Our Current Political Crisis (in addition to Trump and Trumpism)

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Gandhi quotation encourages underdogs pushing against the Establishment

January 21, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Mohandas Gandhi (the “Mahatma”) was a very savvy and strategic organizers of nonviolent grassroots movements. He knew first-hand what it was like to organize against a powerful Establishment, such as the racist, oppressive, exploitative British Empire. See this brief quotation, which all of us underdogs should find encouraging as we organize uphill against powerful political, social and economic oppressors: Gandhi quotation encourages underdogs fighting the Establishment                  

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Martin Luther King urged a “Radical Revolution of Values” — Learn about this here.

January 17, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Our society and our whole world are in several serious crises all at once. Powerful forces keep making things worse.  They want to intimidate us — to make us sit down and shut up so they can continue to oppress us. But better values do exist, and nonviolence is actually more powerful than The Establishment.  (My free online workshop series “Nonviolent Grassroots Organizing” helps us understand and use nonviolence in clever, strategic ways.)  Ever since the Civil Rights Movement’s era, I have appreciated Martin Luther King’s strong, bold, radical message and his methodology.  I have read his books and studied […]

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Martin Luther King recognized very serious problems, but he remained hopeful. We can be hopeful too — and keep pushing ahead!

January 17, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

The people reading this blog know a lot about the many problems — the many VERY SERIOUS problems — that endanger our world, our nation, and ourselves. It would be easy to sink into cynicism and despair.  Powerful forces want us to do that and to give up. But even while Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recognized the horrible problems, he remained hopeful that we can indeed solve the problems.  We also need to stay hopeful — and stay strategically focused and active — until we win. I appreciate King’s “Testament of Hope.”  It still sounds as relevant today […]

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The U.S.’s “democracy” is seriously weakening!

January 17, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

The U.S. likes to think of itself as the best democracy in the world — and a beacon and role model for other nations. American politicians like to brag about this. But ACTUALLY, the U.S.’s democracy has been SERIOUSLY WEAKENING for a number of years — and in several ways. Our nation suffers many serious problems, but extremely rich people and big businesses profit from those problems (pollution, low wages, racial injustices, an out-of-control and constantly escalating war machine, elections that are dominated by Big Money, news media that favor the Establishment, Republicans’ many deliberate actions to cheat in elections […]

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Minimum wage is trapped too low. CEO/worker pay gap increases widely.

January 17, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

For many years Congress has refused to raise the minimum wage. Many states refuse to raise their minimum wage above the federal minimum. Meanwhile, extremely rich people have gotten extremely more rich. Rich people and big businesses fund Congressional candidates’ campaigns. We must get Big Money out of election campaigns. And we need the news media to report more vigorously on the horrible inequality between extremely rich people and everybody else. See this powerful image about the VERY LOW federal minimum wage and the EXTREMELY HIGH INCOMES of corporate executives: (It is safe to open this image, even if you […]

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“America First” is morally wrong, cruel, stupid, dangerous, and counter-productive in many ways

January 16, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

Trump pushed an “America First” dogma, but the slogan pre-dated him by nearly a century.  Isolationists tried to pretend that the U.S. could exist by itself without regard to the well-being of the rest of the world.  They believed we could get away with being selfish. Also, that was the English language translation of Hitler’s slogan, “Deutschland uber alles,” which meant Germany over everybody else.   Selfishness and contempt for other people are morally wrong for reasons any decent person should immediately understand.  The “America First” dogma leads directly to cruelty toward other nations. The “America First” dogma also leads […]

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Let’s Recognize Legal Rights for Nature

January 2, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

The January 2022 episode of “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” provides a fresh perspective — and proposes a fresh solution — for some environmental problems that are serious but are not being solved by conventional methods. Glen Anderson interviewed two experts — Kai Huschke and Elliott Moffett — who have savvy insights and practical experience working to protect environments and establish legal rights for nature. Very often, when people want to protect the environment by filing appeals in governmental hearings or in courts, the environmentalists’ cases are dismissed because – even though the environment is being hurt – those individuals themselves are […]

