Let's Toast to Ten Good Things About 2006

By Medea Benjamin
Created Dec 29 2006 - 8:59am

As we close this year on the low of a devastating conflict in Iraq and a
President contemplating sending yet more troops to fight and die in an
unwinnable war, let us not forget that it was a year of many positive gains
for the progressive movement. Here are just ten.

1. First, of course, is the November elections, when voters gave Repubicans
an "electoral thumpin'". From California's Jerry McNerney to Ohio's Sherrod
Brown to Minnesota's Keith Ellison--Democrats all over the country won
elections by slamming Bush's war. The collapse of one-party rule in
Washington reflected a spectacular repudiation of George Bush and handed
Congress a mandate to get out of Iraq.

2. Latino communities throughout the United States took center stage in the
spring of 2006, putting May Day back on the map as a day of grassroots
mobilizing. From high school students to union members to community
organizers, the spirit and energy of millions of immigrants demanding to be
treated with dignity and respect took the nation by surprise. Immigrants not
only carved out new political space, but in the age of e-activism, they
breathed new life into the importance of "street heat."

3. After decades of dictating the rules of the global economy, World Trade
Organization talks fell flat on their face in 2006. Activists the world over
celebrated its collapse after years of work to sink this titanic tool of
empire. The work to derail corporate-dominated trade policies is far from
over, with bilateral free trade agreements taking the place of the WTO. But
the WTO and its model of globalization have been exposed as a dismal failure
and opposition continues to grow worldwide.

4. George Bush opened 2006 with a State of the Union Address bemoaning our
"addiction to oil"; 86 prominent Evangelicals called global warming a moral
issue; Al Gore educated millions with his film, An Inconvenient Truth; and
Time magazine declared the Earth is at a tipping point with melting ice,
drought, wind, disease, and fires raging out of control. Historians may one
day look back on 2006 as the "tipping-point" year when human
societies--including the United States as the major superpower and the major
polluter--woke up to the precarious state of our world and decided it was
time to find solutions.

5. As a clear indicator of the shift from debating global warming to doing
something about it, this year California passed the nation's toughest
legislation to curb greenhouse gases. The groundbreaking bill would require
the state to cut back its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020--a
reduction of approximately 25 percent. A smart politico, Republican Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger saw the green writing on the wall and joined the
state's Democrats in setting a new environmental standard for the rest of
the nation to follow.

6. In a year when Enron executives were found guilty of cooking the books,
Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for proving that poor
people can be more reliable money managers than rich ones. Yunus'
"microcredit movement" that started out giving small loans to poor
Bangladeshis, mostly women, mushroomed into a worldwide movement that has
extended small loans to millions of the world's poor. By awarding Yunus the
Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee not only recognized the
credit-worthiness of the poor but acknowledged that poverty is a threat to
peace. As Yunus said in his acceptance speech, "I believe that putting
resources into improving the lives of the poor people is a better strategy
[for combating terrorism] than spending it on guns."

7. While the fighting between Israel and Lebanon left over 1,000 dead,
mostly Lebanese, a ceasefire was achieved after only 34 days. When the
violence threatened to spiral out of control, the United Nations, the Arab
League and individual governments stepped forward to insist on negotiations,
to hammer out a ceasefire agreement and to provide international
peacekeeping forces to serve as monitors. What could have been a prolonged
conflict with devastating consequences for the entire region was halted. The
lessons that SHOULD have been learned when the powerful Israeli military was
unable to "win" the conflict through force are that military aggression will
not solve the deep-seated problems in the region, and that negotiations and
peace processes can work.

8. Speaking of dialogue, Jimmy Carter, with his new book Palestine: Peace
Not Apartheid, took on the greatest taboo in US politics: the gross
violation of Palestinian rights and the unqualified US government support
for the Israeli government. Likening Israel's policies in the Palestinian
territories to the racist white rule in South Africa, Carter has raised a
firestorm of controversy. But finally, FINALLY, someone with the credentials
of a statesman, a peacemaker and a friend of Israel is crying out against
Israel's hellish treatment of Palestinians. The public is embracing his
views: his book quickly became a bestseller and he has been greeted by
enthusiastic crowds at appearances around the country. Hopefully, our
elected officials will start listening as well.

9. In 2006 we managed to stop the next war from starting! With the US bogged
down in Iraq and the public sick of war, it has been impossible for the Bush
administration to launch an attack against another country like Iran or
North Korea. The army doesn't have enough recruits to fight a new war and
the politicians know it would be political suicide to reinstate the draft.
Two major warmongers--Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton--were forced out of
power. And with Bush obligated to appoint a new ambassador to the United
Nations, perhaps diplomacy will come back into fashion.

10. Across Latin America, elections have continued to bring a wave of
progressive leadership to power. With the victories of Daniel Ortega and
Rafael Correa, Nicaragua and Ecuador join Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and
Brazil as governments committed to improving the lives of the majority. As a
sign of the radical changes in the region, Bolivia's Evo Morales marked May
1 by nationalizing the country's oil and gas resources. "After today," he
declared, "the hydrocarbons will belong to all Bolivians. Never again will
they be in the hands of transnational corporations. Today the country--la
patria--stands up."

So here's a toast to nations standing up to greedy transnationals, to people
standing up to leaders who abuse their power, to humanity standing up to
save the planet we inhabit--and to bringing our troops home in 2007!
_______

--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson