Green Thoughts
by Brittany Turner, NPGP member
As I write this, I am preparing to travel to Chicago where I will be
serving as a delegate to the Green Party Presidential Nominating
Convention. As a registered Green and former state committee member, this is an extremely exciting opportunity. As an individual completely disgusted with politics at the national level, it is both inspiring and frustrating.
The Green Party has more renown in New Paltz than many other areas in the country. While there is national awareness of the party thanks to
Ralph Nader’s perennial presidential candidacy and occasional Green
Party endorsement, New Paltzians are in the unique position to have
voted for numerous Green candidates throughout the years. Regardless
of these experiences, many misconceptions persist about the party, our
members and our candidates. Individuals often decry the party for
being focused solely on gay marriage, environmental issues or the
statehood of Israel. These are all planks in our platform but my
enrollment in the party is the result of a broader spectrum for
progressive politics.
Upon hearing of my enrollment, I am generally confronted with one of
three comments. “How could you be a Green after what Nader has done to our country?”, “But you don’t look like a Green!”, and, increasingly,
“Why not just register as a Democrat and help make real change?”
The Nader issue, while subsiding in recent years, tends to be the
question infused with the most hostility and discomfort. It is
important to note that Nader has never been a registered Green and his
candidacy has received mixed support from Greens more often than not.
I continue to be supportive of Nader’s efforts, although I will be
supporting Cynthia McKinney, the likely Green candidate, in the 2008
presidential election. Many of Nader’s values are in line with my
beliefs, however his reluctance to register as a member of the party
does little to strengthen our movement as a whole and I see no value
in supporting someone who does little to support us in return. I have
no patience for arguments about Nader as a spoiler or egomaniac; those who resort to the spoiler argument have no understanding of either the specifics of the 2000 and 2004 elections nor do they understand the fundamental principles of our democracy. As for individuals claiming Nader’s candidacy is more self-serving than altruistic, I challenge them to identify any candidate, especially at the national level, who could not also be shunned under the same allegations.
Many individuals are shocked when they learn of my enrollment. It has
become amusing to engage in conversation with the many progressive
Democrats I encounter, who are amazed when I announce halfway through that I am not a Democrat. The immediate assumption is that I am, in fact, a Republican until I clarify my Green loyalties. I am not
ashamed about my lackluster commitment to environmental issues or my self-labeling as a “Social Green.” The Green Party, to me, is much
broader than the many single-issue third parties and I came to this
party for a number of reasons. The ten key values, combined with its
positions on a variety of specific social, environmental and economic
issues, make the Green Party the right choice for me. The Green Party
platform, even with its many imperfections and omissions, is the
closest match I have found to my personal values system, with plans
and policies to implement reforms at all levels of government. Perhaps
most importantly, the Green Party doesn’t question my allegiance
simply because my tolerance for nature is only part-time or because
I’m a sorority girl, rabid consumer and occasional major party
sympathizer. There is room to find my own niche within the party,
embracing the values that I already hold while pushing the party to
incorporate other ideas from my personal political ideology. My party
never asks me to change who I am or what I believe. It does, however,
require that I think.
As my political involvement in Ulster County deepens, my motivation
for participating is constantly questioned with the expectation that
someday, I’ll come to my senses and register as a Democrat. After all,
if I truly want to support what is right, let alone run for office at
some point in the future, not only is it the responsible choice but it
is allegedly the only choice. What this argument fails to consider is
that many of my beliefs will never find a voice within the Democratic
or Republican parties, even at a local level. It also fails to
recognize that I cannot care only about the issue of the moment. My
politics are comprehensive and intertwined and I refuse to sacrifice
the advancement of all for the sake of one or two. My party is me and
I am my party; there is room for change and the concept of party unity
for the sake of public perception is entirely foreign. The Greens
promote discourse, a critical and necessary element for growth and
something that the two major parties seem to regard with equal
disdain. Our platform is never stagnant. Changes and revisions occur
constantly, thereby strengthening the party and expanding our
diversity. While some within my party may deny my voice, I am just as
likely to find others who share the same views. I am also guaranteed
an opportunity to at least be heard and treated with respect,
compassion and understanding. This is simply not the case with the
major parties, where even party leaders are ostracized whenever their
lock-step falters. This is the quintessential problem with politics
for the sake of power versus politics for the sake of people. If
anything is irresponsible, it is this misguided logic that the major
parties have come to embrace and extol.
I will proudly attend the Green Party nominating convention in Chicago
this weekend. Not because I see opportunities for personal advancement or believe that a Green will win the presidency but because the Green Party is, for me, as close as one can get to truth and justice in an amnesiac society who has no recollection that, in democracy, there’s no such thing as spoils.
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