Despair!

Friends,

Do not despair. Don't be depressed. Get Angry! That's right, let yourself get good and mad.

There is no denying that there are dark days ahead. But it is always darkest before the dawn -- and the good news is, we do not even have to wait passively for dawn to arrive. WE ARE the sun that will rise. The conservative extremists rule by fear; but anger is stronger than fear. The fire of our anger will ignite a new star, a new sun that will rise from the darkness.

1. Do not despair. The people who are on the fence -- the true "undecideds" who are torn between conservative and liberal values, the people who went to the polls and voted for Kerry or voted for Bush but either way didn't really feel good about it -- they sense it when we despair. They can smell it. When we see ourselves as "losers", guess what? We LOOK like losers. And from the perspective of the "undecideds", who wants to play for the losing team?

2. Do not buy into their message. Do not buy into their spin. Now, I'm sure you're thinking, are you crazy? I disagree with everything they say! Why on earth would I buy into their message? But I'm not talking about their policy messages -- I'm talking about something that runs much deeper.

In the wake of the election, the right-wing message machine has gone into overdrive, repeating their interpretation of the results. Their message is that the American people have given George Bush and the Republicans a mandate to govern. Don't buy it just because it's for sale everywhere. THESE ARE NOT PURE FACTS. The right-wing spin doctors are using a particular subset of the facts in order to create a frame of thinking.

You wonder, how can I say this? Perhaps you are thinking, but the facts are all on their side!

NO! The facts are NOT all on their side. They are simply choosing to repeat the facts that tell their version of the story. How about this fact: "A record number of us voted to change course. More Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history."

That is what I'm talking about.

So when someone argues, "it wasn't just the Presidential race; it's also the new seats that the Republicans won in the House and the Senate and even the governor's races", how do you respond?

If your response is, "I know! It's awful! How did this happen? How did this country become so conservative, so right-wing?" then you are reinforcing their frame; you are buying into the mindset that they have created for you. You are ALLOWING THEM to convince you that America agrees with them.

BUT they did NOT win in a landslide. Who the hell started calling 51% a "clear mandate" to govern? We barely lost the presidential race. And, ok, so what about all those other races?

Try this response instead: "You're right, but did you realize that Montana, one of the reddest states, has a new Democratic governor? And first-time candidates for state legislatures from Hawaii to Connecticut beat incumbent Republicans." Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all!

(All facts I've cited here come from the email sent out to Democracy for America's mailing list by Howard Dean on November 3. So you don't have to just take my word for it! Visit www.democracyforamerica.com for the rest of Governor Dean's message.)

3. The good news. The battle is not about whose values are better -- conservative or liberal -- the battle is about messaging. About who can translate their most deeply held human, family values into the political arena most effectively. So far, the right-wing message machine has expressed their political interpretation of values more clearly. But that does not mean that their values are better. It means that we have to make our message clearer. And that is GOOD NEWS because messaging is manageable. Messaging is something we can control. And it is something for which each and every one of us is responsible, every time we speak about politics. We all have a role.

4. Stop attacking each other. Stop the blame. We've fallen into this trap for too long: blaming each other for our collective loss. It's a cop-out, and it plays right into their hands. It helps the right-wing when we spend our energy accusing each other for losing! And it's an abdication of our own responsibility for contributing to a strong progressive message. So stop saying it's Kerry's fault for not being "human" or "emotional" or "charismatic" enough. Stop blaming Bill Clinton for having sex. Stop blaming gays for wanting to have the same right that we do to marry the person we love. For goodness sake, we're all on the same side here! We are only shooting each other in the foot to carry on like this.

It is time for each and every one of us to take responsibility for the message that we represent and the values that we care about.

George Bush is not a great speaker. No! He's not that charismatic - certainly not a Reagan or Clinton. They aren't all voting for Bush the person - they're voting for value-based politics - and right now, the only Party talking about politics through the language of values is the Republican Party. And that's why Republicans are winning, not only in the White House, but across the nation.

But it's not only the job of John Kerry or Mary Beth Cahill or Barack Obama - whoever - to tell our story. Each and every one of us must tell our story each and every day -- every chance we get. We have a lot of catching up to do on the messaging front, which is why every person and every thought counts. Don't wait for the next election to keep fighting.

5. Here's how I am continuing my fight. My battle begins in my own mind. I will not let them control my thinking, my frame of mind. Say it with me this time: I will not let them frame my thinking!

Every time I hear someone speak about this election from a place of frustration, disgust, despair, I remind myself that they are unconsciously voicing the stories of conservative dominance that the right-wing WANTS us to believe. I fight back by sharing facts and values and feelings that frame the story that WE want to tell. A story that resonates not only with truth, with facts, but also with hope and a deep belief in the values of fairness... equality... freedom to live our lives according to our own choices... cooperation... support for those less fortunate so that they may have opportunities for success and happiness and fulfillment.


The right-wing extremists have a big head start, decades spent crafting their message and repeating it over and over and over again. It's no wonder we could not turn things around in the few short months of a political campaign. Change does not happen over night. It will happens gradually, by hammering away at our message, reminding each other of OUR values, day after day. And that's why we have no time to lose. There is no day to begin but today.

Peace and love,
jess


P.S. I began by writing the following email to send to everyone I know in other countries. Part of my personal efforts toward an international PR campaign to counteract the representations of the mainstream media. Please feel free to use it, borrow from it, or forward it on.

