"Activism, Then and Now" lured me back to my college reunion. "Then"? The Sixties: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Environmental and Women's movements, in loco parentis, squaring off against academic, social and political conformity. "Now"? Saving Life on Earth.
It was fun to recall along with my fellow panelists what it took to make things better "Then." And remembering that changing the world for the better is full of joy. Fun!
Too much fun, certainly, for America's Wrong Wing. They rose up in fury, manifesting Activism's under-appreciated Dark Side: Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan with their cynical "Southern Strategy"; William Simon and soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell poisoning our Constitutional waters with ersatz corporate personhood. Never forget. Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich and Phyllis Schlafly were Activists too.
The bitter fruits of THAT activism have been "Forty Years in the Wilderness". Forty very long years during which the ideals of a Just Society have given way to the realities of a greedy one. Forty years during which the earth has careened toward environmental calamity. We knew better then. We know better now.
Our reunion after-dinner speech was equally riveting. David Orr, the great environmental educator, welded "Activism, Then and Now" onto our planet's urgent threat. Climate change. Impossible as it sounds, his vivid outline of the human-generated Apocalypse careening toward us was better than dessert!
ALL HANDS ON DECK, GRAVE DANGER IN SIGHT. Our actions and INactions -- individually, as a nation and globally - threaten to impose perpetual slavery right now and on generations far out into the future. Global, permanent slavery created by climate change, loss of species. loss of habitat, dramatic changes to all the systems on earth of which we are a part.
AND, it need NOT be that way. We must - and CAN - change course. A sustainable future on earth is possible. There is no need to continue to poison our planet with coal, nuclear and oil. The United States itself has abundant - abundant! - supplies of renewable energy at hand with which to address appropriate energy needs. Fossil fuels should stay where they are. In the ground. We know where plenty of renewable energy is, we know how to harness it and there is a growing will in the world, including America, to do so.
We also know what we, individually, must do. Today, on average, we each generate 22 tons of CO2. We must - each of us -- reduce that to 2. TWO. That's still a whopping lot of CO2, but fitting that size is well within our capabilities. Start at home. Energy Star appliances and HVAC systems simplify choosing wisely. Then take that learning to all the places we go and to institutions we influence.
So here's what I learned when I went back to college: The experience and knowledge we gained as Activists "Then" is crucial - NOW. Saving life on earth will take experienced actors in the public arena AND the youthful energy, focus and excitement of today's Activists. Best of all, the planet and the elusive Beloved Community can be built on the "Adjacent Possibilities"^ we created in the Sixties, intentionally and unwittingly.
Yes, in the decades since the Sixties, too many colleges and universities and far too many of us reverted to being servants of the status quo we once challenged. But not all. And not everyone. Seeds planted 40 and more years ago did take root. In addition to ending Jim Crow in America and the war in Vietnam, we created Adjacent Possibilities that now are ripe, where and when we need them.
Think about it. The Sixties did not appear out of nowhere any more than our Rock'n'Roll soundtrack did. Both had deep roots in America. Tom Brokaw is simply wrong when he asserts that The Sixties started with Kennedy's assassination in 1963. No! A more correct starting block is the year-long boycott of buses in Montgomery, Alabama; Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis bringing black music to white kids; the French who learned a lesson at Dien Bien Phu, Americans who seemingly didn't and haven't ... . The Boycott took a very long year of everyday people, sitting down, standing up and walking wearily to and from work or carpooling, in all kinds of weather. One foot in front of the other. One discouraging day at a time.
Yes, they wanted the dignity of sitting wherever they chose on transportation created to serve everyone. And while they were seeking justice, they were also creating "Adjacent Possibilities" for a better life for all of us. In a violent region of a violent country, ordinary folk embodied new attitudes and methods with which they confronted seemingly intractable world views. Individual acts of everyday people created what became The Sixties.
That's what the earth requires of us. Right Now. We've been getting ready for more than forty years.
Some of my classmates became environmental lawyers. Others are dedicated policy-makers. Some head foundations, others learned trades, professions and became adept at creating and growing businesses. We range from Public Defender to photographer, publisher to computer whiz to novelists and scientists, labor and community organizers to psychotherapists and homemakers. Our panel's moderator is a grief counselor who spends her life working in a hospice. Look around. We have much to grieve, much to give.
And much to celebrate! The best news from the "Now" Activists was how easy our accomplishments "Then" appear to the younger set. Good for them! They need to take for granted the "wins" that we, their elders, remember as hard-won. They need to be affirmed in their search for identity, if only to understand better how much we share in common. They need to know that not only is change inevitable, it can be for the better, if we chose wisely and go the distance.
What they need, in addition to a whole lot of skills, is hope. So do I. And it's there to be had. Along with dire predictions, David Orr also insists that calamity need not happen! We don't have much time, but we do have a little. Enough...if we get serious. And get started. NOW is the time and we are the people. It's past time to reap the potentially rich harvest of the adjacent possibilities we birthed in The Sixties. What an adventure! We can save life on earth! Or not. What we know for sure is that it won't happen without us.
Why go to a college reunion? To remember that the future is our own creation. And all the fun there is to be had creating beauty instead of ugliness. We've not a moment to lose!
*Appreciation to Ambassador Charles Stith for his keen insight into our "Forty Years in the Wilderness", offered while accepting the Interdenominational Theological Center's 2008 President's Award.
^ Theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman adapted the term "adjacent possible" from chemistry. It's a tidy biological and evolutionary handle for thinking about how change (which is constant) happens. As Darwin made clear, change comes one incremental step at a time, in our forever-unfolding, creative universe, and the end result is utterly unpredictable. Hence the moral obligation, at every turn, to do our best.
You'll find Stuart Kauffman talking about the "adjacent possible" in his newest book Reinventing the Sacred: New Views of Science, Reason and Religion and at our "Paula Gordon Show" website
P.S. In case you're curious as to where this reunion took place, I graduated in 1968 from Oberlin College. For 175 year, the college has responded to urgent social needs, creating Adjacent Possibilities. Oberlin once championed Abolition and pioneered equality in education for all people. Now it is at the forefront of environmental education. Students, faculty, administration and yes, alumni, are learning new ways of living. For more, see the front page in "The New York Times" on Monday, May 26, 2008. The extensive article features Oberlin's "SEED" House - Student Experiment in Environmental Design. A video accompanies the article.
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