July 27, 2007 at 10:25 am

It’s a sad day for basic decency and human goodness. We should pause for a moment and really agknowledge the true human gravity of what has occured. So many real, breathing, laughing, loving, struggling people will suffer because of this decision–and our common humanity compels us to mourn their loss. For it is our loss, as well.

But we must not only mourn. The pain that we feel — the pain we know others will now soon feel — must only double our resolve to fight on.

Here’s something to remember: Five years ago, a Farm Bill even worse for the people of the world was passed. How many signatures did ONE gather? Zero. How many letters did ONE members send? Zero. How many local meetings with legislators did ONE organize? Zero. Why? Because ONE didn’t exist. Billions of people around the world were hurt by a decision made in our name, and we never even knew about it.

This year, we entered a new era in the fight against global poverty, which is really the fight to recognize our common humanity in the way we live and the decisions we make as Americans. This year, ONE sounded the alarm to the millions of members who have signed up because we care. I and the 2.4 million other members of ONE learned about the farm bill and how it effects the lives of small farmers here and around the world, and we — for the first time ever– were given a chance to act.

By the thousands and the tens of thousands and the hundreds of thousands we made our voices heard. We wrote letters to the editor of papers all over the country. We called our congressmen and our senators. We met in their offices and made our case eye to eye. We sent faxes. We forwarded information to our friends, who passed it on to their friends. We turned decades of silence into the first globally conscious movement to change the farm bill ever.

Yes, it’s now clear the cynical defenders of the status quo that have been preparing a well oiled, massively funded lobbying machine for years will get most of what they want. But not all. Because this year, the billions who live or die by the decisions made in Washington finally found a voice to echo for them down the corridors of American power. They found my voice. They found your voice. The found our voice.

This round we learned to to speak for and with the people of the world, together as ONE. No, we did not win all we had hoped. But we have forever changed the game. Next round, there will be millions more of us speaking with greater strength than ever before. We will not give up. We will not be drowned out. And we will triumph. Because our cause is to serve and honor our shared humanity. And in the end, if we keep up our courage, we will force our leaders and even our opponents to recognize the part of their own human spirit that knows none of us are really alone–and they will do the right thing.

We must not forget what we have learned. We must have faith. And we must fight on.

July 27, 2007 at 12:14 pm

well said, ready to serve. ONE members joined voices with many of the partners to make a solid and educated voice concerning the amendments here. and the senate is still ahead. and we are not done yet, and we will not go away.

my appreciation to all of you, to the leadership here who kept us informed and stimulated, to the folks at Bread for the World (bread.org) who championed this cause all year and lobbied seemingly convincingly on these amendments, to every NGO that came along side to strengthen the numbers and build the constituency, to everyone. thank you all.

stay close,

sammi in seattle

July 27, 2007 at 4:15 pm

Amazing. You captured emotions in words that I couldn’t find today.

July 27, 2007 at 9:03 pm

I would really like to thank the above poster for their very heartfelt post about the massively disappointing result today regarding the the “Fairness” Amendment to the Farm Bill.

If we, in ONE, are going to get ourdelves into dirty politics, then we are going to have to expect that we will not win every round for the world’s poorest people.

We will often be challenged and fought against – and we will “lose” a few along the way……like the vote today.

But, as the poster above mentions – we can’t give up or give in. We are not in this movement to make extreme poverty history for ourselves. We are in this movement for the millions of desparately poor people around the world who need us to speak up for their rights.

So, let’s continue our struggle with renewed hope and renewed vigor until justice is firmly established for the world’s poorest people.~

I love these words of the above poster:

This round we learned to to speak for and with the people of the world, together as ONE. No, we did not win all we had hoped. But we have forever changed the game. Next round, there will be millions more of us speaking with greater strength than ever before. We will not give up. We will not be drowned out. And we will triumph. Because our cause is to serve and honor our shared humanity. And in the end, if we keep up our courage, we will force our leaders and even our opponents to recognize the part of their own human spirit that knows none of us are really alone–and they will do the right thing.

We must not forget what we have learned. We must have faith. And we must fight on.

AMEN!!!

Take very good care, everyONE. Blessings – not just for those who kneel.

ALWAYS ONE in the Spirit, debbie