Cheers, ken
----- Original Message ----- From: Rick <cr70814 at verizon.net> To: LBO (Left Business Observer) <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Cc: Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:24 AM Subject: [lbo-talk] "...to reduce US dependence on foreign oil"
I went to one of the "Moving Planet" rallies yesterday sponsored by Bill McKibben's 350.org to help build a movement to force elites to take action on climate change. These rallies were held simultaneously in dozens of the cities in the US and internationally. The slogan was "LET'S GET MOVING – BEYOND FOSSIL FUELS". By and large I enjoyed the rally and found it inspiring.
One speaker however framed his presentation around the need to "reduce US dependence on foreign oil". We have all heard this phrase uttered by mainstream politicians and some segments of the fossil fuel industry for years, and I think the best one can say about it is that it's lame and un-useful, and there are some very serious dangers from it. That it's being repeated by a purported environmental activist at this rally made me sad. Isn't this idea exactly what the US coal industry uses to sell us on coal? Isn't it what the proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline use to sell us on Albert tar sands?
This was just one of many speakers, and the others were quite wonderful, but hearing this left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure the organizers were trying to appeal to as wide a range of the public as possible, and this may have helped in that task.
I want to think that there's some way such 'patriotic' slogans can be used, re-articulated and built upon by leftists to create a more progressive movement but I'm not sure. ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk