August 24, 2007
by Mike Palecek
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I wrote Joe's Coffee Revolution (JCR) after I ran for Congress in 2000. It is published by Badger Books of Madison, Wisconsin. I like Joe Coffee because it tells the truth about the Democratic Party and about farmer revolutionaries and farm kitchen tables.
--Mike
Okay, an excerpt from the book, here is Joe Coffee, later dubbed "Coffee Joe" by the Iowa press, giving his first speech, at the district convention.
"... It was also a time of the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the release of Mandela and later the election of Clinton.
He began to make eye contact as he read his speech.
Along with others, I hoped for the better, for a peace dividend in the United States that would give hope to the poor. It never came.
Those in places of power, who make money from military procurement, could breath a sigh of relief that it was deemed prudent that the United States military remain unnaturally strong. My sister in Nebraska with eight children to raise on her own could find her own way to get by, our leaders said.
We have schools in Agnes and Ernest, all around the district, that need fixing. We have made staff cuts at our school. Many school boards are making the same sorts of heart-wrenching decisions, for lack of money.
And yet we continue to build state and federal prisons at a rapid rate. The United States incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than any nation on earth. State governments invariably spend more on prisons and jails than on colleges and universities.
... It is a mistake to regard idealism as a sentimental weakness.
Joe put a touch of bass to his voice. He heard his voice going out. He knew where he was, but willed himself not to think about it.
Those quotes come from the early Wilson era, when providing for the poor while seeking to limit the reach of the rich and powerful were talked about openly.
Today liberal is a swear word.
The real obscenity is the way political parties and politicians will stick their fingers into the air to check the wind and then sprint in that direction.
... I did not choose to run because I suddenly felt qualified. I just realized that I wished politicians, newspaper reporters and news anchors talked about issues the way I wanted them to be talked about - as if they thought we had a brain in our head.
Jane cheered with a half dozen others in the audience. She had not seen Joe's speech because she demanded he write it himself.
(Article Continues Below)
Nobody comes around and asks you if you want to bomb Iraq or Kosovo, whether you want thirty new federal prisons built this year. Nobody asks you if you want your son forced to sign up for military induction. Nobody asks you - so sometimes you just have to tell them how you feel.
... Until we come to grips with our idolatry of the military and of prisons the rest is secondary. How many persons are we willing to kill or starve or lock up in order to ensure our own postcard-perfect lives. How can we act as if the only real problem we face is the fine-tuning of our own comfort?
Reporters ask me why I am running. Well, do you remember, just after the Columbine tragedy, President Clinton asked our young people to find non-violent ways to solve their problems. Well, that was while President Clinton and the rest of us adults were bombing Yugoslavia every morning, afternoon and night.
Our children are watching us, every step we take. And they are down there, low, with a perspective to be able to really see which direction we go.
... Joe stood on one leg and turned over his last page to find the rest of his speech.
With all due respect, the standard Democratic platform is as boring as watching paint dry, and just as useful.
As the song goes, you have to sing like you don't need the money.
Joe looked up, expecting applause or a chuckle.
Umm.
Our children expect, they just assume that this is a good world.
Joe tried to speak slowly and louder.
We owe it to them and to the child within ourselves not to give up on that dream too soon.
Thank you.
"Palecek's greatest talent lies in his ability to depict the ordinariness of life. After a few chapters of Palecek's tender attention to the characters' small lives, readers will feel the same itch for revolution that the characters give into."
- Meta Hogan, Voice Of Olympia [Olympia, WA]
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Mike Palecek [send him email] is an activist for peace and social justice. He served time in federal prison for civil disobedience and has run for US Congress. He has authored a number of books [click here to view] on behalf of the cause.
