The Common Good, The Planet, and Humankind

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

Jim Wallis, author and editor of Sojourner’s magazine, was in town last week to speak on his latest book On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving The Common Good. Although Mr. Wallis looks a tad older (don’t we all) and a bit overwhelmed with where our country’s political and social state is, his hopeful message remained the same: We are all interconnected; we are all each other’s neighbor; and it’s time we recommit to an ancient idea: the common good.

Jim Wallis' newest book explores the ancient idea of the common good

Jim Wallis’ newest book explores the ancient idea of the common good

The common good. I wondered again why it is that people stumble over what the definition of that is. It was the fabric of my youth and adult life. Public parks, public schools, public libraries, public works departments. We made attempts to take care of everyone. We worked at making a place at the table for everyone. Sure, you had friends who had their lake cottage, but I had the public swimming pool and picnics at the public beach on Lake Michigan.

Wallis, an evangelical, acknowledged that many people define the term “common good” in different ways. He includes in his book one of his favorite definitions from Catholic social justice teaching: “The common good is the whole network of social conditions, which enable humans and groups to flourish. All are responsible for all.”

Or phrased yet another way:  The common good benefits the community. It is the welfare of the whole community, as the proper object of a just law. It is distinguished from individual good, which looks only to the good of a single person.

Try it another way, which is the ancient golden rule to which Wallis refers: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “We have broken our social contracts,” Wallis told his audience. We are hungry for a new social contract. Inequality damages our way of life and life today in the United States is dramatically unequal. We need to inspire the ideal of the common good because life today is unfair, unsustainable and it is making us unhappy.”

He stressed the need to broaden our definition of that famous question the lawyer posed to Jesus of Nazareth:  Who is my neighbor? “We need to ask, who is my poor neighbor? Who is my immigrant neighbor?  Who is my gay neighbor?,” Wallis said.

Jim Wallis challenges us to expand our definition of "neighbor."

Jim Wallis challenges us to expand our definition of “neighbor.”

“We need to talk about reclaiming democracy,” he added. “We need a transformational ethical view. Checks have replaced balances in Washington. But remember, the common good comes last to Washington. It’s social movements that change Washington. We need a social movement today that harkens back to the ancient idea of the common good that says our life together can be better than our life alone.”  For more information on Wallis’ book and to hear Wallis in his own words, click here.

Wallis’ talk sent me scurrying back to another great book and organization that promotes the common good. If you’ve not seen the book by Jay Walljasper:  All That We Share: A Field Guide To The Commons, we invite you to check it out here. As part of the organization On The Commons, Walljasper writes several thought-provoking ways to look at how the commons are defined. He answers the question of what is a commons-based society quite simply: “It is a way of life that values what we share as much as what we own.” It was the introduction to the book by Bill McKibbon that gave me pause. In it he writes:

All That We Share_cover“If we are to somehow ward off the coming (environmental) catastrophes, we have to reclaim this atmospheric commons. We have to figure out how to cooperatively own and protect the single most important feature of the planet we inhabit – the thin envelope of atmosphere that makes our lives possible. Wrestling this key prize away from Exxon Mobil and other corporations is the great political issue of our time…The last few decades have been dominated by the premise that privatizing all economic resources will produce endless riches. Which was kind of true, except that the riches went to only a few people. And in the process, they melted the Arctic as well as dramatically increasing inequality around the world.”

The recent environmental news – in case you missed it because they played second tier to talking points blathering on Fox News – is frightening. Recent stories told of the dying bees and the impact on the food chain; the fact that we broke a three million-year-old record for amount of carbon in the air; the reporting that those carbon emissions are eliminating an approximate 50,000 species from the planet; that homelessness will develop and has developed because of climate change; and on and on the list goes.

There can be no more dramatic example of the interconnectedness of all living things than trying to sustain life on this planet. And yet we continue to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to what is going on. We cannot say we weren’t warned. The prophetic voices have been crying out for decades. Rachel Carson. Gaylord Nelson. Bill McKibbon. Jim Wallis. Jay Walljasper. And of course Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said: “We must all learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools.”

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Ellison Reintroduces The Robin Hood Tax: We Are Not Broke

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

As a follow-up to our eNewsletter theme last week that the United States is NOT broke, we invite you to take a closer look at The Robin Hood Tax and its reintroduction on Wednesday April 17 by Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN). There are multitudes of ways that we could help lessen the massive inequality that exists in our country today. I am constantly told that greed and the insatiable desire for more, more, more has been with us since the beginning of time (at least the last 8,000 years). So too then have the ideas to counter that way of thinking.

The Robin Hood TaxToday, we have the largest income equality that has existed in my adult lifetime. That was clearly stated recently by renowned economist David Kay Johnston who reported the following:

In 2011 the average Adjusted Gross Income of the vast majority fell to $30,437 per taxpayer, its lowest level since 1966 when measured in 2011 dollars. The vast majority averaged a mere $59 more in 2011 than in 1966. For the top 10 percent, by the same measures, average income rose by $116,071 to $254,864, an increase of 84 percent over 1966.

