Glen's Parallax Perspectives

“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 […]

Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke STRONGLY AGAINST nuclear weapons

January 14, 2022 GlenAnderson 0

This information came from a great non-profit organization, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (www.orepa.org), which organizes against nuclear weapons. It is located near the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, plant where the U.S. government makes plutonium pits, etc., for our nuclear weapons. More than fifty years after his death, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered as a civil rights icon, recalled for his stirring words at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 when he declared “I have a dream!” Beyond that, for lots of people, things get blurry. When an MLK parade is led by the local high […]

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 […]

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 […]

Good news! Chile’s voters elected a young, very progressive president!

December 26, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

Since the 1840s Chile had Latin America’s oldest and longest-running democracy — until President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, the CIA, and Chile’s military and mining companies overthrew it on September 11, 1973. They installed General Pinochet, an EXTREMELY BRUTAL dictator who murdered and “disappeared” thousands of Chile’s people and ran the nation in a fascist way to serve big business and the military. A 1998 referendum restored democracy in 1990 after 17 years of dictatorship. In recent years several South American nations have flexed between right-wing leaders and left-wing leaders. On December 19, 2021, Chile’s voters elected 35-year-old Gabriel Boric, a […]

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, […]

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 […]

A holiday prose poem “Little Blue Top”

December 23, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

This was written by Doug Milholland, a savvy and compassionate peace organizer in Port Townsend, Washington: Little Blue Top

Greta Thunberg’s powerful 9-minute video exposes COP26’s hypocrisy.

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

This powerful speech really nails it: WATCH: “It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure.” – Greta Thunberg

Poem about different treatments for rich vs. poor

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

They hang the man and flog the woman Who steal the goose from off the common But let the greater villain loose Who steals the common from the goose The law demands that we atone When we take things we do not own But leaves the lords and ladies fine Who take things that are yours and mine (17th century English?)

Science is true, no matter what some people think.This t-shirt message about science is relevant.

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

Here is a smart T-Shirt message about science:

MORE GOOD NEWS: New York City joined ICAN’s appeal for cities to oppose nuclear weapons!

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

The main international non-profit organization promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is educating people worldwide. ICAN — besides urging national governments to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) — is also urging state/provincial/local governments to pass resolutions supporting the Treaty. New York City has joined this effort. See this great news: https://worldbeyondwar.org/new-york-city-joins-ican-cities-appeal/?link_id=33&can_id=1d662460c0abb8939c5044c82927552b&source=email-wbw-news-action-we-took-over-a-pipeline-company-office&email_referrer=email_1383052&email_subject=wbw-news-action-solidarity

In early December 2021, the 57th and 58th nations ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

The movement is growing to PROHIBIT NUCLEAR WEAPONS worldwide. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was ratified by the 50th nation in October 2020. Since then, several more nations have ratified the Treaty. The 57th and 58th nations ratified it in early December 2021. See information about the TPNW at www.icanw.org Mainstream news media in the U.S. are ALMOST TOTALLY IGNORING this bold, historic effort for peace, so “WE THE PEOPLE” must educate the American people and organize skillfully to promote the Treaty!

Nuclear Weapons — Good Sources of Information

December 18, 2021 GlenAnderson 0

See this list of VERY GOOD sources of information about nuclear weapons. Some of these entities focus SPECIFICALLY on nuclear weapons, and some include nuclear weapons among their range of issues (including nuclear power, honest science, etc.). SEE THIS: Nuclear Weapons — Good Sources of Information

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 […]