It's Friday, you can't wait for work or classes to be done, to come home for the weekend to rest, be with family, and perhaps take a reprieve from the onslaught of bad news barraging us every day from the gulf, the melting glaciers around the world, the inaction at the international climate negotiations.  I wanted to share a few quotes and a video that help me stay motivated, positive, and ready to get to work as an activist every day.

In my inbox today, I rediscovered this video from spoken word poet Drew Dellinger entitled, "Planetize the Movement".  The title comes from a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. urging the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s that the next step must be to "planetize the movement for social justice" and hauntingly asks the question, from the perspective of future generations, "what did you do while the planet was plundered,… what did you do, once you knew?"

We believe that it's important to do something, once you know.  To take action, to organize, to convince your whole family this is the most important fight for humanity right now – not just because we need action, but because the work itself and the community it creates can sustain us.  Every day we get messages from people wondering if they can make a difference, if all these actions will really add up to stop climate change.  I understand the sentiment, and the importance of strategizing – but we simply can't know now if we'll be successful and thus we can't let our fear of ineffectiveness paralyze us.  Here are a few quotes I like on the subject:

"Cynicism is a form of fear.  You’ve got to have personal courage – among other things, the courage to believe that your actions will make a difference, even if you cannot see or measure that difference, even if that difference does not come to fruition in your own lifetime." (- Nicco Mele)

Here's a similar one from a recent interview with Bill McKibben:

"Do you believe humans will rise to the occasion and save the planet?"

Bill: …"I’ve given up trying to figure out if I’m optimistic or pessimistic. I just get up in the morning and go to work. The fact that I go to work alongside millions of other 350 activists in virtually every country on Earth — that makes me willing to keep fighting hard."

Thanks to this planetized 350 movement for keeping us all inspired to get to work!  Here's the final one that I think is particularly fun (also from Nicco Mele): "Go ahead, be cynical and let fear rule your life.  I’ve got (stuff) to do, worlds to change, and it’s fun, so I’ll see you later." 

I think this applies to all the 350 organizers out there – thanks for sticking with this movement, and can't wait to see all the action on 10/10/10!