NSP activist Bruce Fisher's letter to a group of Minnesota activists sums up neatly our present situation with NSP. Your feeeback is also welcome. We add two points: 1. The reason why a concern with passing flawed legislation to show that SOMETHING was accomplished is a huge mistake is that unless you change the essential framework from those of the capitalist marketplace and the military industrial complex, there is little reason to believe that your changes will survive when a new Congress and new President get elected. The most important accomplishment a President can make is to convince people of a new way of thinking about their situation, and from that, legislation flows. That was what made Roosevelt, for the Left, and Reagan, for the Right, the most significant presidents of the 20th century. Obama did not have to win a single legislative victory--what he did need to do was to talk honestly to the American people and help them see the world from a progressive perspective.  2. Failing to do that (our point 1), and instead putting forward legislation that was flawed from the start rather than legislation that embodied concretely the theme of a Caring Society, Obama created huge disillusionment and despair among those who had momentarily allowed themselves to hope that something fundamental could be changed in America. From that despair arises either passivity and humiliation (on the Left) or anger and willingness to move to the Right (from the Centrists who feel misused and manipulated by Obama and hence willing to listen to the fascistic-based anger coming from Tea Party rightists).

Our only hope now is to build an independent movement that does not look to Obama but instead demonstrates and organizes for its own POSITIVE VISION. Unfortunately, most on the Left who have not given up remain focused on critique of what's wrong rather than articulating a positive vision. And that is why supporting the Global Marshall Plan and the ESRA-Environmental and Social Responsiblity Amendment to the US Constitution becomes so important. 

LETTER FROM NSP ACTIVIST:

Rabbi Lerner & NSP are committed to changing the bottom line of our society from one of  autonomous selfish individualism to one of a "caring society" where our society is measured on how we care for each other. Like the country in general, including most progressives, Lerner was excited and hopeful that with the election of BHO and a Democrat majority in congress a truly progressive and caring agenda could be achieved. In his Jan. '09 editorial in Tikkun Magazine( http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/jan09_ml), he articulates his hopes and fears. Its been over 18 months since that editorial and he is almost prophetic in his analysis.

For Lerner the BHO victory in '08, the most significant since 1988, ushered in the opportunity to change the country's bottom line. The people were hungry for a progressive agenda, but are now  disappointed with BHO and the Dems for not providing it.  They now associate liberals and progressivism with Obama who they are angry with and distrust.

According to Lerner, the central piece to a truly progressive agenda is a "world view" that encompasses legislative initiatives under the one over-arching theme of a "caring society".  The point is that at this juncture of the new bottom line political process its not important to win every legislative battle, but to convince the American people of thinking differently about each other.

In an individually autonomous society that worships the "market place" (current bottom line), ideas like people are pitted against each other for survival. Without a "world view" theme, the "Caring Society", the legislative agenda and the legislative achievements are left to be attacked separately by the political opposition of the current reality(selfish autonomous individualism that worships the market place). If the " Caring Society" theme is accepted by the people, progressive legislation is easier to produce because the individual pieces of legislation are linked together via a theme(Caring Society) rather than having to stand on their own to be attacked as individual pieces of legislation. With a world view of the "caring society", these legislative initiatives  will survive the opposition's current and future attacks. What Lerner is suggesting is to change the perception of reality. This, of course, isn't easy, but Obama and the Dems had the opportunity to start that process and squandered it, thereby, perpetuating the current reality(selfish autonomous individualism).

Lerner's point is that Obama and the Dems didn't provide the necessary over-arching political/spiritual theme to push forward a truly progressive agenda. Consequently, what legislative achievements they have achieve are open to attack form the Repubs, and they are perceived as abandoning their promises for "change we can believe in".  Rabbi Lerner, like many people, is heart sick. For some in the Democrat Party that worked hard for BHO's election, denial is more the case. They refuse to accept that Obama has policies that are almost diametrically opposed to what they understood and what they hoped for and settled for what is rather than what could be.  For them, if Obama was a Republican, they would better understand how his policies appeal to the status-quo.

Rabbi Lerner and the Network of Spiritual Progressives has and is working for popular acceptance of the "Caring Society."

He has relentlessly pursued the Global Marshall Plan(HRes 1016), http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php/gmp_one,

and now the ESRA(the environment and social responsibility amendment), http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php/2010062306243316, which are embodiments of the new bottom line theme "the caring society".

The education done on these projects is substantial and ongoing. Education is the best way to create a foundation for a massive change in the Democratic party or the formation of a new political party based on love and generosity.

Financially, times are difficult for Tikkun Community and the Network of Spiritual Progressives. If you, agree with the objectives of NSP, please consider joining and make a contribution(http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=donaterenew) of money and/or time in order that the necessary work to educate in order to create the "new bottom line of a caring society" can be accomplished. A fringe benefit of joining NSP is a complementary subscription to Tikkun Magazine,http://www.tikkun.org/.

Bruce Fisher