So what do we do about that?  First we work like crazy to change the conversation with friends and families that we, as a country, are broke. We are not broke. We chose to allow those with power to take away our collective and individual rights to change this situation. The second thing: push our legislators to support Ellison’s Inclusive Prosperity Act (The Robin Hood Tax) this Wednesday.

What is the Robin Hood Tax?  I invite you to peruse the following web sites to find out more.

In its simplest form, the Robin Hood Tax is a tax on the financial sector that has the power to raise hundreds of billions every year to provide funding for jobs to kick-start the economy and get America back on its feet. It could help save the social safety net in the US and around the world.

Rep. Keith Ellison will re-introduce The Robin Hood Tax April 17.

Rep. Keith Ellison will re-introduce The Robin Hood Tax April 17.

How simple is that?  So simple that it will take massive work and efforts to alert people to the fact that common sense can once again overtake greed and selfishness. If I’m told I have to recognize that greed has always been part of the human condition, then it is up to us to remind people that there has always been a pushback in the course of human history against greed. Robin Hood had his day in Sherwood Forest. Today, it’s up to us to bring back the spirit of Robin Hood and support the efforts of those who continue to rally around the cry:  We are Not Broke.

What will you do this week to push back against the prevailing and incorrect assumption that this country is broke and we have to punish the elderly, the poor and the marginalized?  One fairly painless action item would be to call your congressional rep and ask them to support Keith Ellison’s Robin Hood Tax bill.

Posted in Democratic Progressive Caucus, Democray, FEATURED, Keith Ellison, Thoughts on Life | 1 Comment

A Night For Truth Seekers And Hope

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

A one-in-a-million and yet no different than any of us. A prophetic voice that speaks with a deep spiritual tone, yet proud of being an atheist. A man so well versed on so many topics with an encyclopedic mind and yet has the ability to admit without hesitation that he doesn’t have any of the answers.

Talk show host Mike Malloy in Minneapolis

Talk show host Mike Malloy in Minneapolis

Radio talk show host Mike Malloy is a contrast in many ways. A two-time national radio award winner, he has been bounced from numerous stations because of his refusal to back down on his telling of the political reality of today’s United States. If you’re not lucky enough to live in a city with a progressive radio station, chances are you listen to Mike via the Internet or podcasts.

His listeners are some of the most faithful of all “radio” audiences. For many, it was Malloy’s voice and commentary that held them together during what Mike always called them: the “Bush Crime Family” years. It was as if he was Radio Free Europe for many during the darkest days of the Iraq war, the warrantless wiretappings and the FEMA disaster of Hurricane Katrina. His desperate pleas in 2005-06 during the Senate confirmation hearings against John Roberts and Samuel Alito foreshadowed everything from Citizens United to the now anticipated decimation of the Voting Rights Act. His level of frustration would almost cause your radio or computer to vibrate.

Yet this past weekend, a much more philosophical Malloy was the guest of AM950 owner Janet Robert to talk to a sellout audience in Minneapolis. The tone was more subdued, and a message of hope started and ended his talk. Billed as an evening for truth seekers, Malloy delighted the crowd with his reflective yet powerful account of life today.

“An important part of being a truth seeker is understanding that you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Malloy said as to why he remains hopeful. “It’s what keeps us from totally freaking out. I suppose by definition, if we’re liberals, we’re supposed to raise hell. If we don’t who will?

“Sometimes I get tired of being a good liberal. I look around at the results and see what? I think about all the changes in this country over my life and I wonder how did we end up here? How did common sense get left out of the legislative process? Why today can’t we have the infrastructure projects that we need?” he asked of the crowd that witnessed the collapse of the I-35W bridge 4 years ago. “In Atlanta (where Malloy is based) we have Civil War-era sewers and we constantly have roads collapsing because the sewers underneath them are collapsing.”

He recounted his life growing up in Toledo, and his middle class existence. Of families sustained by livable wages, of Labor Day parades that featured UAW and IBEW members, of a public education system that educated the community. “Every kid I knew had a parent who was a member of union and they made a living wage,” Malloy said. “Now, what 7 percent of wage earners are in unions? It just can’t continue like this. And this is where hope can get difficult.

“What has to happen?” Malloy asked. He talked about the need for resistance and explaining to organized capitalism and corporatists that it’s OK if they want their CEOs to make 60 times what we’re making, but not 60,000 times. “How much do they need before they are satisfied?” he asked. All this talk about socialism, he said. “Of course we have socialism. Socialism for corporations. Too big to jail? Build a bigger jail.”

He readily admitted he couldn’t figure out President Barack Obama. Perhaps the most confusing for him was the Democrats’ refusal to bring impeachment proceedings against former President George W. Bush or the President’s refusal to explore criminal charges against the Bush administration for its invasion of Iraq. He quickly pointed to former Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson’s comments during the Nuremberg trials, which were held to prosecute Nazi officials after World War II.

“How do we tell our children that we are a nation of laws,” he asked, “when on one hand you have Judge Jackson saying at the Nuremberg trials that the worst war crime of all was to invade a country without provocation and then we do nothing to prosecute those who invaded Iraq? I can’t process that.”

His questions on what happened after September 11th left the room silent. “When I think of simple truths I have to ask myself, if I believe the official findings of what happened on 9/11 then I have to ask what did my country do to prompt 19 men to come to this country to do what they did on 9/11? Did we do anything to prompt that? And if I ask that question then I have to come up with an answer.

