Stephen Wing: activist

ANOTHER WORLD IS NECESSARY—
THEREFORE IT IS POSSIBLE

Atlanta Hosts the U.S. Social Forum, a Gathering of Activists; Hometown Volunteers and Donations Needed!

If you’re in a crowded public building and suddenly a trash can bursts into flames, and beside you on the wall you spot a fire extinguisher, what do you do? If you grab the fire extinguisher and put out the fire, you’re an activist.

A lot of activists are out there fighting a lot of fires big and small in the public building of our republic. Some of us have been at it so long that we’re also battling our own inner burnout. And many of the fires we are fighting, we’ve discovered, are actually a single subterranean rootfire flaring up in different places.

This discovery, it turns out, is the key to making progress on any single issue. In every arena, powerful corporations and their lobbyists— many of them on the public payroll— actively oppose the will of the voters and are unraveling the legacy of our democratic tradition of activism. From poverty to political corruption to discrimination to global warming to war, for many activists it has become clear that all our problems are interconnected and can only be solved by a set of interconnected solutions.

In our age of economic globalization, activists around the world have realized that this applies internationally as well. In 2001, when the world’s richest nations gathered in Brazil for the World Economic Forum, rather than showing up there with their fire extinguishers these activists decided to hold an alternative gathering— and the World Social Forum was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The World Economic Forum is held every January, so the World Social Forum has continued to gather at that time in different Third World countries to counterbalance the global power structure of wealthy nations and corporations. Under the rallying cry “Another World Is Possible,” people and non-governmental organizations committed to social, environmental and economic justice share stories, strategies, and mutual support. On the agenda are thousands of panels, plenaries, workshops, classes and cultural events that connect a variety of issues and the movements that address them.

Now smaller regional Social Forums have begun to branch off. This year, the United States will have its own Social Forum for the first time, and Atlanta has been chosen to host it. Activists in our city will be welcoming thousands of activists from across the country from June 27-July 1. The planning process has involved over 200 organizations structured into eight Working Groups and 10 Regional Committees. You can see an outline of the amazing convergence they are planning on the U.S. Social Forum web site (link below).

Individuals and organizations are invited to register through the website on a sliding scale. Any organization that registers can propose to add an event to the agenda. Only political parties, mainstream corporations, and military organizations are not allowed to participate. The Atlanta Civic Center will host many of the activities, along with several downtown parks and hotels, the Task Force for the Homeless, the Little Five Points Community Center and other venues.

The USSF begins on Wednesday, June 27 with opening ceremonies, a tour of historic activist sites in Atlanta, a march, a concert and more. Sessions on June 28 are focused on education and consciousness-raising. June 29 will focus on alternative visions of the future. June 30 will focus on strategies for change. On July 1, an assembly of U.S. social movements will work to integrate their agendas and coordinate their activities into a national calendar of events. A film festival, a poetry slam, and other cultural components are also planned.

Atlantans who want to be part of this historic moment in Atlanta’s rich history of activism can play an essential role in its success— whether you consider yourself an activist or not. Your registration fee is an important source of advance funding for the event, so please show your support by signing up now. If you belong to any grassroots organizations, such as a union or a faith community, encourage them to register too. Making a donation beyond the fee would be extremely helpful.

Volunteers are needed in many capacities, from staffing tables to first aid, especially from June 25 on. “Dedicated Volunteers” who commit to four 4-hour shifts (16 volunteer hours) can apply for a waiver of their individual registration fee. But there are many other ways to help. Free or low-cost housing is needed for the visiting activists. Food Not Bombs and other groups will be providing low-cost food, and need volunteers and food donations. Experienced childcare providers for children ages 3-11 are needed throughout the event. Spanish translators and sign-language interpreters can make a vital contribution. A computerized printing and media center needs tech-savvy help. Sign up on the web site under “participate,” or contact volunteer coordinator Mary Babington at Volunteersussf2007@gmail.com or 404/586-0460 ext. 34.

Most important, spread the word. Send out an email, add a link to your website, ask your friends and co-workers to sign up to help.

As the Italian-American anti-fascist writer G.A. Borghese said, “It is necessary; therefore it is possible.” Anyone can look around today and see that massive changes in our outlook, lifestyle, and national policies are clearly necessary. If enough people are willing to grab that fire extinguisher off the wall and work together to douse the fires around us, another world is not only possible but inevitable.

Anyone can be an activist these days, thanks to the endless opportunities available on the internet. Responding to an online alert is fast and effective, adding one more voice to thousands on the issues that matter to us, making sure our elected and appointed officials know that their employers— the American public— are watching their every move. Here is a sampling of some recent ones I've received, most of which I have taken action on:

I wrote, Natural forests provide clean air, clean water and all of our topsoil. Please think beyond next quarter's profits and do what's right for both present and future generations of all living things. Thank you.

I wrote, Diversity of opinion is what made this country great. Only a diversity of media outlets can keep the conversation of ideas alive and well. Naturally, the big media outlets wish to swallow all smaller ones to increase their power, but this would be a disaster for democracy and for future generations of Americans. Please prevent big media from getting any bigger and instead encourage a more diverse, independent and minority ownership. This is why our democratic system of government has established regulatory agencies like yours. It's called "a balance of power."

I support the following organizations on an ongoing basis. Click these links to find out what's happening in the Atlanta area:

Environment Georgia — defending our state's natural heritage against pollution and overdevelopment

School of the Americas Watch — working to close a school at Ft. Benning, Georgia, that trains Latin American soldiers in "state-sponsored terrorism"

Environmental Defense — national and international efforts to preserve the natural world for future generations

MoveOn.org — organizing electoral campaigns and holding elected representatives accountable