The Democratic party is making an all-out effort to offset the considerable carbon emissions caused by putting on an event the size of this year's DNC. Some 35,000 people in all are expected to descend on Denver for the event. Getting us all there, putting us up, feeding us, transporting us from place to place -- all these things will take a toll on the environment.
Two ways you can help:
Join me and make a small donation of $12 to the DNCC "Green Delegate Challenge." How it offsets our carbon footprints is explained on the web site, and donating is quick and easy.
Closer to home, go green while you do good: consider supporting a Massachusetts non-profit, LiveCooler: this organization installs energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) lightbulbs in the homes of low-income families in the Bay State. My $15 donation, and yours, will reduce carbon emissions by one ton, and save families $300 on their energy bills over a 5-year period.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Citizen of the World
The images we saw this week of Senator Obama certainly were presidential. This should come as no surprise, since part of the intent of the trip was, as the pundits said repeatedly, to "burnish" the senator's "foreign policy credentials," and the campaign adroitly sought to capitalize on these benefits visually. Pictures speak louder than words, so Obama's trip certainly accomplished this goal. But for me it served as a reminder of something more basic: that we have in Barack Obama a presidential candidate who is comfortable in many parts of the world because he has seen them.If you've read Obama's book Dreams from My Father, you know that Obama lived in Indonesia as a child and traveled to other parts of the world as a young adult. As college students, many of us in the Baby Boomer generation took
to the road, backpack strapped on and thumbs up, to see the world. (Our children, it seems, are following suit in record numbers.) We traveled when and because we could, indulging diverse curiosities (intellectual or otherwise), and it seemed that the whole world was traveling with us. At the time, we didn't know or care to anticipate what benefits we might reap from our collective junior year abroad. Even though the current resident of the White
House shares our generational membership, he didn't share our generation's thirst for international travel. He didn't travel as a student, or much at all as an adult, either. In fact, I was shocked to learn, several years into his presidency, that George W. Bush had never been across the Atlantic until he was President. In 1960 Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase "global village," and as any of us who've been abroad lately can attest, the global village has arrived. Given the realities of global geopolitics today, it should be a requirement on the resume of anyone seeking the highest office in the land that s/he understand the world from firsthand experience. Being the most powerful nation on earth and its most successful pluralistic society, we have an obligation to do this. Moreover, we now have much work to do, because America's reputation has been so badly tarnished in recent years. Let's hope the work begun during Barack Obama's trip during this campaign can be built upon, once he is elected president.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
An American endeavor
I'm pleased to report that civic engagement is alive and well in these United States.
On Tuesday night, several dozen people from thirteen North Shore towns gathered to discuss the issues foremost on their minds, issues on which they hope for change from their government. Ours was a platform meeting, one of some 1,400 such discussions held this week all over the country to advise the Platform Committee of the Democratic party. And very specific advice it will be: our discussion moderator helped the group to brainstorm a list of topics, then to consolidate them in practical ways -- for example, tax equity and trade policy became part of the broader category of the economy; achieving peace in Iraq and using diplomacy more broadly were tucked under the umbrella of foreign policy. We broke into four smaller groups to delve into as many Big Ideas -- the economy, foreign policy, the environment and health care. For a half hour, we debated, suggested, challenged, agreed, and ultimately proposed a handful of bullet points on our respective topics -- talking points to help craft the Democratic platform. Finally, we came together as a large group once again, to air each topic's "wish list," to ask questions and finalize recommendations.
It was a most satisfying evening, in the way endeavoring to serious purpose can be. My fellow citizens brought passion, judgment and insight to the table. Our proposals were mostly clear and reasonably concise. We didn't always find agreement but we painted with broad strokes, and the picture that emerged should pave an easier way to concensus for the Democratic party's Platform Committee when they meet in Pittsburgh next week. It was gratifying that one of their number was among us: he spent the evening listening and came away impressed by our seriousness of purpose and the caliber of our ideas.
I went home wondering where but in America you would find people giving up a summer's evening to discuss the common good. The meeting's organizer described "a hunger out there" for this sort of substantive participation. Given our rural location, the group that came together was surprisingly diverse -- a result that exemplifies America's unique characteristic: we are, in the words of a foreign policy scholar I know, the first truly successful pluralistic society in the history of the world. Clearly, some of us care deeply about this American experiment: by offering opinions and ideas, we do our part to form a more perfect union. On Tuesday night, we were following a pursuit that would have made Jefferson and Adams proud.
