Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
As Steve Max, who has been teaching grassroots organizing skills for the Midwest Academy for forty
years, says: “Social change comes from making the personal political. Central to this is understanding
people's self-interest, which should not be interpreted in the narrowest sense of material benefits. Self-
interest is a much broader concept. People will not only fight to end their own oppression; they can be
motivated across generational lines to help their children and grandchildren. Self-interest is what makes
people feel good, connected in the sense of being active in the community, being useful, and doing what is
morally right. More broadly still, many people can be inspired to take on the responsibilities of citizenship
and to play a role in shaping public affairs because they enjoy working for the common good.”
Max adds: “Most elected public officials are haunted by the fear that they will be defeated by angry
constituents if they serve corporate interests rather than the public interest. Our job is to organize enough
of their constituents to hold their feet to the fire. To do so, we need to use a systematic approach to or-
ganizing, building and using political power and creating lasting institutions that can achieve and defend
progressive wins and that are avenues for citizen participation in public life.”
Many people say this is impossible, because they have been too discouraged by the influence of money
in politics—a system of legalized bribery—to see a road map for the future. We must get beyond this de-
featist attitude if we want to reclaim our country from the selfish forces that have not only ruined our food
system but also damaged our democracy.
Many exciting initiatives are bubbling around the country, proving that “we the people” can prevail. For
instance, we can all take heart from the growing movement to challenge the undue influence of money on
elections and public policy. Momentum is building for passage of a twenty-eighth constitutional amend-
ment to overturn the latest assault on fair elections, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in
Citizens
United v. Federal Election Commission
. This abysmal court decision opened the floodgates to unlimited
corporate spending on elections by giving corporations the same free speech protections as individuals.
Dozens of groups and thousands of citizens are participating in the Democracy Is for People campaign.
Because so many people are discouraged by the large amounts of dollars spent on lobbying and campaign
contributions, passing this amendment could provide a boost to organizing on a range of issues, including
food.
Robert Weissman, president of the consumer group Public Citizen, one of the lead organizations pro-
moting the adoption of a twenty-eighth amendment, says the choice is simple: “Accept the further debase-
ment of our democracy, the hijacking of government by giant corporations; or take action to remove the
corporate stranglehold tightened by [the
Citizens United
ruling]. We need a constitutional amendment to
overturn Citizens United—the pernicious decision holding that corporations have a constitutional right to
spend as much as they choose to influence elections—end corporate spending in elections, and clear the
way for adoption of a system of public financing for public elections.”
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Food activists, who are involved at the community level, can play an important role in this battle over
the future of our democracy. Three quarters of the states must vote in favor of ratifying the proposed
amendment. Achieving this will necessitate statewide campaigns that are made up of many coordinated
local organizing initiatives. If successful, this effort can infuse energy into and unite a number of different
movements under a common banner. Success on this campaign could help build the broad-based coali-
tion that is needed to initiate many reforms, including those needed to fix the broken food system and to
strengthen our democracy.
The changes made in our society are only possible when people take political action and organize at the
grassroots level. Change does not come from others—it comes from each of us being willing to work in
our own community to mobilize people to action and to become part of a larger statewide, and eventually
national, movement for change. To do so, we must articulate a far-reaching vision and the path by which
to attain it.