“That’s when I go back to War Is A Racket (War Is A Racket: The Profit Motive Behind War by Major General Smedley Butler), the United Fruit Company (and their role in Guatemala) and the nuns and priests who had bullets put through their head (San Salvador). Who does my government support? I know what I want the answer to be and then I look around, and…

“How can we expect the millennials, the next generation to live their lives with dignity and justice? If we’re not honest with ourselves, how do we raise our children to be honest? How do we save our souls? Look at me, talking about a soul.”

Much of the reflective Malloy comes from his relationship with his 9-year-old daughter Molly. “What are we giving our kids to make them understand justice, honor, truth or the concepts of community, responsibility and trust? Is it hopeless? I believe in hope. Without it, what have we really got? Not much.

“I’m willing to keep on keeping on, “ Malloy said of his nightly talk show. Malloy has also been arrested on multiple occasions for non-violent civil disobedience. “Civil disobedience is a good tool to use. It helps to remind yourself you still matter. Sure, I get frustrated, but not hopeless. If I were asked if I were an optimist, I would say, ‘yes.’ I’m not sure that always comes through on the show, but that’s why I continue on. And if you get that from my program, well, then it’s all worth it. We give ourselves a sense of community; that those of us who think differently on positions and feelings can connect. That’s what I hope happens when you listen to the show.”

Posted in Democray, Thoughts on Life | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Back To Work Budget: Learn More And Advocate For It

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

I’m looking for a silver lining today. I live in Minneapolis and today the snow is blowing and the wind chills will be below zero as it says spring arrives on the calendar. But I do have a great silver lining. Living in Minneapolis means I have Keith Ellison as my U.S. Congressional representative.

back to work logo Ellison, as co-chair (with Rep. Raul Grijalva) of the Progressive Caucus, introduced the Back To Work Budget last week. This budget cuts through the hysteria of the “sky is falling because of deficits” and puts common sense back into play on how to attack the real problems facing us as a nation and as a people.

High-level bullet points on the Back To Work Budget include:

  • Creates 7 million new jobs in one year
  • Enacts fair individual and corporate tax policies (including a Robin Hood Tax)
  • Cuts weapons spending
  • Improves health care delivery and efficiency
  • Protects the environment (carbon tax, ending subsidies to fossil fuel corporations)
  • Prevents cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

It addresses everything that polls say Americans want.

You say you haven’t heard about the Back To Work Budget? Well, then go find out more. Here are some easy links to do just that:

The Progressive Caucus

Progressive Democrats of America

Common Dreams

Representative Keith Ellison’s web site

The budget was prominently featured on the great Up With Chris Hayes show this past weekend (it’s worth watching to see the graphics that show just how far right the budget conversation has gone. Even the senate’s Democratic budget proposal is closer to the Ryan Budget than it is to the common sense approach of the Back To Work Budget).

Common Sense…it oozes from every pore of the Back To Work Budget. We as a country face a moral challenge as well as trying to reconnect with common sense. The few religious leaders who have shown hints of moral courage have all echoed the same sentiment: A budget is also a moral document. It reflects your ideals and priorities. That’s true of a family budget as well as a country’s budget.

Do we really want austerity and hardship? I don’t think so. It’s hard to argue with the great Paul Wellstone’s motto of: We are all better off when we are all better off.

Here’s what Ellison and Grijalva said when they released the Back To Work Budget:

“We can either cut Medicare benefits to pay for more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, or we can close outdated tax loopholes and invest in jobs. We choose investment.

“The Back to Work Budget invests in America’s future because the best way to reduce our long-term deficit is to put America back to work. In the first year alone, we create nearly 7 million American jobs and increase GDP by 5.7%. We reduce unemployment to near 5% in three years with a jobs’ plan that includes repairing our nation’s roads and bridges, and putting the teachers, cops and firefighters who have borne the brunt of our economic downturn back to work. We reduce the deficit by $4.4 trillion by closing tax loopholes and asking the wealthy to pay a fair share. We repeal the arbitrary sequester and the Budget Control Act that are damaging the economy, and strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, which provide high quality, low-cost medical coverage to millions of Americans when they need it most. This is what the country voted for in November. It’s time we side with America’s middle class and invest in their future.”

Many of us watched last week when Scott Proudy, the “cameraman” of the Mitt Romney 47 percent comment fame, came forward to talk about the “how” and “why” he released the tape. One of the overarching comments after his interview was the reflection on the importance of what one individual can do to change the conversation in this country.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus.

I’ve taken that to heart. What can I do to help further the Back To Work Budget? I can’t call my congressman – he co-authored the legislation. One small drawback to having Keith Ellison as my rep. But I can write about it. I can ask others to call their elected officials – senators and congressional reps.

Silence is complicity. I urge all of you who read more about the Back To Work Budget to be silent no more. Austerity and a budget that benefits only a few is what awaits us if we don’t speak up and act. There was a time in this country when we built a middle class, trumpeted education and worked to create a sustainable environment. We can do it again.

After living in Minnesota last fall and watching first hand the power of the people to turn back amendments on voter ID and banning gay marriage, I know that a people’s movement can change thing. The first step is doing something.

