June 2002 Newsletter

“Unequivocal in principle, reasonable in manner, we shall be able I hope to do a great deal of good to the cause of freedom and harmo                       – Thomas Jefferson, 1801

      As we approach the 2002 elections, each issue of the Uncommon Denominator will highlight a particularly resonant theme in American political culture. These are themes that cut across the ideological spectrum and across a variety of issues. What they all reflect is a widely held, deeply felt, set of beliefs or values on the part of the public – and therefore represent a powerful means of shaping debate on public policy.

      Consider some of the big issues currently in the media. The Enron scandal. The Catholic Church scandal. Federal budget deficits. Corporate access to elected officials. One common denominator in the public response to each of these topics is a concern with accountability, and an insistence that the holders of power act responsibly. Part of what’s driving this concern is a fear that the institutions of society – both corporate and governmental – have become so complex that it’s hard to know what’s going on behind closed doors. More fundamentally, the idea of accountability draws on a deep cultural tradition in which our political leaders are supposed to be answerable, ultimately, to the people who put them in office. Increasingly, Americans also want to know that their political leaders can be relied upon to keep the non-elected powerful accountable for their actions.

      As both an ethical principle and a practical matter of good governance, accountability is thus a potent theme tying together some of the issues on which people will base their voting behavior. A recent Democracy Corps analysis of polling data describes “a widely shared sense that many in powerful positions operate irresponsibly, hurt people, and pay no price.” That feeling is clearly a powerful political motivator. On issues such as corporate tax evasion, environmental degradation, Social Security reform, prescription drug pricing, and fiscal (ir)responsibility, the voting public will be thinking not just about the pros and cons of different policies, but about the moral dimension of how politicians address the problems we face today.

      With this in mind, the Commonweal Institute aims to illuminate some of the ways in which accountability (or the lack of accountability) manifests itself in political affairs. Helping citizens to see the connections between certain patterns of behavior and specific policy decisions is a necessary step toward ensuring accountability. Knowledge is a prelude to action.

      Next month: Fairness. 

      If you’ve ever wondered – really wondered – about how far to the right the conservative wing of American politics can go, strap on your seat-belt and read Eric Heubeck’s essay on a “movement” called The New Traditionalists.  Heubeck is a man who believes that modern conservatism “lacks self-confidence, virility, energy, intensity, vigor, aggressiveness, vitality, and a firm belief in the rightness of its cause.”  (And this was written after Bob Dole’s Viagra commercials!) Exclaiming that the New Traditionalists “reject the materialism, hedonism, consumerism, egoism, and the cult of self-actualization which permeate modern life,” Heubeck for some reason does not therefore advocate Zen Buddhism, but rather “guerrilla tactics to undermine the legitimacy of the dominant regime.” Dismissing mere political struggle, he envisions a savage cultural war in which “we will not try to reform the existing institutions. We only intend to weaken them, and eventually destroy them.” Heubeck’s reactionary fantasy is notable for its adolescent aggressiveness: “We must be feared, so that they [the Left] will think twice before opening their mouths.”

Part Leni Riefenstahl, part Elmer Fudd – Twiumph of the Will? – with a heavy dose of Jerry Falwell and overtones of Pol Pot, Heubeck’s essay epitomizes the dark atavism and dogmatic fundamentalism of the Far Right’s irreclaimable discontents. Laughable it would be, were it not for the fact that Heubeck is writing for the Free Congress Foundation, headed by Paul Weyrich, the man who founded the Heritage Foundation and continues to enjoy special access to the White House (see, for example, a recent Time Magazine article on Presidential political adviser Karl Rove).

      Sure, we all know governmental and corporate corruption is rampant – and respects no national borders – but how many of us really have the nitty-gritty to back up our intuition?  If you want the grisly details, check out Greg Palast’s The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Pluto Press, 2002).  Subtitled “An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters,” Palast’s collection of essays takes no prisoners, exposing venality on both left and right, with a complicit or at least lazy Fourth Estate not doing its job, all in the context of a laissez-faire globalist free-for-all.  Much of the material may be familiar by reputation, but it’s still compelling.  Ex-cons from Texas swinging the 2000 vote in Florida?  World Bank loan policies crippling Tanzania?  Legislative favoritism for Pfizer?  Read all about it.

      For the more theoretically minded, George Lakoff’s Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know that Liberals Don’t (University of Chicago Press, 1997) may help answer some of those nagging questions about why conservatives have become so influential.  The short and simplistic answer is that conservatives know how to tap into a particularly powerful strain of ideology in American culture.  But Lakoff, a professor of cognitive and linguistic science at UC Berkeley, and a member of our advisory board, is after big game.  He analyzes the process by which divergent political perspectives grow from deeply rooted assumptions about family relationships, and considers the central role of metaphorical language in shaping public debate and public policy. The light he shines is not just on what makes political actors tick, but on how they tick.  

      Helping people communicate with their elected leaders or with the media is a central part of how the Commonweal Institute plans to contribute to a vital democracy. This month, the Uncommon Denominator offers a sample letter-to-the-editor weighing in on The Big Topic.

      The Commonweal Institute claims no proprietary rights over the text of this letter.  Feel free to use all of the text verbatim, or portions of it, as you see fit – or you might just use the letter as a starting point for your own piece.

