Tell the truth about what we want

# Tell the truth about what we want. I hate to tell what I really want, because I'm afraid you'll laugh, or raise the price. But if I don't say, how am I going to get it?

If I'm ashamed to say it, maybe I know I'd be better off without it.

--If I freak out at the nails place because workers talk to each other in their own languages, I shouldn’t say I don’t mind immigrants as long as they’re “legal”. The fact is, I don’t mind immigrants as long as they look and talk like me.

--If I want to kill someone or run him out of town, I shouldn’t say god damn him. I should be honest enough persecute and kill on my own hook.

--If I’m afraid of lesbian politicians or a state income tax, I should say so, rather than complain that “most people” are too conservative.

I find it takes practice to tell the truth. I hope it will help me think through the reasons behind my wants, and any contradictions. And I want you to know, to see if we have any common ground.


• Track our progress.
After listening to folks describe how they deal with their problems, Dr. Phil asks, So, how’s that working for you?

Partly because we don’t plan much in our daily lives, partly because the results are hard to see, or just plain dismal, we don’t always check to see if we’re heading in the right direction. Normally we think of that kind of evaluation only as it relates to some specific, formal program of action. At least that’s true of many of the folks I know, including me. As mentioned above, though, in fact we are taking action even when we leave decisions up to the authorities, or to some procedure we adopted long ago. And as we bring these hidden decisions to light, we can also consider the results.

Once we’ve clarified our expectations, we’ve got a yardstick to measure our progress. We need to keep track in order to push the discussion beyond business as usual, to check if our strategies for change are working, and to reconsider whether our goals still make sense. At times in the past we’ve stuck to strategies and tactics long past their sell-by date, e.g. business unionism, EPA-centered environmental action, the long campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment. How does that tune go?-- you got to know when to hold and when to fold. This is not to say that we should to change directions at every setback, or reopen the big questions at every meeting. But this change-the-world business requires us to explore uncharted waters; we need every instrument of navigation we can lay hands on.

We need opportunities to ask ourselves, Do I feel that the wars bring us closer to peace? That buying more stuff is making us more secure? Has treating schoolkids as industrial products brought us the results we want? Have our environmental protection campaigns and programs slowed the rates of extinction and climate change? What part do electoral campaigns play in our overall strategies?

Effective movement organizations have strong evaluation and accountability systems, and not just for funders. For the many constituents outside our organizations, how can we help each other build less formal, but just as routine feedback mechanisms? It's very helpful that plenty of watchdog groups publish report cards on various issues. The rest of us also need chances to look at the results of our own decisions and actions. Can we for instance follow up with campaign participants a year or 5 later, to review what we wanted and what we got?