Posted in Democratic Progressive Caucus, Democray, Keith Ellison, Raul Grijalva, Social Justice, Thoughts on Life | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Staying Engaged and Active: It’s More Important Than Ever

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

For those of us who live in the northern climes in winter, it’s important to stay active.  Cross country skiing, skating, snowshoeing.  They all become important for physical well-being.  Likewise, it’s important to work on mental activity.  Too often, as we wait for the days to grown longer, the tendency can be to cocoon, stay inside and wait for the 4th of July parade before we hit the political activism pavement.

This February I chose to actually force myself out – through the ice and snow – and keep my progressive mind engaged.  And much like with physical exercise, I was glad I made the effort.

Earlier this month, Healthcare for All Minnesota held its lobby day at our state capitol in St. Paul to promote its legislative priorities, which includes single payer legislation.  Although most state houses are consumed with implementing the health exchanges that are part of the Affordable HealthCare Act (ACA), the time has never been better to keep single payer front and center for any state legislature.  It’s when the ACA is fully implemented that people will begin to understand that although it takes us a baby step toward improving the most backward health care delivery system in the world, we still have a long way to go.

Healthcare for All Minnesota's Erin Anderson.

Healthcare for All Minnesota’s Erin Anderson.

My role at the legislature that day was to address those gathered about the importance of telling their health care stories to friends and families.  It’s when we tell our stories about the for-profit health care delivery system and how it still denies and rations our health care – even with full implementation of the ACA – that people begin to understand the need for single payer.

In addition, I trooped up to talk to my Democratic State Senator (Ron Latz) and was surprised to find him not supporting single payer legislation.  I have my work cut out for me – educating him on the fact that health care is human right and to find out more about why he thinks health care is a free market commodity.  Tell me, who among us gets up everyday and says, I’m headed to my hospital emergency room to find out what’s on sale there today?  Or, I’d like to know what for-profit insurance company is actively working to “market” to cancer patients.

Look for our March Progressive Profile on Cindy Young, the program coordinator for Campaign for a Healthy California.  We will spotlight her boundless energy as she continues to campaign for single payer.  Everybody In.  Nobody out.  It’s that simple.

In person meeting with Sister Patty Chappell, Pax Christi USA

In person meeting with Sister Patty Chappell, Pax Christi USA

My next stop – the day after 6 inches of snow fell – was a visit to a local Pax Christi USA regional gathering.  I’d had the pleasure of talking to Sister Patty Chappell, their executive director, about her day-in and day-out work to promote peace in our lives and in our country.  Now I had the chance to meet her.  The inspiration she provided to the group gathered from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota will keep me energized for some time.  How can I say “no” to continuing the progressive fight, when I hear her passion and commitment to promote peace in a world that today seems consumed by hatred and war?

Two small things I did this month, but a reminder that once the limelight fades from a national election cycle is when the real work of democracy begins. Letter writing and phone calling to state and national representatives. Having the courage to talk to friends and family about issues and how they impact us.  It’s up to us to move democracy back into the hands of the people.

I urge you as spring edges closer to find out what’s going on in your state.  For example:

  • Do you know how your state is implementing the mandated health exchanges?  Who will be in charge?  Health insurance executives or those trying to make it consumer-focused?  What can you do to impact it?
  • Has your state introduced an amendment to overturn Citizens United?  If not, why not?  What can you do to change that?
  • Have you read the Progressive Caucus’ People’s Budget?  Do you even know it exits?  Here’s a link to find out more.  There are other options besides what the mainline politicians are telling us.

Stay educated.  Stay engaged.  Ask questions.  Read more.  And don’t let someone take away your voice to be heard.

Posted in Citizens United, Democray, Peace, Thoughts on Life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Blue State Ball: Having Fun, Progressive Style

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

Last night it was just plain fun to be a progressive.  It was the 9th annual Blue State Ball here in Minnesota and progressives from every corner of the state gathered in Minneapolis to celebrate the diversity and inner joy that abounds when progressives gather.

Hats off to Janet Robert, president of AM950, the independent progressive radio station here. Her vision and courage to start progressive talk in the middle of the George W. Bush presidency has been nothing short of remarkable.  And every year she invites us to come celebrate with her and the progressive talkers who broadcast on the station.

Mike Papantonio talks with one of hundreds gathered for the Blue State Ball. Left to right: Thom Hartmann, Norman Goldman and John Fugelsang.

Mike Papantonio talks with one of hundreds gathered for the Blue State Ball. Left to right: Thom Hartmann, Norman Goldman and John Fugelsang.

Headliner Ed Schulz revved up the crowd by acknowledging their anger and disappointment with Harry Reid’s lack of leadership to bring real filibuster reform.  And he reminded the crowd that the journey continues and to never underestimate the omnipresent GOP and its shenanigans.

Ring of Fire host Mike Papantonio received a standing ovation and it was evident from the sheer delight on the face of this Florida resident that the first-timer to the Blue State Ball was greatly enjoying talking to a packed house of hundreds of energized progressives.  His message remains constant:  The cavalry isn’t coming.  It’s up to each of us to do our parts to fight back on the countless assaults on democracy from all sides.  His take down of Republican governors who are now out to change the Electoral College rules on how we elect a president was no less sharp than was his laments over the lack of prosecution of Wall Street bankers by the current Department of Justice.

