[SfN] Fwd: What it Means to be Green

[Arun Bhalla]

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http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

San Francisco Chronicle

September 20, 2000

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GREEN

Don't Vote for the Lesser of 2 Evils -- Vote Green

By Lisa Martinovic <poemedy at aol.com

I AM A REGISTERED Democrat. And I'm not proud. For more than
20 years, I've resigned myself to voting for a predictable
parade of ever less palatable rich white men whose party
line with every subsequent election more closely resembles
that of their Republican counterparts. True, my personal
politics lie slightly to the left of the Democratic Party's;
ours is a joyless marriage of convenience that has never
been consummated.

But I vote Democrat for the same reason millions of other
disgruntled lefties do: because the Republicans are even
worse. And we all know that the Greens don't have a snowball's
chance in a D.C. summer of getting elected, and a vote for
Ralph Nader is a vote for George W. Bush, blah, blah, blah.
Friends, when are we all going to stand up and refuse to
vote for the lesser of two weasels?

Oh, I've heard all the arguments. And certainly, the
prospect of a Bush presidency is more chilling than one with
Al Gore at the helm. But there's a saying I learned in my
spiritual practice that is as applicable to politics as to
personal growth: If you keep doing what you've always done,
you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. What we've
gotten is increasingly rotten.

There is only one candidate with the courage to stand up
to the corporate Goliath. Nader's been doing it successfully
for over 30 years. While Gore and Bush flap their gums about
campaign finance reform, Nader is the only one walking the
walk by refusing corporate hush money: He accepts contributions
from individuals only. No PAC money, no soft money, just people
donating no more than the legal limit of $2,000 apiece.

Others, who might be inclined to vote for Nader, wonder
about his leadership abilities. In three decades of public
service, Nader has built a social movement from the inchoate
yearnings of a people trampled by mainstream politics. This
man began with a vision and a constituency of those of us
who want to lead safer, healthier, longer lives.

And with his leadership and grass-roots support, Nader
demanded that our government serve her people -- and helped
structure the institutions required to implement change.
Today, we have Nader and his dedicated raiders to thank
for environmental protections, better citizen access to
government, and cars that are a lot safer than they would
be if it were up to the big boys in Detroit. Nader has other
visions that I and most Americans would love to support --
developing renewable energy, waging peace, strengthening
labor laws and getting corporations off the public dole.

Is anyone but Nader talking about the decline in real wages,
the escalation of child poverty, environmental racism, and
the implications of the fact that consumer debt is higher
than ever? But we don't have to live in fear any more. We
have a choice. We can and we must vote from a genuine sense
of felt passion and hope, vote for someone we believe in,
someone who shares our vision for the future of our country,
our Earth, our very humanity. Can Ralph Nader win? He can if
everyone who believes in the principles that Nader both serves
and embodies -- default Democrats, floundering Republicans and
all those who feel disenfranchised -- vote.

I have a dream that some day we will all cast our ballots for
the person we know to be the best candidate -- not merely in
the one likely to defeat our worst fears. If not now, when?


Lisa Martinovic lives, writes and votes in San Francisco.

Copyright (c) 2000 San Francisco Chronicle. All Rights Reserved.

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