Although the Sanders campaign has gotten most of the attention, there are other signs that progressive America is really coming to life again. This four day conference, next week in Washington, will feature 86 speakers from all walks of progressive life and is part of the change worth paying close attention to. Registration info here
Breaking Through Power - Celebrating the 50th anniversary year of Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe at Any Speed, there will be four days of civic
mobilization at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. on May 23- 26.The theme be ways to break through power to secure long-overdue democratic solutions made possible by a civic nexus between local communities and Washington, D.C.
The event will involve thousands of people in DC and around the country. Many of the presentations will feature
reforms and redirections for the common good enjoy Left/Right support.
Among the programs:
Breaking Through Power: How it’s Done— Presentations by activists who have produced amazing accomplishments against
powerful odds. These civic leaders will demonstrate how, with modest
budgets and stamina, they have improved the health, safety and economic
well-being of the people and focused public opinion onto decision-makers
and opponents.
Breaking Through Power: The Media—A large gathering of authors,
documentary filmmakers, reporters, columnists, musicians, poets and
editorial cartoonists. All of these presenters have documented or
depicted entrenched wrongdoing by the corporate state or “crony
capitalism”—the cruel impacts of corporate crimes and abuses, the
absence of governmental law enforcement, and the harmful effects of
concentrated corporate power.
Breaking Through Power: War—The waging of peace over the waging of war. Even will assemble leading scholars having military and national security
backgrounds, veterans groups such as Veterans for Peace, and long-time
peace advocacy associations, to explain how peace is more powerful than
war. One outcome of this day will be the establishment of a secretariat
comprised of current and former top-level military, national security
and diplomatic officials who have spoken truth to reckless power. If
organized for quick responses, their credibility, experience and wisdom
can resist and prevent the kind of prevaricating pressures and
unilateral policies that drove the unlawful destruction of Iraq, Libya
and beyond.
Breaking Through Power: Congress— A new Civic Agenda to be advanced by engaged and enraged citizens
in each Congressional district. The planks of this Civic
Agenda will be presented by nationally-recognized advocates Revitalizing the people to assert their
sovereignty under our Constitution is critical to the kind of
government, economy, environment and culture that will fulfill human
possibilities and respect posterity.
2 comments:
I look forward to this and it sounds like a good agenda with one correction. While the "leading scholars having military and national security backgrounds, veterans groups" and so on may sound impressive...its not. It sounds inside the beltway, establishment, same ol' business as usual. All of the people you mentioned should be welcomed and encouraged to participate, but any leadership of spokesperson position...definitely not! We're in the mess because people with these "backgrounds" put us there. There is not a one that could not have made a change from their exalted position if they had the will and were willing to sacrifice. Just saying, welcome all if they're genuine, but people of the government/military complex have spent careers being indoctrinated. One doesn't just 'change"...it takes time, so rather than risk losing credibility for a movement, let these "background" people serve. There are plenty of others who have more credibly with those who support the movement.
LarryC RIGHT ON! BUT, there is at least some HOPE that things have gotten so bad they stand some chance of RECEIVING ENOUGH COMMITTED ATTENTION SO THEY WILL BE CORRECTED! And, GOD BLESS RALF NADER!! Still with us and on the trail...
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