“What struck me in the president’s inaugural address and what I heard is that President Obama thought everyone could do a little bit of something to help America become the best it could be,” Papantonio told the crowd.

“And I’m here to tell you that to get there you have to begin by acknowledging this:  The cavalry isn’t coming.  The truth is.  You are the cavalry.  We, as a culture, put a lot of stock into thinking some one else is going to pull the sword from the stone.  What the President said is, we have to pull the sword from the stone.”

Papantonio reminded the crowd of the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe  – who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which reshaped the entire country’s thinking of slavery. Papantonio then urged those gathered to abandon the idea that people in power are somehow better than us.  “Everyone has the capacity to be Harriet Beecher Stowe.”

The always wise Thom Hartmann (where does he find the time to write all those books), Norman Goldman and John Fugelsang (from the Stephanie Miller Show) charmed the crowd.  But, in Minnesota, at the Blue State Ball, it was once again Democratic Governor Mark Dayton who deserved honors for the night.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton

Dayton, not known as the most comfortable of public speakers, took great delight in spending part of his 66th birthday with those who helped to elect him to the governor’s house in 2010.  And Minnesotans continue to realize just how important his close win was.  Without Governor Dayton, Minnesota would have become Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Florida – states who went all red in their statehouses with the 2010 elections.  It was only Dayton’s razor-thin, recount win that separated the Land of 10,000 Lakes from the others.

The former U.S. Senator may have saved his finest political hours for his role as governor and he thanked the crowd again for the work Minnesotans did to defeat two constitutional amendments the Republicans pushed through the legislature and on to the 2012 ballot (voter photo ID and a ban on same-sex marriage).

“Those were two awful amendments and Minnesotans knew they were unfair and that’s why we won and that’s why we now have a DFL senate and house,” Dayton said.  “We voted them out.”

For me, the best thing about the Blue State Ball is always the great diversity in the crowd.  Every size, shape, race and creed of Minnesota progressive shows up to laugh, dance and celebrate.  Inclusion and inter-connectedness is everywhere.

“Look at the demographics here tonight,” Papantonio shouted to the crowd.  “That’s what makes us winners.  How do you (the Republican Party) alienate everyone and expect to win?”

Saturday night it was great fun to be a winner, a progressive and living in a Blue State.

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Mercy Killers: Play Moves To Ohio As Healthcare Debate Continues

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

Too often the pain and suffering (physical and monetary) of everyday people in this country is lost during a debate or discussion on healthcare. We are set to begin implementation nationwide of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and yet, despite all the rhetoric and shouting about “government take over” of healthcare, the reality is that the ACA still promotes and does little to change our current for-profit health insurance system.

Although most people admit the ACA will provide baby steps forward, millions will still be without insurance once the ACA is implemented and those who do find coverage under the healthcare exchanges will more often than not be driven into the current existing for-profit health insurance industry.

Single payer remains the most viable option to cover every citizen and to drive down healthcare costs. As one speaker at a recent national conference on single payer put it: “Want to lower healthcare costs? Remove the profit. It’s that simple.”

But how does one cut through the political noise and help educate people and politicians about the need for single payer (everybody in, nobody out) and how single payer is the best system designed to provide real healthcare to people vs. offering people insurance plans put forth by for-profit insurance companies. Those plans are still designed to make money by denying people access to and coverage of healthcare.

Mercy Killers will be performed in Columbus, Ohio Feb. 17-March 9.

Mercy Killers will be performed in Columbus, Ohio Feb. 17-March 9.

For actor and play write Michael Milligan he took matters into his own hands and followed his professional craft. He wrote a one-act, one-man play called Mercy Killers. The poignant drama cuts to the chase: healthcare is a human right, not a commodity. The Julliard-trained actor calls it his “attempt to provide a mirror for people so they can see the deep contradictions and tragedy inherent in the system as it stands now.”

Mercy Killers will make an extended run next month in Columbus, Ohio, February 17-March 9 at the Van Fleet Theater. Performances of Mercy Killers are free and made possible entirely by donations and support. For more information on how to “order tickets” and help fund the performance, click here.

The incredible strength of the performance is the character development of “Joe,” the apple-pie loving, Rush Limbaugh listening, blue-collar worker who struggles with the uniquely American experience of losing your health in the land of plenty. Milligan’s performance strips away the polarization of the political debate and opens the door for real conversation as to “how can this be happening here.”

Having seen the play in one of its initial performances, I was struck by the audience’s ability to understand that storytelling is still the best way to help people better recognize the stakes of the American healthcare debate. Bring people together, show them a play such as Mercy Killers, have a Q&A exchange afterward, and the conversation can never be the same – no matter how “free market” your thinking of healthcare may be.

“Although the Affordable Care Act will have a positive benefit for many, including protections for those with ‘preexisting conditions,’ Medicaid expansion, and allowing young adults to remain on their parents plans, I am skeptical that it will have much of an impact on medical bankruptcies,” Milligan said. “It also does not adequately address the related growing problem of people being ‘underinsured.’ Insurance companies continue to raise premiums, deductibles and copays in ways that make affordable care more difficult for middle class families.

