Seems like all we hear about these days is money. Bonus-money on Wall Street. Billions to bail out failing auto companies and banks, to revive sprawl — pardon me, the real estate industry.
Then there are those “K Street lobbyists,” who work for commercial interests of one stripe or another. I read somewhere that those good folk spent over $600 million to “influence legislation” last year. If you care about ancient forests or wilderness, endangered species and pollution, it all can seem pretty scary. For sure much, maybe all, of that money was spent by that ‘other side’. As in oil, mining, and timber companies, the Business Roundtable, etc. – the same interests who have always opposed environmental laws and policies.
So what about us? Given all that money and its seeming power and influence, how can we, who have so little relatively, ever hope to protect anything we love and care about?
We can. I know we can, because I have seen it happen — again and again, for over forty years.
Why? Because there are actually two different kinds of power in our political culture. One of them is the power of money. The other is the power of votes. Because, why do politicians want – need — so much money? Most of it is for election-time, especially those hugely expensive TV ads.
Why TV? Because that’s where most voters form opinions. Despite the net and newspapers, TV is the still best place to seek your vote. So votes are that other power. And it is we who hold it, and that leverage is why we succeed so often.
So how do we do it – really, really do it? Certainly not with much money. The question reminds me of a lesson learned long ago, and a story about it.
Glacier Peak by brewbooks
Back in the late 60s, a small band of conservationists had mounted a campaign to rescue the grandest part of the wilderness of the North Cascades in Washington State. If we failed, its ancient forests would soon be logged, open pit mines and roads would forever scar the rest. Bills were introduced, hearings were held. These hearings were loud and fierce, the proposed bill bitterly contested by that other side. They threw the usual huge amounts of money into the fray. Our side, nearly all volunteers, had almost none.
After one particularly stormy hearing, I ended up in a bar across the street with a National Forest Supervisor, named Andy. The Forest Service had thrown in its lot with the industries, and had strongly opposed the new parks and wildernesses.
Andy was a nice guy. I liked him, so it was easy to share a few beers. To me these issues aren’t personal; they’re always about values, and policies.
So Andy and I had some beers. After a while, I noticed that he was getting ahead of me, so I slowed down a bit. Shortly, he leaned towards me and said (in a slightly slurred voice): “Evans, I wanna ask you a question?
“Sure, Andy, what is it.?
“Evans, I wanna know something… how is it that you can always turn out so many people at these hearings? Jesus, they drive hundreds of miles, spend their own money, often are abused by our people. They don’t get paid, but they just keep on coming. Why?
“I’ll tell you the secret Andy, but you probably won’t believe it.
“Yes I will. Tell me anyway.
“Andy it’s just one word, only four letters. It’s called L-O-V-E, love. Our people do these things and all for nothing, because they love this beautiful land, and they will always fight for it, no matter what, when, or where.
“They have this love, Andy, and your people don’t. And that’s why we’re gonna whip your ass.”
Take a look sometime. Pull out a highway map – any state. Look for those green areas on the map: National and state parks, wildlife refuges, Wilderness Areas. Two hundred million acres now… created by that ‘love power;’ because nearly every green spot has a stirring and beautiful story behind it. They are tales of courage and perseverance, stories of ordinary people who loved that special place, people who hung in there, steeled themselves to stand up and speak out, no matter the odds.
Two hundred million acres, and counting. That’s about one-tenth of the whole country. And it continues. Every day now, somewhere, some person or group is struggling to protect another precious part of our land. No, we – they – don’t always win. But we win an awful lot, considering it’s almost always won over the opposition of that money power.
Money isn’t everything. If it was we’d have nothing.
