November 04, 2012

On super-storm Sandy and the coming election: comments Nov. 2-3

In the wake of its destruction on the US East Coast, three takes on the meaning for climate change and social justice -- and the election on November 6.

1. One of presidential candidates barely heard in this election is the Green Party USA's Jill Stein. Here her recent comment and analysis on the Obama energy program and alternatives: http://www.jillstein.org/climate_ad

2.  Thank you, Hurricane Sandy
Start of Nov. 2 blog by Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez:

"Sandy did the planet a favor by hitting hard right at some of our most elite enclaves.
This time it’s not the poor residents of the Ninth Ward facing the horror of flooding, it’s the wealthy owners of some of the most valuable coastal property in the country.
When I heard Mayor Bloomberg of New York, one of the richest men on the planet, finally come and out say the words “climate change” with urgency, I had to smile despite the seriousness of the context, because it meant that at last the rich and powerful are getting the message that the status quo cannot go on—at least, not if we expect to survive as a civilization into the 22^nd century.
The truth is that Americans in the ruling class—the business owners, the politicians, the finance and computer wizards, the media producers, the educators, even the artists–have been living in a luxurious gated community our whole lives."... more

3.  Phyllis Bennis' New Internationalism newsletter focused on Sandy, the U.S. presidential elections, and the UN's discussions on Palestine.
November 3, 2012 · By Phyllis Bennis

"The massive storm that ravaged Haiti, Cuba, and much of the east coast of the United States may be the ‘shock and awe’ of climate change’s permanent war against the U.S. (it attacked the rest of the world much earlier). Some argued that the storm’s ferocity was the great equalizer, that rich as well as poor were left without power, that luxury townhouses were swept aside along with seaside shacks. But that ignores the stark reality of the wealth-poverty divide in this country – laid newly bare by the storm.

Who will be able to rebuild? Whose lives will be permanently destroyed? In New York, probably the most unequal city in this country, the collapse of infrastructure under the relentless pounding of hurricane-force wind and rain was not an equal opportunity catastrophe. Without the subways, people of means could join the endless lines for crowded taxis – poor people walked. With banks and finance companies and the stock market closed, salaried employees continued to collect their paychecks – poor people who couldn’t get to low-wage hourly-paid jobs didn’t get paid. Do we really think that the rebuilding of the opulent high-rises of Manhattan’s Battery Park will take as long, and leave their residents as desperate, as the reconstruction – or even repair – of the Jacob Reiss Houses, the largest public housing project in Red Hook, Brooklyn?

This storm provides a broad test for the capacity and the legitimacy of government: Will its response provide for people’s most basic needs, or will it lay bare, as did Katrina, the racism, poverty, and disempowerment that still shapes so many lives in this country? On the immediate level, Sandy poses a challenge to the presidential election as well: whether the moment calls for mobilization of every facet of public and government capability, or whether people should be encouraged to rely on the largesse of the private sector and church-based charity. And in the longer term, the super-storm challenges all our movements to fight with renewed commitment to realize Rachel Carson’s vision of the human right to a safe environment." ... more

Bennis goes on to review the major issues -- spoken and unspoken -- in the campaign, one excerpt:

"Anyone who thinks that choosing a "better" leader for the U.S. empire will somehow bring about "radical transformations" has been watching too many campaign infomercials. Only powerful social movements can do that. We have to fight for democracy and we have to build our movements—choosing a presidential candidate doesn’t accomplish either one.

I went on to describe the differences that do and don't exist between the two candidates and parties, along with some ideas about what the consequences would be for a victory of each one, given that none of the third parties have a chance to win. And then I went on to say that this election isn't about choosing our hopes and dreams, but that …it's about keeping the worst from gaining even more power than they already have, so we can get on with the real work of building movements. If you want to call that the "lesser-evil" theory, fine. There's an old saying that when you're drowning, and the water is rising up over your mouth, that last half-inch before it reaches your nose is a half-inch of life and death. Especially if you're short—or in this case, especially if you’re poor."...

A fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Bennis is an expert on Middle East politics, and an important spokesperson and analyst. This and other newsletters are on-line and can be subscribed to here: http://www.ips-dc.org/mideast