On Tuesday night, several dozen people from thirteen North Shore towns gathered to discuss the issues foremost on their minds, issues on which they hope for change from their government. Ours was a platform meeting, one of some 1,400 such discussions held this week all over the country to advise the Platform Committee of the Democratic party. And very specific advice it will be: our discussion moderator helped the group to brainstorm a list of topics, then to consolidate them in practical ways -- for example, tax equity and trade policy became part of the broader category of the economy; achieving peace in Iraq and using diplomacy more broadly were tucked under the umbrella of foreign policy. We broke into four smaller groups to delve into as many Big Ideas -- the economy, foreign policy, the environment and health care. For a half hour, we debated, suggested, challenged, agreed, and ultimately proposed a handful of bullet points on our respective topics -- talking points to help craft the Democratic platform. Finally, we came together as a large group once again, to air each topic's "wish list," to ask questions and finalize recommendations.
It was a most satisfying evening, in the way endeavoring to serious purpose can be. My fellow citizens brought passion, judgment and insight to the table. Our proposals were mostly clear and reasonably concise. We didn't always find agreement but we painted with broad strokes, and the picture that emerged should pave an easier way to concensus for the Democratic party's Platform Committee when they meet in Pittsburgh next week. It was gratifying that one of their number was among us: he spent the evening listening and came away impressed by our seriousness of purpose and the caliber of our ideas.
I went home wondering where but in America you would find people giving up a summer's evening to discuss the common good. The meeting's organizer described "a hunger out there" for this sort of substantive participation. Given our rural location, the group that came together was surprisingly diverse -- a result that exemplifies America's unique characteristic: we are, in the words of a foreign policy scholar I know, the first truly successful pluralistic society in the history of the world. Clearly, some of us care deeply about this American experiment: by offering opinions and ideas, we do our part to form a more perfect union. On Tuesday night, we were following a pursuit that would have made Jefferson and Adams proud.
Monday, July 21, 2008
European symbolism
Almost as much ado is being made about where Senator Obama will meet with European leaders as what might be said. Two NY Times op-ed pieces today weigh in on the issue: Roger Cohen on France and William Kristol on Germany. Curious what any readers out there think on this issue?
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Foreign policy advice
If you didn't read this article in yesterday's NY Times, you should. What an impressive system of filtering expert advise to get Senator Obama up to speed on the myriad complicated issues of foreign policy. I loved knowing that he starts his day thinking about the rest of the world. His process for doing so seemed thoroughly in keeping with the smart way he's run his campaign, and bodes well for what kind of future President he would make, seeking advice widely and immersing himself in the issues. I couldn't help but doubt that the current resident of the White House approaches the subject of foreign affairs -- or any subject -- in such a focused, professional way.
Although the piece was nominally about foreign affairs, it caused me to reflect on the serious consequences of how a president governs, nearly as much as what is achieved. Process is not something we voters reflect upon, much, in the media heat of a campaign. But is it any wonder that our current president's hands-off, leave-it-to-the-experts style of government has resulted in gross incursion of our civil rights at ome and an erosion of trust in America abroad? We would be better off for more procedural transparency from those who govern, not just on what they decide but on how they reached their conclusions.
Although the piece was nominally about foreign affairs, it caused me to reflect on the serious consequences of how a president governs, nearly as much as what is achieved. Process is not something we voters reflect upon, much, in the media heat of a campaign. But is it any wonder that our current president's hands-off, leave-it-to-the-experts style of government has resulted in gross incursion of our civil rights at ome and an erosion of trust in America abroad? We would be better off for more procedural transparency from those who govern, not just on what they decide but on how they reached their conclusions.
Friday, July 18, 2008
38 Days and Counting...
...until the Democratic National Convention opens in Denver. I promised to launch a blog for anyone interested in my observations as a delegate (and probably other political opinions besides), so here it is. I'll make a diary entry daily if I have something worthwhile to say. Please feel free to post your comments, suggestions and responses.
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