"We need to become agitators," says Norman Solomon, Marin County activist and co-creator of the Green New Deal for the North Bay.

"It's the agitator that gets the dirt out in the washing machine," he explains, borrowing an analogy from Jim Hightower. Solomon sees the wash cycle as a good behavior model for those of us who avoid political activism in favor of safe and lazy pondering over how much trouble the world is in right now. It's such a hassle to get involved with strangers and go to meetings. Can't we just whine to our friends about corporate greed and corruption in the comfort of our own homes?

We can, at high cost.

"So much is at stake for future generations and for the planet," declares Solomon, "that we need to be willing to organize as if our lives and the lives of those close to us depended on it." For Solomon, this means that as individuals and as communities we need to get more serious about our involvement with one another and with things we care about. "Getting involved is essential," says Solomon. "There's that saying, 'I'm not into politics.' I say, 'But politics is into you.' When you turn on the tap for a drink of water, that's politics."

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/12/03-5