Here is the speech I made at the Green Party National Convention on Saturday. It’s 20 minutes long so if you don’t want to watch it but you want to know the themes:
1. Democracy works on the principle that wisdom is collected from a group in order to make decisions that result in the greatest good for the greatest number.
2. The two old-fashioned parties have betrayed that ideal and are so frightened by the crises that face us that they no longer trust the people.
3. Instead, they meet behind closed doors with their corporate campaign contributors and make decisions from there how our country should move forward.
4. This approach is failing, not least because attempts to be practical instead of idealistic.
5. By no longer being idealistic, we find ourselves in wars for other people’s oil, letting the rich have too many privileges, torturing people, keeping people in jail without due process of law etc.
6. Americans can handle hard times but not when they have no sense of meaning or purpose. When the politicians betray our ideals, people feel meaningless and they abandon the political system in droves.
7. But this is just the time when we need everyone involved. To keep the boat afloat we need all hands at all oars.
8. The only way to get the American people back into our democracy is to cloy to our ideals rather then abandon them in this time of crisis.
9. We need to be more idealistic rather than less if we hope to get through.
10. And that is why I am running for Congress with the Green Party, because the Green Party does not truck with corporations and lobbyists.
11. It trucks with people. And with ideals. That approach will draw people back into the democratic process.
12. If that happens we might get back to the idea of the greatest good for the greatest number.
13. And then maybe we have a chance.