Spotlighted under a banner that read “Money is Not Democracy,” Ralph Nader told a near-capacity McDonald Theatre crowd Thursday night that citizens should “refuse to grow up corporate,” and educate themselves about the growing disparity between rich and poor caused by corporate control.
“We grow up so corporate that we don’t even know what we own,” Nader said in reference to the American public’s legal ownership of airwaves. “We’re allowing these national broadcast stations to be rent-free tenants on the public airwaves.”
He emphasized throughout his Thursday speech that corporations “control the many” because “they have greed as an organizing factor,” and said that only grassroots political movements can “return the power in this country to its citizens.
“It really comes down to a few people getting the ball rolling,” he said. “It starts with a sense of civic self-respect and empowerment.”
Nader, a self-proclaimed public citizen, warned American citizens earlier in the day at a press conference to be wary of three political groups: “Autocratic idealites led by (Attorney General) John Ashcroft,” commercial militarists and arms dealers “repeatedly condemned by retired admirals and generals,” and “corporations that hardly waited for the dust to settle from the massacres” of Sept. 11 before approaching Congress to request “financial bailouts.”
He said that the efforts of these groups have resulted in the “misallocation of billions of American dollars” and created a “massive distortion of our democratic priorities.”
Nader was, as expected, highly critical of the Bush Administration’s handling of the events following Sept. 11. He said he is tired of the Bush Administration “using the American flag as a gag on American citizens,” and said, “We shouldn’t let the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and corporate executives take the flag from us.
“We have to have discussions and debates, but instead we’re being told to shut up and get in line,” he said.
He criticized the administration’s labeling of the efforts in Afghanistan as a war, and said that, “If it is a war, why didn’t the Senate declare it one?” He also asked why they didn’t seek approval and aid from the United Nations before proceeding.
The answer, he said, was that the Bush Administration “did not want any restrictions, as befits a West Texas sheriff.”
Nader’s candor didn’t carry over to a question on many people’s minds, however.
“It’s too early to tell” whether he’ll run for president in 2004, he said.
Nader said he is pleased that the Green Party continues to grow, but also said the party’s growth is “slower than I would like.”
Green Party members across the country have credited the much of the party’s recent growth to Nader’s joining. Dean Myerson, the party’s political coordinator, said Nader “took the grassroots foundation we laid and expanded them nationwide.
“He brought enormous visibility and credibility,” Myerson said.
Sarah Charlesworth, a spokeswoman for the Pacific Green Party, said since Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign, Lane County has gone from less than 100 registered Green Party members to almost 2,000.
Oregon had the second highest percentage of Nader voters in the country in 2000, behind only Michigan, and in 1996 had the highest percentage in the country.
Nader said he has long admired Oregonians.
“When I was growing up in Connecticut, I was always impressed by how many reforms started in Oregon,” he said.
Geoff Hoffa, the UO Cultural Forum contemporary issues coordinator, said Nader’s visit should demonstrate that political alternatives continue to exist and proliferate.
“A lot of Eugeneans are disillusioned and discontent with the current system, and looking for alternate political heroes,” he said. “Nader could be that person.”
The Cultural Forum and organizers of this weekend’s Public Interest and Environmental Law Conference jointly invited Nader to speak Thursday and then give a keynote address at the law conference.
Nader is touring to promote his new book, “Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for President,” and will have a book signing from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. today in the EMU. Nader will also give a keynote address Friday at noon in the EMU for the Environmental Law Conference.