“To the Editor:

      Just about all Americans recognize that we need to fight international terrorism.  Yet since this campaign is being conducted “in the shadows,” in the words of Vice President Cheney, it carries risks that might not have occurred to many people. One of these is that non-democratic or quasi-democratic governments will try to suppress legitimate dissent under the guise of “fighting terror” – with American financial aid and even military support. In places like Kazakhstan and Indonesia, ethnic minorities, opposition parties, and human-rights groups are getting squeezed more and more tightly. As a freedom-loving nation, the United States needs to be careful not to support this. We are rightly protective of our own liberties here at home, and our prestige in the world rests on our willingness to protect liberties abroad. Fight the terrorists when and where we can – but don’t just give a nod and a wink, or the taxpayers’ money, to any government that happens to be “with us” in the war on terrorism.”

TIP: E-mailing letters to the editor is very convenient (see below), but some newspapers require letters to be submitted through their website.  It’s also possible that some editors, faced with a flood of email, will pay more attention to regular “snail-mail” or even faxes.  You might want to check with your newspaper(s) to see what their preferences are.  However you choose to submit your letter, be sure to include your name, address, and phone number so that the newspaper can verify your identity!

TIP: If you want to use email, http://www.opedletters.com/ is a service that enables you to send your letter to multiple newspapers simultaneously.

TIP: To find the phone numbers, regular mail addresses, and homepages (if applicable) of just about every newspaper in the country, go to http://www.n-net.com/ or http://www.zuzu.com/helpful/new-add.htm.

      The big news of the past month involves.....money.  Most importantly, the Commonweal Institute has officially received its non-profit 501(c)3 status from the IRS, meaning that all donations are tax-deductible. And we’ve received a number of good monetary contributions recently – for which we wish to extend our robust gratitude!  To keep the momentum going, plans are afoot to make it easier for individuals to contribute on-line.  Moreover, IRS recognition means that  we are now free to pursue major funding from foundations, corporations, and individual philanthropists, who typically require such recognition before making a donation.  The goal is synergy – small donations are not only important in themselves, but help to stimulate large donations from organizations or individuals who want evidence of a broad base of support.

      On the people front, the Commonweal Institute welcomes three new members to the advisory board: David Zucker, Efrain Fuentes, and Rudy Malveaux.  Zucker, a senior vice president in the New York office of the multinational (56 countries), multicultural public relations firm Porter Novelli, directs CauseWorks, the firm’s cause-related marketing and strategic philanthropy division.  Fuentes, Director of Patient and Family Services at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, is a psychologist who specializes in cross-cultural psychology and critical thinking.  Malveaux hails from Austin, Texas, where he acts as CEO and President of Victory Grill Entertainment, a non-profit arts organization that that markets, promotes, and produces entertainment for the Victory Grill, Austin’s oldest live music venue; he also has experience promoting political awareness through music.  The Commonweal Institute’s summer intern for 2002 is Einat Sandman, a law student at Santa Clara University with extensive political experience who is also one of our advisors.  Check out their longer bios at http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/advisory_board.htm. 

      Late-breaking news: the Commonweal Institute is moving into new digs as of June 1.  Nestled amid the leafy trees and high-powered brains of downtown Menlo Park, CA, the new office space is being provided free for six months, and subsequently at a very reasonable rate, by the Compton Foundation.  The address is: 535 Middlefield Ave. suite 150, Menlo Park, CA, 94025.  Phone: 650-330-1395.  Fax: 650-330-1394.

      Want to get involved?  The Commonweal Institute is assembling a team of volunteers to help with some of our essential tasks. Beyond representing an important contribution to a cause you believe in, volunteering is an excellent means of gaining experience and strengthening a resume. The skills and the hours involved may vary, but it’s highly flexible work: all of these jobs except for event coordinating can be done from anywhere in the world, and you can generally set your own schedule.

      Outreach Assistants. Help raise the visibility of – and additional support for – the Commonweal Institute by identifying and contacting individuals who seem compatible with our goals and principles.

      Guest Book Respondent. Responds to comments sent in by visitors to the Commonweal Institute’s website.

      Discussion Group Moderator. Manages an e-mail-based discussion group focused on augmenting participants’ knowledge and skills in influencing public opinion and governmental and corporate policy agendas.

      Event Coordinator. Coordinates with CI staff and handles the administrative logistics for group meetings.

      E-mail List Administrator. Manages, behind the scenes, several lists of names and e-mail addresses that are vital to the Commonweal Institute’s operations. 

      Newsletter Researchers. Identify interesting news items or other useful material and write up short pieces to be published here, in the Uncommon Denominator.

      For more detailed information about these opportunities, consult our website at http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/volunteer-openings.htm.

      The Rolling Thunder Down-Home Democracy Tour is coming to Union Park in Chicago on June 15.  It's a grassroots festival of democracy in action and training for effective political activism, featuring Erykah Badu and other entertainers, and leading progressive speakers including Studs Terkel, Jim Hightower, Dolores Huerta, and more.  Tell all your Midwestern friends about Rolling Thunder – good for the soul, good for the family, good for the country.

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© 2002 The Commonweal Institute