Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Fight the Right
At a time when what passes for activism seems to just be a lot of self-righteous posturing around human dignity issues (the whining your way to power model) it's nice to know there are some organizations that actually think, plan, and act on effective models of community organizing for political power. Yah, that often thankless, laborious dirtywork that yields results that make a real difference in people's day-to-day lives. Politics.
One such non-profit in Oregon, Rural Organizing Project, fills the niche of supporting the work of pro-democracy activists statewide, a level that is frequently neglected, leaving a void between local and regional human dignity groups that hamstrings the ability of folks to affect meaningful change in their state legislatures, laws, budgets, and programs--a crucial ability when our federal government has become an enemy of democracy and human rights.
And Rural Organizing Project, as a shining example of how this can be accomplished, even in hard times like this, actually had a plan that they have carried out successfully over the five disastrous years of the Bush Administration. Take a look. http://www.rop.org/FiveYearPlan.htm
It might have something you and your colleagues can use in your state to fight the right. I mean, what are you waiting for?
One such non-profit in Oregon, Rural Organizing Project, fills the niche of supporting the work of pro-democracy activists statewide, a level that is frequently neglected, leaving a void between local and regional human dignity groups that hamstrings the ability of folks to affect meaningful change in their state legislatures, laws, budgets, and programs--a crucial ability when our federal government has become an enemy of democracy and human rights.
And Rural Organizing Project, as a shining example of how this can be accomplished, even in hard times like this, actually had a plan that they have carried out successfully over the five disastrous years of the Bush Administration. Take a look. http://www.rop.org/FiveYearPlan.htm
It might have something you and your colleagues can use in your state to fight the right. I mean, what are you waiting for?