Dear Editor:
The political scandals rocking Hudson County ought to make us pause, on a deeper level, to reflect on the systemic corruption that plagues the entire American political system. To run for office at any level as a Democrat or Republican (the two de facto political parties) one must either be independently wealthy, or kow tow to corporate donors who—if you fail to do their bidding—will cut you off in your next campaign.
Warren Beatty’s fictional Bullworth—a U.S. Senator who, after he sees the light in an all black church, suddenly starts to speak the truth (mostly through rapping)—nailed it when he unscrewed his whisky flask, during a televised debate with his flummoxed opponent, and proposed a toast to “the club”: the country club that rules US politics. Bullworth (1998) was a brave film, a work of art you’d expect from Beatty though; who, after the death of Paul Newman, holds down the fort as the last liberal giant from his generation of Hollywood stars. Sadly, though, truth-sparkling gems like Bullworth (which Amira Baraka, still telling it like it is in Newark, had a cameo in) are an oddity in mainstream American culture. Amidst the flotsam and jetsam of blockbuster films and reality shows and MTV, where are the images of ethical political life young people might be exposed to today: including Hudson County politicians? Or is life imitating The Sopranos? Here are three deeply ethical NYC-based political groups I belong to which might, with a little luck, be replicated on the Jersey side of the river.
1. Politics for a Human Community: The name pretty much says it all. It combines a classic Left critique of capitalism’s inequitable distribution of wealth, with a concern for the selfishness and greed that lead to personal isolation and an erosion of community spirit. We meet at the Moonstruck West diner in Chelsea; a different kind of diner meeting than the ones you’ve been reading about!
2. The Network of Spiritual Progressives: Founded by theologian Michael Lerner, we seek to change America’s bottom-line to value not only the expansion of money and power, but love and kindness and caring; in addition to a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty of the natural world.
3. The Village Independent Democrats: A vibrant, vital progressive Democratic Club that tackles local, national, and international issues. Founded in 1957 to elect Adlai Stevenson for president, most famously they put the kibosh on downtown New York’s last vestige of Tammany Hall in the 1960s: the infamous De Sappio machine.
You might also check out Reverend Billy’s historic Green Party candidacy for mayor of NYC, and support Stanley Aronowitz’s project to create a new Progressive formation in the United States; that would, among other things, put leftward pressure on the Democrats. Remember, the Rockefellers backed FDR at the last minute only to stave off a potential Revolution.
I’d be happy to continue this dialogue at jfbredin@hotmail.com.
John Bredin
Teacher, writer, activist