Last night I attended Ralph Nader's speaking arrangement which was held at Benson High School in Portland, OR. Ralph and a collection of other political activists spoke out against the ills of our society and the tragedies of our government. Further, Ralph reminded us of the shame we should be feeling for our collective political inaction. With humor and excellent storytelling, Ralph was able to explain the differences between today and the 1960's with regards to the political climate of the United States.
Ralph made the point that without political activitsts behind him who were willing to take to the streets to make their voice heard, he would have never been able to get a man such as Richard Nixon to sign bills into law which he strongly disagreed with. It was the fear of the protesters on the streets picking up their picket signs and standing in front of the White House calling out against him that made Nixon strike the dotted line with the pen.
The point was well taken by the audience. When Ralph made the point - 90% of Americans want food labeling which indicates if the food item is genetically altered but Monsanto doesn't and Monsanto gets their way, not the 90% - we understood what was collectively wrong with us as a people. There is no resistance to this corporate wrongdoing that is taking place against us on a daily basis, we are pacified.
So I guess it is time to get truly active. Personal responsibility and being informed are not enough as I had once tricked myself into believing. Each day a new battle is being waged by Coporate America against the citizens of this country. What we need to remember is that we're the majority and we have the numbers to overcome this wrongdoing if we can just exercise some effort and in turn political muscle.
The one piece of information Ralph did leave us with which was uplifting was that Google is going to be attempting to put together a debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates which will also include the likes of Ralph Nader and potentially other third party candidates. Lets all hope this becomes a reality. If it should, many Americans will get to experience a debate which truly discusses the issues and may force both the Democratic and Republican candidates to incorporate Nader's policies into their own.
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On May 12th, Ralph spoke at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Below is the video from that Q & A Session.
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