“Most importantly, the Act is not based on the principal that healthcare is a basic human right and public good. I don’t believe as a society we will be able to make the necessary fundamental changes to our healthcare system until we collectively accept this principal. Once we do, there are different solutions available.

Michael Milligan: Actor and author of Mercy Killers

Michael Milligan: Actor and author of Mercy Killers

“Mercy Killers isn’t a policy polemic. It’s my attempt to provide a mirror for people so they can see the deep contradictions and tragedy inherent in the system as it stands now. Hopefully, I will win some hearts to the principal of healthcare as a right and public good. The subsequent dialogue resulting from that shared principal can iron out policy.”

As reviewer Josh Starcher of Health Care Now-NY wrote: “Michael Milligan’s breath-taking performance of a shattered man in the throws of a healthcare nightmare, made only worse by the twists and turns of insurance companies, truly humanizes the vast inequities of America’s for profit health insurance system. You will be talking about ‘Mercy Killers’ long after the curtain draws.”

“I’m bringing the show to Ohio because that’s where I’m from,” Milligan said. “By collaborating with Single Payer Action Network, I hope to engage an audience we might not otherwise reach. Also, the performances are free, the production is very low budget, so there are fewer constraints in terms of what I can say.

“The run is going to be funded by people’s donations. I don’t want to sell a product. Everybody’s always been beating me over the head with this idea that I need to be like a businessman. The deepest impulse of my Art is to share it, give it away. In my soul, I feel like a guy who plays his saxophone on the subway, because he loves to play it, and whatever people throw into his hat is a bonus. People will think this is unrealistic. But if they knew how ridiculous a career in ‘theater’ is anyway in terms of trying to make a living, this model wouldn’t seem so crazy. “

In addition to the run in Columbus, Milligan plans to travel throughout Ohio to perform at alternative venues such as Cleveland State University, other community theaters, union halls, and public libraries.

For others around the country looking to spark a discussion on how to take the profit out of healthcare and push the country to a single payer system, find out how you can bring Mercy Killers to your community by clicking here.

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Single Payer — It Remains The Only Answer

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Joanne Boyer

Single payer – it remains the only viable option for the health care crisis this country faces and will continue to face after implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA).

That’s the message that came through loud and clear at the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare’s National Strategy Conference held last weekend in Chicago.  Although everyone agrees that the ACA (aka, Obamacare) takes an incremental baby step in addressing the problems of our for-profit insurance health industry, the only workable option that brings real health care to all Americans is the continued push for single payer.

Rep. John Conyers with members of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare at their Chicago conference. Included is Progressive Democrats of America National Director Tim Carpenter (3rd from left) and Mark Dudzic, Labor Campaign director (left of Conyers).

Rep. John Conyers with members of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare at their Chicago conference. Included is Progressive Democrats of America National Director Tim Carpenter (3rd from left) and Mark Dudzic, Labor Campaign director (left of Conyers).

The title of a recently-released study by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine just after the first of the year confirmed what all at the conference already knew: “U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health.”  And speaker after speaker reaffirmed that the ACA does little to address the crisis.

“There was a strong consensus that the Affordable Care Act will not solve the health care crisis,” said Martha Kuhl, an RN from Oakland, California, and secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United.  “The broad support from so many labor leaders and union activists reaffirmed labor’s unique position as a strategic force to win real solutions that will provide quality care for all working people.”

“We could solve our fiscal problems if we cut out the private insurance companies and paid far less for health care like most other industrial countries,” echoed Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

The Labor Campaign for Single Payer Conference speakers and attendees passionately articulated the simple message of single payer:  Everybody In…Nobody Out. Multiple speakers showed charts and graphs from source after source that indicated how for-profit insurance based “solutions” (which is still what the ACA is) will never be the answer.  And the great union organizers – who have been the backbone of support for social movements everywhere – know that labor has to take the lead in the fight for single payer.

“Labor has to lead the fight for single payer and has to be doing more,” said Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer in his opening remarks before the more than 200 gathered. “That’s been our mission and our mandate.  The reason we have more people in the room today (even after passage of the ACA) is that the crisis is still there. As long as health care is treated as a commodity vs. a right, the crisis will remain. Ultimately, this is a fight against corporate power (the insurance companies).  And people united in the communities is the only way to fight corporate power.”

The conference attendees were treated to powerful speeches by Karen Lewis, head of the Chicago Teachers Union, who successfully led last fall’s strike to push back against the privatization of Chicago’s public schools.  Her message was simple:  Connect with the people in the community – build bridges of support.

Rep. John Conyers, who introduced HR 676 (the Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Bill) was treated to a standing ovation as he told the crowd:  “I see my job as taking all of what you are doing and seeing how to translate this into a Congress that is in fact getting more Democratic but also has to become more progressive. We have to do something better than just count numbers and think something serious is happening.  We are committed to hold hearing on HR 676 in the 113th Congress, and let me append that to say if we don’t hold them inside the Congress, we will hold them outside the Congress.

“We have to match your depth of understanding with the people who make the laws.  And we have to get President Obama to listen to the progressive voices inside and outside the Congress – they are the ones who elected him.”

