CALIFORNIA: PRETTY SOON WE’LL ALL BE GREEN
The Black Commentator; December 4, 2003
CALIFORNIA: PRETTY SOON WE’LL ALL BE GREEN
by Donna Jo Warren with Jonathan David Farley, D.Phil.
I was sipping a white chocolate mocha outside Starbuck’s when my friend
Susan walked up. She was wearing a purple jogging suit and high heels -
she’s from L.A. - and her cheeks were an angry red. Throwing a copy of
the Daily Breeze onto my table, she growled, “I hate this guy!”
I looked at the headlines. “Nader Calls Democrats Whiners.”
“Well, if you think about it,” I began gingerly, “the Democrats should
be thanking Nader. They’ve adopted all their new ideas from the Green
Party.”
Susan’s eyebrows cursed at me. “Such as?”
“Let’s begin with the war in Iraq. At the start, the Democrats
supported it. Now they’re all saying they’re against it. The Greens
opposed the war before a single U.S. soldier was shot.”
I took a sip. “Or take health care. Hillary was pilloried for
advocating universal health insurance - which even poor countries have -
but the Democrats retreated in the face of Republican [I almost said
“Iraqi”] resistance. Now almost every Democrat supports the idea; but
this is a cornerstone of Green policy.”
I looked at another headline: “Once Supporters, Democrats Now Question
PATRIOT Act.”
“As a Green,” I began, “I don’t want the government torturing teenagers,
snooping on synagogues or reading my email.” I thought of my grandson’s
“John Ashcroft” Halloween costume, and I shuddered.
“Dems: Free Trade Not Fair,” read another headline. “Wasn’t NAFTA - the
North America Foul Trade Agreement - Al Gore’s love child? Thanks to
him, America has lost millions of jobs to countries that don’t have
unions, a minimum wage, or child labor laws.” Inside, the espresso
machine made a giant sucking sound.
I looked at another headline: “Dems in Campaign Financing Dilemma.”
“Campaigns should be financed by the people. Let’s toss corporations
and fat cats - like media stalin Rupert Murdoch - out of our electoral
system. In fact, in my campaign for Lieutenant Governor, I didn’t take
any corporate contributions over $10,000,000.00.” I grinned.
“And,” I added, “while everybody’s now talking about Enron, the Green
Party warned long ago that corporations had too much power, that they
ought to pay their fair share in taxes. A Green policy would have saved
California billions during the blackouts - and that’s not just 20/20
hindsight. Check out our policies at www.gp-us.org.”
“What do you think about the Confederate flag flap?” Susan asked me,
looking at another headline.
“Some Greens like the Confederate flag, especially in the more backward
parts of the country, such as Tennessee or Santa Monica.” I smiled.
“But the Green Party platform is clear: the flag should be banned from
public buildings, just like the swastika.”
“What about local issues?” Susan enquired, finally sitting down. “My
son’s college tuition just increased by 15%!”
“I love the UCLA Bruins,” I said, “but community colleges educate three
quarters of all students in California. They pump $3 billion into
California’s economy each year. We want to keep tuition down to $11 per
unit - but, ultimately, college should be free.”
“Did you support the recall?” asked Susan, cocking her head.
“Sure did,” I said, “and I support the recall of Governor Schwarzenegger
too.”
“I still wish Gore had won the election, though,” Susan said
plaintively.
“Me too,” I agreed. Susan looked askance at me. “The Greens question
the Electoral College; the Greens want it to be easier, not harder, for
people to vote. Election Day should be a holiday. These are ideas that
Hillary Clinton and Jimmy Carter have only recently cottoned on to.
“Don’t get me wrong, the Green Party’s not perfect,” I concluded, “but
we did what we set out to do in 2000: not win the election, but move the
Democratic Party back to the left.”
A bus drove by, coughing up acrid smoke. Susan breathed in deeply after
it had passed. “I guess sooner or later we’ll all be Green,” she
sighed.
——————————————————
Donna Jo Warren is the Green Party’s former candidate for Lieutenant
Governor of California (donnawarren.com). Reach her at
cottry@sbcglobal.net. Dr. Jonathan David Farley is a former Fulbright
Distinguished Scholar to the United Kingdom and a counter-terrorism
consultant.