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Links to very smart articles to help us communicate more effectively about the climate — and other issues too

December 26, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

Smarter ways to communicate — instead of “the seven deadly sins of politi-speak”: https://www.nationofchange.org/2021/06/30/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-politi-speak/     Users’ Guide: Climate Messaging 1. Start with people, stay with people. Say why it matters (to you and your audience). Connect with values—family, community, working together for good. 2. Use facts wisely. Talk facts not science. You lose people with jargon and too many numbers. A memorable fact from a trusted source is far more powerful.  3. Make it concrete. Keep language vivid (wind and solar, not “alternative energy”). Start with personal (what we see at home), scale up to global. 4. Focus on […]

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Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve: Yes, Olympia’s peace vigils occur as usual both Fridays!

December 23, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

Olympia’s weekly peace vigils occur all year around, regardless of holidays and regardless of weather!   We warmly (!) invite you to join us FRI DEC 24 and FRI DEC 31 (and every Friday) from 4:30 to 6:00 (or as much of that time as you can spare) at the SW corner of 4th & Water downtown (across the street south from the Kissing Statue).  (This is for 2021, and our vigils will continue every week in the future too.) I’ll bring a good, varied selections of signs, or you may bring your own.  We support peace, human rights, nonviolence, […]

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Smart insights for strengthening our organizing for the climate

December 23, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

My notes here summarize some main points of the article I’ve linked below – and add some of my own thoughts:   The article I’ve linked below says that – although 70% of the public is worried about the climate – this has not translated into real organizing.  Instead of playing politics (nice words and political wheeling-dealing, but falling short of making the bold changes that are necessary, the article says we need to deepen the public’s concern with a profound “change of heart.” Instead of “transactional” politics, we need “transformative” politics.  Without a profound change of heart we’ll be […]

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Sign up NOW for FREE, PRACTICAL ONLINE WORKSHOPS to help you make more progress on issues YOU care about

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

ALL OF US — new people, experienced organizers, and everybody in between — can STRENGTHEN OUR SKILLS and add resources to our “toolboxes” so we can make more progress in working on our issues. That’s why I’m offering my 6 FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS. Please see information on the flyer I posted at this link – and SIGN UP NOW! 6 practical workshops on Grassroots Organizing — 2022 JAN-FEB — FLYER.docx Let’s build strong nonviolent grassroots movements that will significantly move public opinion — and change the dominant paradigms — and push governments, big businesses, mainstream media, and other entrenched entities to do […]

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Let’s use more HUMOR in our political organizing! It’s a creative way to overcome people’s barriers to fresh ideas!

December 14, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

All of our progressive movements (for peace, the environment and climate, for human rights and social justice, etc., etc., etc.) need smart ways to reach out to other people with messages that they will be able to hear and understand. Creativity, the arts, and humor can be more powerful than hard logic and facts, because they go over and around and under the barriers that prevent some people from hearing and absorbing new ideas. Here are some examples and resources:   Watch this excellent 7-minute video: Why it is best to listen to political satire.  Mainstream news media have legitimized […]

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Nonviolent Grassroots Organizing Creates Light and Progress

December 9, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

Nonviolent Grassroots Organizing Creates Light and Progress Glen Anderson (360) 491-9093 glenanderson@integra.net The January 2022 theme for the Olympia-based publication Works In Progress (www.olywip.org) – “Where do we find light” – is a smart question to ask.  I recommend finding light in two places:  in ourselves and in the world around us. Contrary to the cynical assumption that human beings are inherently competitive and cruel (and contrary to the religious assumption that we’re doomed by “original sin”), powerful research affirms humans inherently want to cooperate and be good to each other.  I read the book Humankind: A Hopeful History written […]