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NADER THE CRUSADER
Al and George make me wanna Ralph
This Friday, I attended a rally for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader at Madison Square Garden. I went more out of curiosity than anything else; like most Americans, I believed Nader was Luke Skywalker's father and the Green Party was so called because its membership consists largely of marijuana enthusiasts.
The only anti-establishment rally held during my four years at Georgetown, that vaunted hub of political activism, involved the closing of the on-campus pub, and I am proud to say I sat that one out. So I didn't know quite what to expect as I filed into the World's Most Famous Arena.
I came in a cynic and left a changed man. I felt as though I had witnessed -- nay, participated in -- something truly special. My sarcasm had washed away. I was full of idealism, quite convinced that my vote does matter and that one person can change the world.
I don't know that words can adequately convey the spirit of the rally. Imagine someone who thinks the only movies made are the ones released by the big studios during the summer suddenly discovering the Independent Film Channel, and that's a start. But I'll share with you a smattering of what I saw and learned on Friday, in the hope that you, too, will see the world beyond "Wild Wild West" and "Godzilla."
¶
But first, since the corporate-controlled popular media won't tell you, here is what Nader stands for:
More regulation on large corporations. It's a subject for another column, but it's scary how few corporations own so many media outlets
Affordable universal health care, based on the Canadian and Western European model
Slashing military spending, which is rampant, especially considering the U.S. has no known enemy (Bin Laden? Come on. The guy doesn't even have a mailing address)
Solving the public housing and public transportation problems ("The only public housing we're putting money into is the construction of more prisons")
Free public college education; improved public elementary and high schools
Minimum wage increase ($5.15 an hour is not enough to get drunk in New York City, even during Happy Hour; Nader would double it)
Investing in solar power, which would preserve the environment and eliminate our dependency on foreign oil in one fell swoop
¶
The night began with the MC, Phil Donahue, lambasting Bush and Gore for not addressing key issues. Then came the speakers and presenters, Susan Saradon, Tim Robbins (in the guise of faux Republican Senator Bob Roberts), Ani diFranco, Ben Harper, Patti Smith, Bill Murray, and Eddie Vedder among them.
At 9 o'clock, Donahue proclaimed, to boisterous fanfare, "Ralph Nader has sold out Madison Square Garden." The lights went up, and we saw that he was right. Sort of. The floor and the stands were packed to the gills.
Fittingly, the corporate skyboxes were dark and deserted.
Also on the docket was Michael Moore, best known for his documentary Roger and Me and the satirical TV shows "TV Nation" and "The Awful Truth". Some of his wry observations:
"In last week's debate, Bush and Gore were in agreement 32 times. Where is the debate? The only thing missing was Gore planting one of those Tipper kisses on Bush."
"Bush is very proud of the fact that he can name the 55 members of his fraternity class at Yale from 1968. What I would ask him at a debate is, 'Do you know the names of the last 55 people you've executed?'"
"I've heard people say, 'I'd vote for Nader, but I don't want to waste my vote.' Now I think we all agree that a Bush presidency would be hellaciously awful. But if you vote for the lesser of two evils, you're still voting for evil."
"If you don't vote your conscience now, when will you? Don't make a decision based on fear."
After Vedder's joyous rendition of "The Times They Are A-Changin'", Moore introduced the Green Party's candidate for president.
To a raucous ovation Nader made his way to the podium. A somber-looking fellow in gray suit and red tie, he appeared uneasy in the rally environment, his message perhaps better served in a more intimate setting. In the next hour, I learned a great deal about a remarkable man -- and more about politics than perhaps I wanted to know.
¶
Nader is not doing this to feed his ego. He does not want to be president at all. He wants to impact change. His objective is to have the people seize the power from big corporations that now run everything and use that power to make the country better.
Prohibited from participating by an egregiously corrupt debating commission, Nader arrived at the first debate in Boston as a spectator. He came to the door, ticket in hand, and was barred entrance. They 86'ed him, even though he had a ticket. A Massachusetts state trooper threatened to arrest him if he attempted to enter. Said Nader, who is a Harvard-educated lawyer: "You, sir, have issued an unlawful political order."
Nader has filed a complaint with the criminal justice system that will, ultimately, reform the debate process. As he put it, "They picked the wrong guy to throw out of the room."
¶
On Friday night, I attended a rally for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader at Madison Square Garden. A grassroots political movement, operating through volunteerism and word of mouth, sells out the largest venue in the largest city in the country. Surely that's news, right?
There was no mention of it the next day in the "paper of record," The New York Times.
¶
I could go on for a few more pages, but it's not my place to be preachy, especially in column #3. I am, after all, trying to build a readership, not alienate everyone with my politics.
So I leave you with this to ponder:
Al Gore has been a so-called civil servant most of his adult life -- certainly long enough to have made an impact on his constituency. The question I put to you, then, is what Gore has done in all that time to make your life better. Go ahead: Name me one piece of legislation, one brokered treaty, one influential vote, that has had a positive effect on you, personally.
And when you're done with that, list three English words that end in -gry.
I won't subject George W. Bush to the same scrutiny when we all know his greatest accomplishment has been reducing the number of Texans in the gene pool.
Chances are, Ralph Nader has made a positive impact. If you have been in a car accident and had death or serious injury prevented by using a seat belt, Nader has saved your life -- or, in my case, the life of someone I love.
The publication of Nader's 1965 book Unsafe At Any Speed directly resulted in new safety laws that made seat belts standard issue in automobiles. At the time he was 31 years old. The man gave up a lucrative legal career to be a fulltime consumer advocate, fighting for truth and justice, like an old-time comic book superhero.
That he is confused, even in jest, with the Imperial despot who designed the Death Star is a walking definition of irony.
For more info on Nader, click here.
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By Greg Olear
101700 |
