Returning to the Power of We

By Vinz Koller

Thanksgiving 2011 Message to Monterey Democrats

On this Thanksgiving we can be grateful for the fact that the country is rediscovering the Power of We + just in the nick of time. Elections, especially those that deeply threaten the status quo are usually followed by a backlash from those who benefited under the old regime. After the historic election of 2008, a backlash was inevitable. Not surprisingly, it came in the form of a movement focused self-indulgently on a mantra of "me first". The Tea Party neatly followed in the footsteps of other such "me-first" movements that try to sell their followers a bill of goods that sound as enticing as they are unsustainable. This one so singularly served the interests of the 1% at the expense of the 99%, that it was only a matter of time until it had run its course.

And sure enough, this past year the narrative changed. Just as the Republican candidates for the presidency started turning up their rhetorical race to the bottom, the voices for a future that does not sacrifice the needs of the 99% are growing louder. It's not just the Occupy movement that is vocal on this issue. An overwhelming majority of Americans are against cutting services to the poor and are in favor of raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. They are with Abraham Lincoln who said in his second inaugural address that it is not "Can any of us imagine better?" but "Can we all do better?" I think of it as his appeal to the Power of We. And it is the Power of We that has gotten so many of us active in politics because we want a better future for all of us. Our activism is not about working to ensure that some of us are better off than others. Its measure of success has always been the degree to which we improve equity and justice for everyone. So it is encouraging + on this Thanksgiving of 2011 + to know that a majority of Americans have rediscovered the Power of We. Now we just have to make sure that we can mobilize that power in the next series of change elections that are coming up in 2012. As we learned in 2008, change does not happen on its own. Change results from the commitment of many people who are willing to stand up for it, again and again, and against entrenched interests who don't let go without tremendous resistance.

Thus on this day of Thanksgiving we are poised to recommit to the Power of We and renew our effort to mobilize for Change 2.0 in 2012.