Neither those who follow the teachings of Jesus, the Hebrew Prophets, the Prophet Mohammed or Buddha, nor those who use Marxist tools of analysis and see themselves as socialists, have been able to prevent the destructive and dehumanizing corporatization of much of the world. More urgently, the world as a whole is facing the very real and immediate threat of social and ecological unraveling as extreme weather events grow both in frequency and in destructive impact. These are happening as the atmosphere and oceans are heated up, primarily because of the production and burning of oil, gas and coal. Tens of millions of people worldwide, predominantly people of color and low wealth, have died, been made homeless or displaced, or suffered significantly in other ways because of this deepening climate emergency.
— from my book, 21st Century Revolution: Through Higher Love, Racial Justice and Democratic Cooperation
The sweeping and massive electoral victories for Democrats in the United States yesterday, building upon the similar victories against Trump/MAGA-like governments in Hungary, Serbia, Brazil and (maybe) Israel over the last six months, is such a joyful, wonderful thing. Yes, there is hope for a very different world!
Many things went into the victories here in the USA but one which I found myself centering in on this morning-after is the political impact of the US Senate campaigns by two Democrats in the US heartland, in Kansas and Texas, two states which have been deep-red for decades. Part of the reason for my belief in their importance is the fact that they have been dominated by Republicans, of the MAGA and less-MAGA category, for so long. But it’s also because James Talarico in Texas and Adam Hamilton in Kansas unabashedly framed their campaigns as motivated by their religious beliefs. They spoke eloquently and clearly, weaving together references to Jesus of Nazareth and his life and moral teachings with the ways in which US society under Trump rule and influence has become mean, cruel, divisive and anti-Christian.
One specific that I loved was Talarico referencing Jesus in the Jerusalem temple overthrowing the tables of the corrupt and greedy money changers. He actually said last evening as part of his acceptance speech, “It’s time to start flipping tables.”
I don’t know how many others of the winning Democrats said similar things, but I will be surprised if, going forward, we don’t see more and more Dems and Independents doing so. And that is a good thing.
What can bring about the kind-of up-from-below, people-powered mass movement that, year after year, just keeps winning victories for people and the planet? I am absolutely convinced that an essential aspect must be this: that it is a movement that welcomes people of all religions, all those without any religion, and those who might be somewhere in between, in a very conscious and open way.
Who among us who have seen Talarico and Hamilton on TV or social media have not been impacted and inspired by their words? Their election results indicate that, certainly in Kansas and Texas, huge numbers of people were.
In some ways, right now, this is a smallish piece of what we as a 21st century progressive movement, including progressives in the House and Senate, need to be focusing on. Much bigger is the urgent issue of how to translate this massive electoral victory into Congressional victories in the US House and Senate. And we shouldn’t be just planning for what happens two months from now when the new Senate and new House, both under Democratic control, are convened. Before then we need to do all we can to prevent the MAGA-dominated Republicans from passing regressive legislation.
One very big example is the BAAJA bill, the problematic piece of legislation due to come up for a vote next Monday, on November 9, in the Senate. This draft bill, negotiated by two Democratic and two Republican Senators and made public before November 3, has been touted as a way to accelerate clean and jobs-producing, renewable energy electric grid access, but the negatives outweigh that positive. What are the big problems with this bill?
-It would fast track data center development and fossil fuel infrastructure projects. It would gut environmental protections and weaken community input into proposed projects. Laws like the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act would be seriously weakened. It would increase the pollution of people’s land, water and air in many communities around the country, particularly Indigenous, people of color and low-income communities, increasing the risks of asthma, cancer and premature deaths. And it was negotiated behind closed doors in a secret process that is disturbing.
So what’s an immediate follow-up we can all take after yesterday’s victories? We can all contact our US Senators this week and demand that they reject this BAAJA bill and, instead, get to work on something very different to be passed in January by the new Congress.
Onwards to this and other fights for democracy, justice and a very different country and world!