david's doodles

Resolutions and Revolutions

Amid the tsunami of bad news bombarding us daily, there is alternative news that provides hope. Instead of cowering under their desks in fear of a terrorist attack, many Americans are joining with peoples around the world in a struggle for peace and an end to warmongering.

News that is rarely reported is of the hundreds of peace vigils that take place regularly, week after week, across the country. Additionally, every week sees many, many small protests taking place, often using innovative, even amusing ways of registering displeasure.

Photo by John Montgomery

One such protest took place last weekend, when over one thousand people lay on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach in formation to spell out “Impeach!” There are some splendid photos of this event at the BeachImpeach web site, as well as a worm’s eye view on Flikr.

On a global level, people are turning out to protest unpopular policies in great numbers, even at the risk of severe reaction from those in power. These protests are getting results, and people in the US only have to look on their doorstep to see examples. Indigenous peoples in South America, rising up against decades of repression, have helped change the face of governments in several countries. Given the long history of brutal totalitarian regimes, often aided and abetted by US interventions, the present reality of South American politics is nothing short of amazing.

There are those who argue that protests and demonstrations achieve little, and on an immediate level this is usually true. But persistent struggle, non-violent protest, civil disobedience, and other tactics available to those having no power beyond their voices and number have proven very successful in a huge number of cases. It seems to me that we have to keep at it.

Protest is not the only way to make positive change, of course. One heartening bit of news in 2006 was the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Dr. Mohammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank. By providing micro-credit to poor, marginalized families, and ploughing the profits gained from interest charges back into the borrower’s communities, his idea has lifted several million borrowers out of poverty. In a world where 1% of the population controls 80% of the world’s wealth, the project may seem like whistling into the wind. For the millions who have benefited, however, it has been life-saving.

Interestingly, at least one commentator has suggested that the Grameen Bank idea could profitably be used in the U.S.. Noting that one-third of Americans do not have access to loans for housing and other basic amenities, the author suggests that the Grameen Bank’s micro-credit and housing loan schemes could benefit millions of American families.

My New Year resolution, then, is to look for and support actions like the ones I have spoken of. That may mean nothing so onerous as to simply show up.