Regarding Energy and the Environment, The Worm Turns

American history contains a few examples of “the worm turning” (** see below) i.e., cases in which a downtrodden group successfully defeated the source of their oppression and changed the course of oppression accordingly. The most obvious, of course, was the American Revolution itself, but one should also consider the Emancipation, women’s suffrage, and the Civil Rights Act. I also include the end of the war in Vietnam, which, according to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (pictured), came about simply as a result of the enormous upwelling of popular support for the anti-war movement of the day. “If it weren’t for the opposition to war from the common American,” Kissinger said recently, “we’d still be there.”  (emphasis mine)

I believe we are living through yet another example of the proverbial turning of the worm, and that is the rebellion against the hugely powerful vested interests that are indifferent (at best) to the well-being of life on planet Earth. If you think this may be a stretch, I invite you to check out the numerous extremely popular writings that expose the Koch Brothers and their (to date quite successful) attempts to buy the U.S. federal government—at the parts of it that are relevant to their personal fortunes and to the political ideals that support their further enrichment. Check out this piece in Rolling Stone, or just Google “Koch Brothers Exposed” and read a few of the 314,000 web pages that discuss the much-admired film documentary of that name.

At the same time, realize that the ever-swelling public enmity toward Charles and David Koch is just one of hundreds of ways that Americans are steaming ahead in their quest to wrest their democracy from the hands of the powerful interests that, in recent years, have all but nullified the voice that common people formerly enjoyed in the way they were governed.

Most obvious here is the effort to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision that provided corporations the right to spend as much money as they wish to influence our elections. The effort to rid ourselves of Citizens United isn’t limited to a few left-wing activists; it’s a movement that carries huge public support from all political persuasions, and, according to objectively measurable data, it’s growing stronger with each passing month. As I wrote here:

No one around here seems to be giving up, if only because the U.S. is actually fairly close to passing a measure that will put a spear through Citizens United. (A reader) also notes: “In Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana and Florida, citizens voted overwhelmingly yesterday for their legislators to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling.”

It’s true, and it’s equally so in both “red” and “blue” states. As I quoted last year, Montana voters also supported Initiative I-166, which endorsed a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, by a 74.8 percent margin. In Colorado, voters endorsed a similar ballot initiative, Proposition 65, with 73.8 percent of the vote. Voters in more than 120 cities and towns in Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Massachusetts and California passed similar measures. Public opinion polls show that Americans overwhelmingly oppose Citizens United and believe that corporations, and corporate money, have too much influence in politics.

There is always reason for hope, not because good is bound to prevail over evil, but simply because there will always be people who never give up fighting for what’s right. If you’re looking for a pithy way to express that, here’s journalist Chris Hedges (pictured right): “I don’t fight fascists because I think I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists.”

Those who think the worm won’t turn once more are in the process of losing their bets.

** The popular English phrase “the worm turns” comes from Shakespeare’s Henry VI Part III: “To whom do lions cast their gentle looks? Not to the beast that would usurp their den. The smallest worm will turn being trodden on, And doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.”