Grassroots 2010

19 January 2010 - ABC The Drum-Unleashed

By Kellie Tranter

Hot diggity! Another election year has rolled around and it's time for we citizens to lobby for Government action.

Whatever your concern may be there is never a better time than election time to prod the sleeping giant: it's the only time politicians actually seem to listen, respond and sometimes even do something!

One common feature of Gandhi in the1930s, Danish "work to rule" under Nazi occupation, the sit-ins by black college students in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1960s, South African consumer boycotts and courageous strikes by workers in Poland and Chile in the 1980s, is that they show what can be achieved when ordinary people unite and act together to effect positive social change through non-violent means.

The critical ingredients in all of these popular movements were strong leadership, an articulated goal and a clear strategy; the common feature of the targets was political action or inaction that did not accord with what the majority of citizens wanted, and noticeably absent from the motivations of citizens in each case was ego, money or greed.

But, you say, Australia in 2010 isn't anything like that! Isn't it?

Sure, we are a relatively wealthy country, but that is more a result of selling off our country than our own constructive efforts; sure, we live relatively comfortable lives, but that is usually a result of crooked or exploitative deals, on the one hand, or living from cradle to grave in an economic treadmill that despoils our environment and hollows out our personal lives, on the other.

Comfort breeds complacency, and the accumulation of money and possessions is not indicative of a life well lived: according to some reports Australians now have the dubious triple distinctions of being fatter than US citizens, of emitting more greenhouse gas per capita than anyone else and of living in the biggest houses in the world.

It's no wonder our governments encourage us to believe that the Australian people have mythical characteristics like the Anzac spirit, the fortitude of the little Aussie battler and the ethic of a fair go, while at the same time eroding the international integrity we once had by involving us in unmeritorious wars on the coattails of the United States and (at least by permitting, if not by facilitating) activities like the post-invasion economic exploitation of Iraq.

If you look critically at ourselves and our country you will see that we have slipped into a selfish and careless somnolence.

The commercialisation of almost every aspect of our lives, the frenetic pace at which we live them and the distractions of accumulation and wealth draw our attention away from issues that should concern us all. Issues like water, food, oil and energy security, lack of action on climate change and the war in Afghanistan are just one side of the coin, issues that we should address as a country with a united voice. On the other side of the coin there are issues between us as citizens and our own governments: for example, the reality that our Constitutionally enshrined rights essentially are limited to the right to vote, the right to trial by jury for certain offences, some protection of freedom of religion, an implied right to freedom of political communication, and the right to be paid a fair price if the Federal government compulsorily acquires your property.

There are plenty of issues we should be dealing with, but governments like to minimise real citizen participation: sure, we have public ruses like the 2020 Summit (exactly what has that achieved?), but what progress has been made on long discussed changes like citizens initiated referenda?

There are thus plenty of issues for concerned citizens and grassroots organisations to be sinking their teeth into. And fortunately, thanks mainly to the Internet, there is plenty of helpful information available here and abroad for any person interested in civic engagement:

• Tips on how to prevent the closure of an open society.
• Training resources to assist with charting the territory between your current position and the achievement of your intended change objectives courtesy of the Change Agency
• Community environmental law workshops conducted by the NSW Environmental Defenders Office.
• Public assembly information is available. Although you should check the legal requirements for your State. For example the Redfern Legal Centre in New South Wales, a non-profit community legal centre dedicated to promoting social justice and human rights, has an online Activists Rights Manual.
• Put yourself up as a political candidate. Information for candidates can be found on the Australian Electoral Commission's website but be sure to keep a regular eye on it for updates.

Unfortunately it's easy to do nothing, to be distracted by activities with little real meaning and to become complacent, and to become cynical about injustices and absurdities instead of trying to do something about them. Thankfully when we feel that way we have the luxury of other readily available stored wisdom, like being able to tune in to an interview with the late "old master" of daily life, Studs Terkel about 'Keeping the faith in difficult times'. On another occasion, which must be a classic of academic brilliance shining side by side with social pragmatism, Studs was speaking with Bertrand Russell and the conversation went:

STUDS TERKEL: Why do people, the great majority of people the world over, feel as helpless as they do, they feel as impotent as they do? This seems to be in the air, I'm sure, all over the world, feeling that the individual, I, John Smith, John Doe, says, "I can't do anything about it."

BERTRAND RUSSELL: That's just [inaudible]. They can. I mean, an individual, if he has the pluck and the independence of mind, can do a very great deal. Actually, here we sit, no organi[s]ation, none whatever, and simply by expressing an opinion which is known to be unbiased, an individual can effect a very great deal. And this powerlessness of the individual is a form of cowardice; it's a preten[c]e, an alibi for doing nothing.

So please, Australians -- yes, YOU! -- don't waste the fact that it's election time. Don't hide behind an alibi for doing nothing. If you have concerns about an important issue, now is the time to do something about it. And if you won't, or feel you can't, take to the streets about what concerns you, you can at least think hard about what concerns you and come out and say what you think. Write to your local member or your local newspaper, or both. Tell your friends and neighbours what your thoughts are on important issues. But the important thing is to do it now: now is one of the few times a politician might actually listen and actually think about doing what his or her electorate wants; now is one of the few times your opinion may count!

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