International solidarity from CGT was proudly displayed.

International solidarity from CGT was proudly displayed.

But perhaps most inspirational was the translated talk from Nicole Bernard, a member of France’s GT (General Confederation of Labour) who brought the message of international solidarity to the U.S. fight for single payer.  The French workers are facing a fight to “privatize” parts of the French national health care system.  A general strike is set for Feb. 7, in which French workers will strike to protect their current system.  Administrative cost of managing France’s nationalized health care system is less than 3 percent of benefits vs. the 20-25 percent administrative cost built into the current for-profit insurance based system in the U.S.

Kay Tillow from the All Unions Committee For Single Payer summed it up best:  “We need to tell the truth about the ACA. So many people have been afraid to say how much it will fail. Now that the election is over, let us tell the truth.  It will not bring us care (millions will remain uninsured with implementation of the ACA); our crisis will continue to escalate.

“With profit at the core we cannot make it work. The truth is what the rest of the world knows – there is a way to cut the cost and expand the care.  That’s by using a publicly funded program.  Even (Bill) Clinton said it in 2012, ‘If the U.S. adopted the health care system of any of the other industrialized countries, we could save a trillion dollars a year.’  We can’t solve anything else until we bring health care costs under control.

“Under our profit-making health care system you cannot cut costs without cutting care. Period. The only way to control cost is to remove the profit from the system.”

The move toward single payer starts with education and motivation.  I am still astonished by how many Americans know so little about single payer, the benefits of a single payer system and the inherent flaws within our current for-profit insurance driven system that puts money ahead of people’s health and well-being.

We at Wisdom Voices remain committed to promoting, educating and helping to energize the single payer movement in 2013.  Look for more in the coming weeks that builds upon the incredible energy exhibited at this national conference – from the front-line views of the nurses who see the worst part of the current health care system to the legislative action taking place at the state and national level.  And most importantly – what we as individuals can do.  Once again, the real work falls to “We The People.”

Single Payer:  Everybody In.  Nobody Out.

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We Are Crying Out ‘Help Me’: A Look At Nonviolence As An Alternative

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Joanne Boyer

I went to see Anne Lamott speak last Tuesday.  Her new book on prayer is called Help.  Thanks.  WOW.  In her own indomitable style, she delighted a standing room crowd of over 500 at a local community church.  I thought to myself that night:  we as a people are surely hungry for something.  Our souls must really need nourishment.  Over 500 people came out a day after a foot of snow fell and roads were still almost impassible.

helping-hand“Help Me,” Lamott said is the first part of individual prayer.  I thought as she talked directly to each of us there: we, too, as a country need to scream out to whatever higher power we believe in, “Help Me.”  It’s as if whatever is left of our national soul is making one final plea for help.  We have sold out to the snake-oil salesmen for the last 30 years who have told us to war against each other, to fear, to hate, to believe that if we somehow care for one another, it is somehow a bad thing.  We have allowed corporations and their greed to destroy the middle class.  We cast out the hungry, those who seek medical care, and those who ask for work. We turn our backs on one another and bury our faces in texting, video games and walled communities.  We think somehow our souls can be fed by things instead of human interaction.  We are silly enough to think money is the be-all and end-all of our existence on this earth.  That’s what I was thinking as Lamott spoke.

And then three days later, the all too familiar sound of shots fired, children dead and a country hurting, crying out, “Help Me.”

Yes, yes, yes.  The discussion on gun control has to happen…now, tomorrow and always.  But so too does the discussion of how we as a people, a nation, have allowed those who sell us fear and hatred for profit to dominate our lives and our culture.

The snake oil salesmen who laugh all the way to the bank.  Fox News who tells us 24×7 to hate and fear.  The gun industry who has fattened bank accounts with the blood of our neighbors and children.  The military contractors who scorn the talk of peace while their corporate profits soar.  The video game makers who delight in producing games that show nothing but how to kill and destroy.  Even Catholic archbishops who pocket millions of dollars to drive campaigns aimed at enshrining hatred in state constitutions.  Where are we to speak up and say, “No more.”

I wondered as I watched as this latest tragedy unfolded in Connecticut:  Were we as outraged by the deaths of innocent Iraqi children when we went to war for oil and profit?  Are we even aware that drones are being used in our name to kill innocent Afghan children?  Are we incensed that our country puts profits ahead of universal health care for its citizens?  What do we do when state legislatures meet in the dark of night to pass laws that destroy human dignity and the right to collectively bargain?

We as a nation have bought into fear – it’s us against ‘them.’  What is always so surprising is that we also want to call ourselves a “Christian” nation.  The loudest message proclaimed by this Jesus of Nazareth is, “love one another,” “fear not.”  And we refuse to hear those words or think they were meant for us. We here in Minnesota are still sorting through the story of a pastor who shot his granddaughter in the dark of night thinking she was an intruder.  What was he so afraid of – this man of God?

We cannot arm ourselves out of fear.  No amount of security, guns or bombs will ever be the answer.  It is only by turning inward, calling out “Help Me,” and embracing the concepts of love and nonviolence that will bring about any real change.

