From time to time I get an email from an unhappy member of the Coalition for a Better Oakland. Their complaint is that we offer plenty of griping, but are deficient in solutions. Every once in a while, these people actually unsubscribe to CBO.
It always pains me when this happens—which, fortunately, is not too often. I take these recriminations seriously. Whenever someone says, “Do something!” I wrack my brains to figure out what. So today I want to offer some thoughts on this topic.
First, there’s not a whole lot CBO can do on any given day. We can urge you to call in to a City Council meeting, but on the occasions we’ve done so, the response has not been overwhelming. We can call for an in-person meeting, as we did earlier this summer, and while it was pleasant meeting everyone, not a whole lot was accomplished. We can call for a public demonstration, but how many would show up? Believe me, all these things go through my mind, almost every day.
But there is one thing we can do every day that’s important, and that is to use social media to rally and inspire our troops. Jack Saunders does that on Facebook (or he tries to, if they don’t censor his content). I do that here on the blog. I admit that my daily musings aren’t going to change Oakland overnight. But I firmly believe that this blog has a vital role to play in the politics of our town.
I believe it because of the comments readers make to me. People thank me for speaking up. The thing I hear over and over again is that I say things that people think privately but are reluctant to voice aloud. I acknowledge that and it is, in fact, something I take extremely seriously. To be a voice for the voiceless—what a blessing! To speak for the people, who might otherwise feel isolated, and to give them the comfort of knowing that they’re not alone, that someone else—indeed, an entire organization stands shoulder to shoulder with them, in these times of crisis for Oakland. What a great thing to do!
My readers are just about the first thing in my mind when I wake up each morning and begin planning the day’s post. What is the topic? How can I encourage them to keep on keeping on? How can I let people know that I care, that CBO cares, that we are in fact an army of believers who know that Oakland’s problems can be fixed. The question of “How?” isn’t so much the point. The issue that must precede “How?” is for us to organize into a strong, coherent organization, with members motivated by the knowledge that we are in the right and that our cause is just. Without that foundation, nothing we do will have any foundation.
So to those of you who say we’re not doing enough, I can only say that I understand. But building a movement is a slow process. It’s built person by person, thought by thought, word by word. And one more thing: I will be calling on each of you to “do something” in the near future. I think we’re very close to being able to announce a City Council candidate in District 2 to run against Nikki Bas. I’ll be asking you to get involved in that process. Details to follow.
Thank you for being a member of the Coalition for a Better Oakland. Stick with us. Believe!
Steve Heimoff