As I was writing this list I pretty much had already decided how I was going to accomplish this one.
Ralph Nader. Author of Unsafe At Any Speed. The quintessential third-party candidate. One of America's most prominent modern radical thinkers, and one of the greatest wedge-candidates to ever grace the stage of the Kabuki that is American politics.
I am fascinated with politics on pretty much every level. As the product of a fairly rigid, strict parochial all-boys high school I have come to inspect figures of authority with a very critical eye, and have a pretty drastic case of Stickittothemaniosis. I still have my political biases but these days, especially as I get closer to receiving my degree in Social Studies Education, I see more of the hypocrisy and folly that exists on both sides of the aisle. Do politicians deceive and manipulate? Absolutely. But paying attention to politics is still important because it still effects our lives as American citizens in profound and far-reaching ways. It still determines, as they say, "who gets what, when, and how".
Of all the places to see him speak, UVA seemed perfect, since UVA has a considerable surplus of people, particularly politically-minded people, who believe that they are always right and can't wait to tell you why. There were bound to be crazies, and they were bound to bring drama. And from the political perspective Ralph Nader's story is fascinating; being both shunned by the right for his opinions and by the left for the conclusion that his candidacy was what kept Al Gore from winning the Presidency in 2000.
Imagine living with that every day. The guy who introduced him when I went to see him speak at the Newcomb Ballroom rushed to dismiss that opinion as a myth. I don't know enough to agree or disagree. Nothing in American politics is probably that cut-and-dry.
As I took my seat I made sure to pay attention to the atmosphere. There were smiling dudes up front with huge beards who looked like they knew a guy. There were scowling dudes in the back in polos who looked like they knew a good lawyer. Everyone organized themselves accordingly and enjoyed the musical stylings of "Trees On Fire", a local band.
Ralph Nader was introduced by a professor as "An advocate for consumers, the environment, and good government", and after a sufficient review of Nader's merits, the professor conceded and Nader took the stage.
He opened with two quotes. The first was from a former professor of his: "A lecture is to the intellect what a massage is to exercise". The second was a Chinese proverb, which I actually like a lot: "To know and not to do is to not know".
The title for the lecture was "Megawatts, Negatwatts, and You", and as one might expect the central topic was energy policy. As one might also expect, there were many digressions made, most being criticism of the "corporatization" of America. I didn't mind this too much because I feel like you can't talk about energy policy, especially fundamentally changing energy policy, without discussing corporate influence, lobbyists, legislation, political action committees, etc.
Not everyone was as satisfied with these digressions, though. One young man, a fine representative from UVA's politico scene, stood up about a third of the way through the lecture and said "I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT ENERGY POLICY"
Nader invited him to "open (his) mind" and "be patient".
Nader spent a lot of the lecture celebrating the power, exhilaration, and importance of civic participation. Among his more notable points, he argued that as part-owners of the government's public utilities and works, we should also be "part-controller". He pointed out that "anything that changes concerning justice is started by people with high self-respect who expect more out of their lot in life". he made the point, concerning energy sources, that amidst our troubles with oil and nuclear power that "the sun keeps shining down and the winds keep blowing."
He finished by stressing that if we want to take power out of the hands of energy corporations, we need to return to the practice of "community economics". Farmer's markets. Local businesses. And I will say I agree. It is, undoubtedly, the biggest way in which we as a country can immediately transform our energy policy. If demand and supply both aim at the local markets, then it would seem rational to conclude that a more efficient system follows; one which consumes less resources and, in turn, is better for the planet and for promoting local business and the quilt of diverse cultures which makes this country so innovative and exciting to be a part of.
All in all, I'm really glad I attended. this is exactly why you come to college. I am right on the edge of new ideas and revolutions, and that won't always be the case.
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