From where I sit, the seeds of the shift Joe suggests may be found largely in the traditional conservative roots of this nation: libertarianism, non-interventionism, conservation, community identity. From the traditional (pre-Marxist) Left, we might add the teachings of Jesus, which are both part of the fabric of our culture and (as taught) arguably the most peaceful of religions.

(”Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” Luke 6:41-42)

The differences between the Left and the Right on this issue are not because the left (or the Democrats) are weak or cowardly, but because there is no substantial difference once you believe that you have the right to intervene to change history or to rescue people. It will look somewhat different at the margins, but the logical incoherence we see is because neither Left nor Right truly disagree with the concept of American intervention around the world.

I don’t have any magic answers. If Americans could see themselves as other nations do and witness their own heavy-handedness, maybe, but Americans have been so self-congratulatory for so long that no one can image a different reality where we do not go forth looking for dragons to slay. American would have to move beyond its adolescent self-indulgance toward something that approaches political maturity. I don’t see that happening anytime soon since it’s a LOT more fun to believe oneself to be invincible and of spotless morality.

The mainstream hasn’t acted, thus environmentalists wait for something bad to happen in order to force the needed action.

We need a better action plan than that. We need, to put it in 4gw terms, a compelling story that makes people want to join us and to take action now.

Ditto for the antiwar movement.

As to the global warming movement, I think Bob is right: environmentalists have been warning us for decades, but (like the Left) have failed to engage people in the kind of grassroots face-to-face contact that changes things.

The Right has been out there organizing, adjusting its message as it learns what works and what doesn’t. The Left and the environmentalists have largely been content to preach to themselves and the already-converted– and bewail the fact that everyone else ignores them.

So, are you ready to adopt some new methods?

This is an absolutely unfair statement. Environmentalists have been talking and advocating on global warming and associated issues for 40 years. Earth Day started in 1970. It’s not environmentalists who have been waiting for calamity to strike, but society (and, more particularly, the capitalists and their media) who haven’t responded or taken serious notice until the crisis was imminent.

We need to see beyond the windshield.

“Going to hell in a handbasket implies momentum (physics is everything). Momentum, implies an ability to anticipate where the wheels are going once they’ve come off. We who would see our grandchildren survive need to recognize that in it’s current state we are a failed state, with the “Left” and the “Right” members of the same party, The One Party: The Corporation, pursuing common cause - obstruction. And upon that recognition realize it is not only in our own best interests but our responsibility to either collectively or individually take matters into our own hands.

Belief in doctrine does not promote democracy, since the People are driven not by doctrine but by pragmatics. If one believes in democracy (which is a system and not a doctrine), one must put doctrine second. From what I’ve read, Ho Chi Minh understood this: he was a communist, but believed first in democratic nationalism.

Marx was a German, Lenin a Russian, and Mao Chinese. None of them are welcome in most American living rooms. But most Americans have at least a passing acquaintance with, and many identify with, the world’s first communist and practitioner of peaceful protest: Jesus of Nazareth. If you want to quote doctrine and get heard, quote His.

The antiwar movement of the 1960s was ultimately effective in ending one war abroad, but it was also combative. The divisions sown by that internal conflict remain as open wounds in this country forty years later. I’m amazed that the U.S. peace movement continues to use tactics of conflict to try to achieve its goals.

There is a better way: the path of inclusiveness that sees conflict and combativeness as the enemy, and invites those with opposing views to join in. I’ve discussed this path at some length. In Sri Lanka, it laid the groundwork for the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement. And though we dropped the ball by failing to continue our efforts, I can say in good conscience that we’ve seen it work. Important contributions to this method have been made by (among many others) Mohandas Gandhi, A. T, Ariyaratne, and Sharif Abdullah– the writings of all of whom are widely available.