The choice is ours.  We can continue to live in fear and line the pockets of those who sell us “easy answers” while they profit from our fear.  Or we can choose to change – as individuals, as a community, as a country, as a world.  The human soul longs for connections to other human beings (aka, love and acceptance), not text messages, video games, and flat screen TVs.

John Dear, more than any of the many people I interviewed in 2012, comes to mind today.  Few among us have dedicated their life to nonviolence in the way that this remarkable man has.  People laugh and jeer at him for his message of nonviolence and yet today, his words are the only ones that make sense to me or can provide salve for my wounded soul. If you missed our interview, I invite you to check it out here.

You may think it naive or impossible, or laughable.  I think of the number of adults who laughed in my face when I would tell them that our youngest daughter was graduating with a minor in Peace Studies.  When did peace and nonviolence become laughable matters?

A Persistent Peace: One man's journey to lead us toward nonviolence and peace

A Persistent Peace: One man’s journey to lead us toward nonviolence and peace

Without a change of heart, a change of direction – a cry for help, our nation, our communities, our families will be doomed to more violence.  How do we stop that violence?  I offer up the wisdom voice of John Dear, from his book A Persistent Peace, when he discussed his decision to dedicate his life to nonviolence (Defer to whatever higher power you call your god):

“And what has that road taught me?  That Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Dr. King, the Berrigans, and (Thomas) Merton were right:  Gospel nonviolence holds the key to personal, social, and global transformation. The future will be a future of peace, if we dare seek it, sacrifice for it, and enact it – a new world without war, poverty, or nuclear weapons…

This is a precious hope. But realizing it requires a few things. First, that our hearts and minds fill with a new mystical awareness, namely that each of us is a beloved son or daughter of God. The God of peace love us infinitely, loves us wildly, crazily….All we have to do is let God love us, and live in that love more and more every moment….it empowers us, fills us with happiness, meaning, and purpose – and sends us forth on the road to peace….

This truth leads us to a second realization.  Because each of us is the beloved, apple of God’s eye, then east to west, north to south, each one of us is a beloved sister and brother to one another.  Every human being on the planet is equal to every other human being…called to live in peace and nonviolence….that all life is sacred, lovable, called into God’s reign of nonviolent love….

Finally from this vocation of love, a new culture of peace and nonviolence will flower and grow and multiply.  We know who we are: God’s beloved sons and daughters.  We know who everyone else is:  our beloved sister and brother.  And so it follows precisely – we will never hurt another again.  Moreover we will renounce every trace of violence and war.  We’ll forsake corporate greed and nuclear weapons.  We’ll refuse to be silent or passive or afraid or complicit with the world of violence.  We’ll get involved, and give our lives so that every human being on the planet can live in peace with justice, with food, housing, healthcare, education, employment, and dignity.

We as a people and as a nation are hurting beyond measure.  Without a change of heart and soul, we are doomed to repeat the cycle of violence and fear that we have allowed to overtake our lives in a way unseen or felt in our lifetime.

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He spoke for the disaffected, the impoverished, and the excluded

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Joanne Boyer

One of my true heroes was born today (November 20, 1925).  Although far from perfect – like all of us – his genuine compassion for people and his belief that government could make a positive difference is people’s lives has never been duplicated since his tragic death on June 6, 1968.

Bobby Kennedy offered hope to a divided country in 1968 that the progressive spirit would once again resurrect in full force.  For those of us who lived through the assassination of John F. Kennedy – that anniversary just two days from now – it was Bobby’s run for president during a time of war that made the prospect for peace and justice a possibility.  During a time of division, he suggested a way for healing.

Bobby Kennedy: His wisdom voice is deeply missed.

His fervor for Civil Rights, and his commitment to racial equality, was rooted in a firm sense of social justice.  As Senator, Kennedy visited apartheid-ruled South Africa and at the University of Cape Town he delivered the Annual Day of Affirmation speech. A quote from this address appears on his memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

He spoke forcefully in favor of what he called the “disaffected, the impoverished, and the excluded.”  Where were those topics in this past presidential election?

For those of us old enough to remember the 1960s, November can be a tough month – with the birthdate of Robert Kennedy and the anniversary of the date that was a defining moment for a generation/era (November 22, 1963).  For all their imperfections, the Kennedys reminded us that we could think outside of our self-interests and that traveling the road of possibilities for good was the far better road to be on.  Both are featured in our book Wisdom of Progressive Voices.

In honor of Bobby’s birthday, here are a few of his great quotes.

“As our nation—and its problems – have grown, we seem to have grown apart from one another.  We seem, through no fault of our own, to look only the short distance; to turn away from the far horizon; to work, each of us, on building a piece of our country.  And the pieces do not match…We became separated from one another, treating those of different races, or religions, or calling, as adversaries instead of allies…the first step in this task is to remember what our government should be…a reflection of common effort, a means of aspiring greater individual opportunity to our citizens.”

–Scottsbluff, Nebraska, April 20, 1968

“I have seen the people of the black ghetto, listening to ever-greater promises of equality and justice, as they sit in the same decaying schools and huddle in the same filthy rooms, without heat, warding off the cold and warding off the rats.  If we believe that we, as Americans, are bound together by a common concern for each other, then an urgent national priority is upon us.  We must begin to end the disgrace of the other America.”

“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.”

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