Our Schools Suck

It’s Friday in America. Back in the day, Friday was a number one favorite day to skip school, go cruising with friends (who would all skip too, no repercussions), have lunch out, and start a nice long hazy three day weekend.

The American school system is so maligned, we don’t even think of it as a topic of conversation most of the time. Class dictates class; as Nisha Martin, one of our organizers from Milwaukee relates, private schools incentivize education with equipment, materials, and compelling educators.

And if you’re in the public schools, you’re lucky to come out literate. The necessity of teaching to the lowest common denominator means that, if you want to learn, you have to find your own way there.

America is outpaced, education wise, by practically every industrialized country on the planet. What can we do about it? Tell our leaders that it’s time for them to learn.

One leader who might just be willing to listen is Corey Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey. In 2002 he ran against the entrenched incumbent, Sharpe James, and their back and forth battle became a nasty, high school hallway style fight! fight! fight!

Booker lost in 2002, then came back in 2006 and was elected with 70% of the vote. The lesson? If you want something badly enough, you have to be ready to fight for it. Check it out here.

Today’s Artist: Joel Ortiz

We need more artists like Joel Ortiz. Like Will.I.Am and Steve Connell, Ortiz pays his tithe to the populace by putting political passion in his poetry (say it three times fast) and if words are actions, Ortiz is flowing his way to a new democracy.

The most important thing we can learn from activist artists is this: if we’re speaking our truth, the way we see it and the way we live it, then our unique voices are beautiful, and the picture we paint in air, in our ears, is a blueprint for a better world. Ortiz ID’s himself as a hustler for change, and we owe it to the man to ask him to step up with us and march a beat of progressive feats in the streets.

Posted by:

Sam Patton

Environmental Crisis

Things Aren’t As Simple As They Used To Be

The world is changing, and melting ice caps, rising unemployment, and the sickness of our cities and forests are universal and unequivocal symptoms of distress.  We realize that the success or failure of humanity is inextricably tied to the success or failure of Earth.

For some, that is a hard pill to swallow; for others, it has been clear all along.  While the effects of climate change are obvious, the solution is anything but.  Out of the chaos steps Van Jones and his organization Green For All, a dynamic group of activists who offer a compelling plan of action for our country, centered around Green Jobs.

Green Jobs is a concept that is already becoming reality in many major cities across the United States.  By retooling our industrial infrastructure and urban landscapes, we can simultaneously improve our environmental healthiness while also creating new employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Earn a living wage while saving the lives of every plant and animal on Earth…where do we sign up?

Check out Van Jones’ quick intro to Green Jobs and view Green For All’s website here.

Today’s Artist: Steve Connell

“Words are like actions.”  This truth, from Steve Connell’s performance piece titled I Am An American, represents a guiding principle for the crew at the League of Young Voters Education Fund as we created 99problems.org.  Each of us owes the passion and progress of our lives to the words of another, delivered at the right time, unlocking our awareness like a key in a door.

We can not form a community without communication.  We must talk fearlessly about our fears, for only by opening our hearts to one another will we begin to see the diversity of our talents and the commonality of our ideals.  In a world that can seem distressingly cold and suspicious, we must learn to talk, and trust, again.

We must help each other.  As much as we talk, we must learn to listen; to encourage new ideas, and the participation of every person in the great struggle we face to bring humanity into balance with our world once again.

Talk is action.  Silence breeds mistrust, and mistrust breeds destruction.  We were born to connect and rejoice in the wonder of our minds, the power of our thoughts combined.  We must unlearn our habits of isolation, and recognize our natural community once more.

Posted by:

Sam Patton

The 1st Problem: We Got a Whole Lotta Problems

Luckily, We’re Ready

Today is the first day of Barack Obama’s administration, and it’s time for us to get to work.  Barack Obama won the world’s trust with his inspiring speech yesterday, but it is up to all of us, citizens of America, to strive to embody the ideals that reside behind his words.

The crew at 99problems.org hit the streets of D.C. for the Inauguration, interviewing activists and tourists alike, all of whom had something insightful to say about Obama’s next steps.  We captured it on film, and we told them they were testifying; as the world watches, we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and start the hard work of fixing this country.

To that end, we’d like to introduce you to Generation WE.  They’re our Action for the day, and there couldn’t be a better kickoff than the awesome video they’ve put together.

Check ‘em out and let us know what you think.

Today’s Artist: Will.I.Am

Will.I.Am alerted us to his political passion with his breakthrough video, Yes We Can.  Since then he has repeatedly used his celebrity status to highlight social injustice and a need for sweeping change.  Will.I.Am is an earnest supporter of President Obama, and we hope that he will continue to inspire young artists to turn their talents and minds to the work of bringing beauty to social healing.

Posted by:

Sam Patton