A Time to Lobby: Neither Triumphalists Nor Swaggering Sheep Be
I came to FCNL in 1990. George H.W. Bush had been president for just one year. His administration, Congress, and most of the country were enthralled by one idea: that the United States won the Cold War and was "the one remaining superpower."
A tone of American triumphalism permeated the country. The Soviet Union had collapsed. Communism was finished. Capitalism was ascendant. The United States could lead the world alone.
President Bush said that he wanted the country to be "a kinder and gentler nation." In his inaugural address he pledged in "a moment rich with promise" to use U.S. strength as "a force for good." Looking at what has actually happened, Neil Young probably got it right when he sang "kinder, gentler, machine gun hand."
Now, twenty years later, that triumphalism is deflated. Many people in this country who are out of work feel the world has turned against them. They are angry and wonder if the American empire will go the way of the Soviet Union.
Violent extremists seem determined to make it so. The U.S response has been reactionary and pusillanimous. The swaggering American triumphalists of the 1990s have become the "swaggering sheep" of today. The swaggering sheep declare that they will find and kill al Qaeda, but they jump up on chairs screaming "Eeeck! Terrorist threat!" whenever al Qaeda commits another heinous, criminal act.
The few violent extremists must love that; they're scaring the hell out of the "one remaining superpower" with only pennies and fanaticism. The superpower is throwing trillions of dollars at them and making them ten feet tall in the media.
Military contractors and industry reel in profits. However, no security is bought, because War Is Not the Answer.
Triumphalism was unbecoming to this country and its ideals in the 1990s, and the "swaggering sheep" image ill befits us now. As a people, we are better than either.
Peace is Possible Through Peaceful Means
You might assume that I'm pessimistic about the future. I'm not, because I know that peace is possible through peaceful means. As I take a long view of the historic moment we're in today, I see opportunities for constructive action in many areas of FCNL's work that I have not seen in my past 20 years here. I have never seen such potential to advance toward our policy goals. For example:
- David Culp, FCNL's nuclear disarmament expert, tells me that we could persuade the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in the next year and get the U.S. back on track to reducing stockpiles of nuclear weapons;
- Bridget Moix, FCNL's peaceful prevention expert, is beginning to persuade Congress to invest in real conflict prevention after 8 years of work. She tells me we could start turning the idea of Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict into real policy in this Congress;
- Devin Helfrich, FCNL's environmental policy expert, tells me that we have a president who generally gets it. The Obama administration is now using federal agencies to enforce and expand environmental protections instead of ignore them. In addition, Devin sees workable, effective, and fair proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions gaining traction in Congress.
- Ruth Flower, FCNL's legislative director, tells me that the Our Nation's Checkbook campaign she helped launch to cut the Pentagon budget could help bring about real reductions in military spending. She also believes FCNL could help lay the groundwork in the next year for comprehensive, humane reform of the U.S. immigration system.
- Our intern for Native American Programs, Inez Steigerwald, points to the conference of Tribal Nations convened last fall by President Obama, only the second ever held. This administration is committed to the nation-to-nation relationship between the U.S. government and Native tribes, and Congress is finally beginning to address the priorities of tribes and allies like FCNL. Both the House and Senate have passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in their health insurance reform bills.
- Jim Fine, FCNL's Foreign Policy lobbyist, says the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is a done deal. Drawing on his 40-plus years of experience in the region, Jim says he sees growing congressional understanding of the need for a regional approach to ending the wars in the greater Middle East. That will be the basis for our work to encourage Congress to oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
Yes, here on Capitol Hill, I also see the impediments of rapacious greed, of corporate militarism, of fossil fuel lobbies, of partisan gridlock, and of "chatterers" who are all analysis and no action.
Yet with hard lobbying work, we can make progress and even achieve some of these legislative goals.
Looking back a hundred years from now, from 2110 to this year, 2010, Friends and others-than-Friends may take heart at the stories of a "saving remnant" who practiced hope in the last century and who believed that government is not the enemy but a part of the solution. What we do now will determine whether this will happen.
I see historic opportunities to win some of our objectives now.
I want you to recall the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, "remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows."
Powerful and moneyed special interests stand between us and those victories. They like the status quo, and they will say anything and do anything to prevent these and other systemic changes which we seek. Only a nationwide network of community-based public interest lobbyists can mobilize the people-power to counter the defenders of the status quo.
You and FCNL Can Make Change Happen
President Obama and the movement that elected him is a big reason why these opportunities have come alive for us. The president's public rhetoric opened the space for change. That space will contract and close in the months ahead, if the status quo forces succeed at stalling initiatives and preventing government from working. If we rely on one man's rhetoric, President Obama's, to accomplish the changes that we seek, then our opportunities will die on the vine. A strong nonviolent movement will have to demand - persistently - that he and Congress make good on the rhetoric.
Many hurting people are angry. The Massachusetts special election to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy is an emblem of that anger. That anger is fueled by unemployment, under-water mortgages, college costs too big to afford, and mistrust of government. That anger will be channeled. The question is by whom and to what purpose.
I see a danger. The danger is that many may become alienated from lobbying work because change did not come fast enough or came at the expense of too much compromise. Many movements for change fail because they give up just before they are about to win. We should exercise the courage of our convictions with persistence. That will pay off.
Yes, we have to build what Martin Luther King, Jr. called "coalitions of conscience to close the gaps in broken community." The United States was built as a House of Democracy, and when it's not governed of, by, and for ordinary people, it is a House of Despair. We need Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, Socialists, Greens, Populists, Progressives, "none of the above," young and old, to gather in a new movement for the renewal of our House of Democracy.
That is not enough, though. Those coalitions won't amount to a hill of beans unless they employ change strategies that focus on lobbying and moving Congress on issues, not on partisan interests. No doubt about it, our House of Democracy is broken. Only persistent lobbying by a gathered people on issues they care about will rebuild that House. FCNL has the passion and the tools to help people climb the ladder of engagement and make that persistent lobbying a reality.
Before I Retire, Seizing Opportunities
Like my predecessor Ed Snyder, I started work at FCNL on April Fools Day. Many say that trying to influence the policies of an American empire is a fool's errand. I prefer to think that I've chosen to work for goals that have only a 10 percent chance of winning, because others will work on goals that have better chances and because those goals are the ones worth devoting my life to accomplishing.
In 1990, I came to FCNL "for four years" and stayed 20. I loved every minute, with all the ups and downs. Like Ed Snyder, I gave our committee a two year notice of my planned retirement, March 2011. When Ed retired, you may recall, the Berlin Wall came down and the Cold War ended.
I can't hope for that magnitude of change, but, realistically, I can hope that we will seize these uncommon, legislative opportunities now. In the next year, I'll be working flat out with all of you in the network to lobby here in Washington and to mobilize people around the country to seize the opportunities for change that we see right now. From my perspective, before I retire, that is the best way to ensure that FCNL is able to continue this vital work into the future.
FCNL is well positioned to take advantage of those opportunities. We have a solid core budget and experienced, competent, and inspired staff. Your work around the country in partnership with us here on Capitol Hill can lead to important accomplishments in the public interest. Together we can build a strong FCNL for our next generation of FCNL leaders.
Also in This Issue
Questions and Answers on Communicating with Congress
FCNL Intern Spotlight: Inez Steigerwald
An Epistle Encouraging Quaker Engagement with American Muslims
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