“What was successful about ELDERS STANDING FOR DEMOCRACY SPRING”
We actualized “Elder-Activists” – with older folks coming together as both ELDERS and as ACTIVISTS!

We raised up the values that we hold:

• Caring for future generations
• Standing in the public square
• Protecting "our investment" -- the future of the children that we raised
  
• Given voice to our wisdom and years of life experience
• Being seen as elders – rather than just someone growing older
• Creating a legacy that we can be proud of.

We organized, meeting weekly for several months; got to know each other, as we marched and stood together; and,  inspired one another with our actions, commitment and ideas.

We are continuing to meet – discerning what our next steps might be; and how we can best work together.  Why?  Because as Sally said, "I want to reiterate how important it is to be included... and, there is so much to learn from the wisdom of the other elders."

Our next meeting – of ELDERS STANDING FOR DEMOCRACY SPRING (ESDS) – will be Thursday, May 12th, 12 noon, E.T.  Call in number:  641.715.3298, 220031#.  Anybody is welcome to join us.

….was the message as 1300 people got arrested this past week in Washington, in the largest act of civil disobedience since the Vietnam protests.
 
I spent 5 of the past 8 days in Washington, as part of the Democracy Spring and Democracy Awakening campaigns, marching, chanting, talking, singing and getting arrested twice.  The energy, power and spirit of the thousands of people was palpable; demanding Congressional reforms to get Big Money out of the political process and restore voting rights.  Money OUT -- Voters IN.

ELDERS STANDING FOR DEMOCRACY SPRING was exhilarating.  As Elders we took a stand to say that we care.   We care about our country, our children -- our future.  And as elders we know that the "our" is not an individual but a collective "our,” recognizing the interconnected web of all life.
 
I was inspired by the words of Sandra Steingraber who said, "I love my children more than those corporate types love their money."
 
And, by Jim Hightower who invited us to “stop wringing our hands and join hands!”  And, “those who say it can’t be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

“We the people” rose up and became the most promising aspect of ELDERS STANDING FOR DEMOCRACY SPRING as we gathered this past Tuesday, April 12th, in Washington, DC. 
 
I expected that there would be many passionate elders present since I had spoken with dozens over the past few months and listened to their stories – including that of my friend Chris who said, “I want my vote to count the same as every other vote, not less than those with lots of money.”
 
“Not Dead Yet”
Many elders marched with pictures of their grandchildren.  One wrote, “I’m doing this for LOVE.”  Dana Kelly was holding a sign that read. "I'm not dead yet. I care deeply. I vote."  "All this happened on my watch," Kelley said when asked why she made the trip. "I'm thinking about my children and what kind of world I'm going to leave them."
 
I expected the elders who gathered to be smart and caring -- but what really impressed me was the younger folks who organized this campaign. 
 
What brings me hope are the organizers, the processes and the principles of this campaign.

I am reprinting this blog by Alan Johnson – who offers an excellent analysis of how privilege is both ubiquitous and unearned within our white culture.  My hope is that these writings will help us see “with new eyes” what is true about our system of privilege, so that we can create a more just society for all….   Lynne

The concept of privilege refers to any advantage that is unearned, exclusive, and socially conferred. For example, white people are generally assumed to be law-abiding until they show some sign that they are not, while people of color are routinely assumed to be criminals or potential criminals until they show they’re not. One way to see this is through a survey in which respondents were asked to close their eyes and picture a drug dealer. When asked to describe what they saw, almost 95 percent mentioned a black person, even though the vast majority of drug dealers in the U.S. are white.

So, when it comes to being randomly stopped and frisked by police, anyone identified as ‘white’ has an advantage they did not earn and that is exclusive to whites. It is socially conferred in the sense that it depends on them being perceived in a particular way by the police—as ‘white’—before the advantage is given to them in the form of the assumption that they are not criminals.

It’s important to note that privilege does not guarantee good outcomes for the privileged group or bad outcomes for everyone else. A white person, for example, can work hard and have little to show for it, can be mistreated by the police without cause, be denied a job they’re qualified for. What privilege does is load the odds one way or the other so that the chance of bad things happening to white people as a category of people is much lower than for everyone else, and the chance of good things happening is much higher. Privilege is not something a person can have, like a possession, as in “Where’s mine?”  Instead, it is a characteristic of the social system—like a rule in a game—in which everyone participates.