We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, March 7, 2010

March 4 Actions: Reports from Organizers — Across the Country [US], Socialist Alternative Mobilizes Against Education Cuts

from Socialist Alternative. I haven't seen much mainstream media coverage of these events.
A new movement of students and education workers has erupted in response to the vicious budget cuts raining down on public education in state after state. The media coverage of March 4th actions across the country – and particularly in California, the epicenter of the new movement – was extensive. But this was by no means a spontaneous outburst of resistance. The protests were organized by student and public sector union activists who are on the front lines of this growing movement.