‘Third Act’ connects activist elders with 350 Eugene, ACES campaigns

Presenter: Neil Penn talks about the origin of the group Third Act, and why its Eugene members will be participating in the No Kings protest  June 14 alongside 350 Eugene.

Neil Penn (Third Act, Eugene): Bill McKibben, who is probably the foremost environmentalist in the country, he started the organization 350.org; 350 is the flagship organization. And then after a while, Third Act was the carve-out.

[00:00:30] It made sense that persons 60 or over probably have more time on their hands so they could go to county commission meetings, lobbying days, and because a large component of both organizations is the ‘Move the Money’ campaigns, which is to say, most people, you know, they’re not aware that when they put money in certain financial institutions, it’s going to fund coal or petroleum.

[00:01:04] So by creating resources to move this from a major predator like Wells Fargo Bank to a community credit union, people have a way of taking the resources they need in order to stay stable and use it in benevolent manners.

Persons 60 and over, because they have equity on their homes and retirements, tend to have more financial resources, therefore, based on our mission statement inviting them to take the particularity of move, defund these irresponsible predatory petroleum companies and fund things like building affordable housing and alternative energy and things that actually do good for people.

[00:02:08] Among the specifics that the Third Act does is we have a monthly meeting, Third Act Eugene, the last Thursday of the month coming up will be June 26. We have our monthly meeting at the Da Ra Cafe, located at 565 Country Club Road in Eugene.

[00:02:32] From 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., we have a chance to break bread together and get to know each other. At 6:30 p.m., we have our monthly meeting. At the meeting, anyone who’s new will get a quick update from our three committees, and if they’re so inclined, they can then join one of those three committees that meet between the monthly meetings.

[00:02:59] There’s ‘Climate Finance’ to move the money and our ‘Citizens Action Advocacy’ team deals with legislation and lobbying.

[00:03:09] The ‘Democracy and Voting,’ some of the things we’ve been doing for quite a while is doing postcarding through either SwingLeft or ActivateAmerica to basically reach out to likely progressive or environmentally sympathetic voters who need a little bit of an encouragement.

[00:03:33] We’ve also attended the three rallies that have occurred and will occur in the Eugene area, starting with the ‘Hands Off’ rally, the May Day rally, and on June 14, the ‘No Kings Day’ rally.

[00:03:52] On May 7, members of our coalition—including 350 and Divest Oregon—went to Salem, spoke to 52 legislators about the Climate Resilience Fund. Patty (Hine, 350 Eugene) had mentioned the forest. There was also the solar project which is going to be a pilot project demonstrating on all levels from environmentally responsible, fiscally sound and creating good jobs in the area.

[00:04:27] 350 was the starting organization. The working relationship between 350.org and Third Act is: We’re first cousins. We do outreach and education. We’ve had tables at all the rallies mentioned.

[00:04:44] We’ve also involved in coalition building, so far with 350 and Divest Oregon. What I’m hoping to do is over time create a regular meeting between the leadership of the environmental groups in the area so the right hand knows what the left hand’s doing and if there’s going to be a lobbying day, we all get out there.

[00:05:11] We know this works, because what was it, about a year and a half ago with the Coal Act, all hands were on deck, and we successfully persuaded our open-minded legislators to divest over $1 billion (with a B) in dirty coal and invest it in state funds and responsible investments.

[00:05:36] And in terms of building power, it’s a two-step dance, both critiquing the illegitimacy and the corruption and simultaneously promoting the kind of inclusive society we wish to build. Therefore, whether you’re an environmentalist, whether you’re a voting rights advocate, whether you’re an anti-racist, these are all fingers on the same hand.

[00:06:06] And it has to do with the same corrupt, deep structural thing that rewards persons with ill-gotten gains to use their money to have persuasion in politics.

[00:06:23] What we all agree on (and this has been going on for at least 20 years)—the need for campaign finance reform so it’s a level playing field—where all candidates get the same amount of money, the same amount of speaking time and on radio and television, and the voters, the last time I checked, we are a democracy and get to make decisions rather than, case example, in places like Kentucky.

[00:06:59] Mitch McConnell clearly does not represent the concerns of families that are struggling to get by and that are being impacted by unregulated coal mining and other fracking and other extractive industries.

[00:07:21] So, therefore, there is an integration between democracy (with a small ‘d’) and 101 variations that have to do with public interest and feeling that all people have innate worth and value and therefore should be given a level playing field and opportunity.

[00:07:46] One of the most important things in terms of challenging corruption and bullying in governments is creating events where people feel their concerns are being articulated and it moves from being an isolated individual to feeling one is part of a larger group of like-minded individuals.

[00:08:14] Therefore, in addition to creating this event, we’re also going to give people the opportunity to provide us with their contact information so that when other events come up:  The greatest antidote for depression is a sense of engagement and the ability to act on your values.

One of the most sobering political statements ever made was by Stephen Biko, a martyr of the apartheid struggle, who stated clearly: ‘The most powerful weapon in the hands of the oppressor are the minds of the oppressed.’ The antidote for that is nonviolent civil disobedience in a collective and sustained nature.

[00:09:11] In addition to that, Third Act Eugene is nested as part of Third Act Oregon, which works in concert with Divest Oregon and other leading groups that provide legislation, recommendations, and policies.

[00:09:31] And if you go to the website, you will get our action hub. You will learn about legislation. You will learn about upcoming meetings and webinars and other related information. We are doing our best to make this available to anybody who’s saying, ‘I’m concerned, but I want to become informed and I want to ground this in specific proactive actions.’

[00:10:02] An example of that is at the ‘No Kings’ rally, we are addressing genocide in Gaza, both a Palestinian activist on campus and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace to model both persons who are more directly affected are the legitimate person to describe the situation, and people of decency become allies, which again, throwing that in, the majority of Jewish Americans oppose what’s going on in Gaza, both for decency reasons that are widespread and also because the policies of the Israeli government are in deep violation of everything I understand as a fairly observant Jewish psychotherapist.

[00:11:02] ‘No Kings’ is dealing with illegitimate foreign wars, such as U.S. being an enabler of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. On humanitarian grounds, there is widespread outrage about it—credible organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and various U.N. agencies.

[00:11:31] In addition to that, my understanding of Jewish social and ethical beliefs as a fairly observant and well-informed Jewish American, what Israel’s doing is in shocking violation of the values of our tradition. As such, when Trump tries to disingenuously claim criticism of Israel as antisemitic, it’s an attempt to silence legitimate dissent. Israel is a country. Judaism is a religion.

[00:12:14] Going back more than a decade, the majority of Jewish Americans supported a two-state solution with safeguards that Gaza got the right amount of water flowing into it for agricultural and personal reasons. And the majority of Jewish Americans currently oppose the war in Gaza.

[00:12:39] Unfortunately, illegitimate organizations like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) weaponize this and are in cahoots with American oligarchy to maintain illegitimate advantage. By the way, the weaponry that the U.S. sends to Israel comes from some of the most conservative corporations in this country, such as Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, etc.

[00:13:11] And so by maintaining the military support there, it becomes a pork-barrel giveaway for members of the U.S. military-industrial complex while simultaneously manufacturing illegitimate consent.

[00:13:30] Presenter: The group Third Act Eugene is allied with 350.org, and will join the Activist Coalition of Eugene Springfield June 14 at the federal building, 405 E. 8th, for the ‘No Kings’ protest. You can learn more at their website, ThirdAct.org/Oregon.