Also, If you are interested in these thoughts, I HIGHLY recommend the very brief and readable book just published by cognitive scientist, linguist, and master of messaging and framing, George Lakoff. Title of the book is "Don't Think of an Elephant!", an allusion to the old psychology game about the power of the images that are evoked by a single word. The book is a summary of the principles he has discussed in his more "academic" books -- but this time, written specifically for the popular audience. It is a must read.



From: Jessica Nusbaum
Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2004 7:54 PM
Subject: Has America gone mad?

Hello friends,

It is with a sad heart that I write to you all today. For many, many of us here, it is a dark day to be an American.

By now, I'm sure you have heard the results of the election here: that George W. Bush has won the presidency for another four years -- and he has apparently won it fairly, both in our electoral college system (which counts the votes by state) and in the national popular vote (which simply counts the total number of votes won by each candidate).

I am writing today because I want to tell you the story of the fight against George Bush. I don't know how the election is being explained by the media where you live, so I want you to hear it from me. I want you to know that millions of Americans DID fight as hard as we could to defeat Bush. That we tried every way we knew how.

People took days, weeks, or even months off from their jobs -- using personal vacation time, or even unpaid leave -- in order to volunteer with John Kerry's campaign. Other people flew home from distant states -- even other countries -- in order to vote in "swing states" like Florida and Ohio. We donated money, volunteered our time, sent letters and made phone calls to friends and family and strangers in states where the vote was expected to be close. In my family, cousins who have always voted for Republicans decided to vote for Kerry this time. Those cousins live in Ohio -- the state which, in the end, decided the election. People who have never voted before in their lives came out to vote in this election.

I do not want you to believe that all Americans agree with George Bush. Today, for the first time in my life, I saw people cry because of the results of a political election.

I remember conversations with many of you when I visited you, traveled with you in Europe, Australia and South America, over the last few years. You said that you understood the difference between the American government and the American people. You understood that George Bush was not elected fairly in 2000. Sadly, this time is different. We cannot argue with the election results this time. But I ask you to continue to believe in us. Believe that there are Americans -- millions of us -- who never wanted this war in Iraq. Millions of us who want our government to work together with other countries. Millions of Americans who do NOT believe what George Bush believes. Please don't stop believing in us.

I listened to John Kerry's speech today with my colleagues at work, and many of us had tears in our eyes. For the last seven months, I have been working for a small progressive communications/public relations company. We have all spent hours and hours on the phone to reporters across America, trying to win the battle in the media. With thousands of other Americans, we have worked to the point of exhaustion, and yet we did not win.

I feel despair in my heart. But we do not have time for despair: we must prepare to fight against George Bush and his administration for another four years. All that I ask of you is this: no matter what you hear on television or in the newspapers this week, please remember that George Bush does NOT represent all of America. Many Americans did all that we could to stop Bush. I am deeply sorry that our efforts were not enough.

Sending love and a sincere wish for peace,

Jess

P.S. If you want, forward this email to your friends and family, and anyone you know in the press who might be interested in an "average American" point of view. Also, tell me if you would like me to send a translation in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese or any other language and I will try to translate these thoughts or find someone who can.

Conversation Starter

The visceral reaction I've had to the election showed me how much I care - how important this is. This being my country. We're divided. There is a gap of understanding. Actually, it's more than a gap. It's a chasm. A gulf. Willingly allowed by both sides. Neither side can fathom how the others can be so "wrong."

Maybe there is no understanding. Maybe I'm naive. But I don't think I am. And I don't feel that I am.

So, whatever we're doing - us liberals - need to change it. One place to start is to look at the conservatives, who by the standards of our political system, have won - for now. We need to learn what the conservatives have done to sway the people and do it better.

My hypothesis is that conservatives have appropriated language in such a way that tugs the heart strings, elicits trust and therefore there is no further need to question their authority. Engaging the emotions, then following up with your case is one of the oldest fundraising tactics and very effective. Duh! This works on me. Remind me that I care, show me that we agree, give me a good case once - and I'll likely take your word on other issues. This is highly convenient in our busy lives.

Whether we (Californians) see them or not, there are a lot of Christians. Conservatives connected with them on issues that evoke a lot of emotions - abortion and gay marriage. The evils of these were espoused from the pulpit. Conservative's positions were santioned by the Word of God. Murder is wrong. Homosexuals are heathens. Case closed. " I will never vote for anyone who kills babies and lets gays marry," said a 74 year old rural Missouri woman who has missed probably only four Sunday Services in her entire life and those because she was in the hospital recovering from surgery and has been voting Republican her entire life - for economic reasons. Otherwise known as my Grandmother, a woman whom I deeply love but still don't understand.

Christian values were more powerful that we thought. Conservatives very effectively used language to emotionalize two issues and solidify the vote based on those. That war is murder and our nation has a debt that will take generations to repay don't matter anymore.

Our job is to take back the language and remind everyone of the Values of Equality, Freedom and Justice that our America stands for!

As for me, first I'm going to brush up on my history and let Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Malcolm X be my inspirations and teach me the courage to help this world become the place of Equality, and Freedom that I know it can.


Things to consider:

"As Martin Luther King wrote in his 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail,' '' Jacques said, "there is no convenient time to ask those who oppose equality to think more kindly about it." - Cheryl Jacques, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, after the 2004 election. (GAY MARRIAGE: Did issue help re-elect Bush? SFC, Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau 11/4/04)

Interview with George Lakoff

www.michaelmoore.com: 17 reasons not to slit your wrists

Pissed is an okay way to be.

The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution
The Bill of Rights
Stand and Fight