Maine gubernatorial candidate Chris Miller recently asked why elected Democrats in Maine are not moving to introduce articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. My response is below.

Surely the Democrats are not going to do anything that rocks the boat. Their power is based upon consolidating acceptance of the status quo. Their power wanes when the myth of progress dies and the truth of limited resources begins to demand limited consumption. There is more value in keeping the customers spending while the ship sinks than in trying to save the craft.

I am increasingly convinced that the tools of the master will not tear down the master's house.

I no longer have faith in legislative action, except perhaps as a tool to staunch the worst abuses in the short term. Recently someone told me, passionately, that we are only going to have significant systemic change if we are able to train oppressed constituencies to first trust and then to wield their own power. And that the way these new leaders must wield their power is by either influencing legislators or becoming legislators themselves.

While I am emphatically in favor of building powerful new leaders, I don't think that feeding them to the meat grinder is the best way to maximize their newfound leadership skills.

120 years ago our forbears in the movement had some faith in making change within the system, and I don't blame them. If I thought we had another 100 or 200 years to advance the cause slowly then I might have some faith in that too. Given unlimited time perhaps we could develop the leaders and take back control of our legislative and administrative organs. The fundamentals of our republic are mostly sound, they just have not been able to resist the assaults of concentrated capital without the vigilance of the populace.

But we don't have unlimited time. In 150 years things will be radically, unimaginably different. Peak oil. Nuclear terrorism. Global warming. Tight supplies of food and fresh water. I can't predict the future, but I think it is clear that we are in for radical change. And clear that without a drastic shift in tactics that change is surely not going to be for the better. I'm striving for nonviolent radical change in my lifetime. Because I'm convinced we don't have many more generations to spare.

So how do we act most effectively for change? Firstly, we must realize that the fundamental issue is not a corrupt administration, or an illegal war, or even creeping fascism. The fundamental issue is the basis upon which our modern society is constructed. Let me quote from Rabbi Michael Lerner's recent essay titled "The only winning way to fight the ban on gay marriage."

Modern western society is predicated upon the "materialism and selfishness that are rooted in the ... me-firstism and 'looking out for number one'" that is reinforced by our media, our politicians and our workplaces that teach people that their "worth is dependant on their ability to contribute to 'the bottom line' of maximizing money and power. ... People who spend all day long learning how to use others to maximize their own advantage bring home with them a consciousness that tells them that 'everyone is just out for themselves' and that it is self-destructive and irrational not to be a maximizer of self interest."

I intend to use all the breath in my body to build a movement that seeks to "advance a 'New Bottom Line': corporations, legislation, government practices [and] social institutions should be judged efficient, rational and productive ... to the extent that they contribute to our capacities to be loving and caring, kind and generous, ethically and ecologically sensitive, and capable of responding to others as embodiments of the sacred and [to] respond to the universe with awe and wonder."

It seems imperative to me that we work to instill as the foundation for society the idea that we should organize as loving, cooperative communities committed to meeting each other's basic human needs in such a way that does not deprive other beings of the ability to meet their basic needs. I am confident that Jesus Christ would have wanted it no other way.

So keep fighting those campaigns to stem the worst of the current abuses. Keep using those campaigns to develop powerful new leaders who understand the roots of oppression. But make sure that ourselves and our fellow leaders keep the real goal in mind.

What we need is "Culture Change" not "Regime Change." Yes this is a big goal. No I don't have all (or even many) ideas about how to effect such a radical shift, but I feel in my heart that the time is right, right now. I look forward to continuing to work with all good people as we develop more and more effective strategies to nudge our country and our world towards the Light.

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Responses and criticisms are strongly encouraged. Please help make this a productive dialog. If you disagree, in whole or in part, please tell me why.

Yours in Peace and Solidarity,

Iggy River