Spring Break
Q and A with ubben lecturer Ralph Nader
By: compiled by Kali Geldis
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
In a closed press conference Thursday afternoon, The DePauw, WGRE, D3TV and National Public Radio sat down with Ubben lecturer, former presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. After speaking in a student forum earlier in the afternoon, Nader answered the following questions.
The DePauw: Why did you choose "Don't Waste Your 20s" as the topic of your speech?
Ralph Nader: The change that will come in this country in any fundamental nature will be sparked by people in their 20s, and then older people will draft the laws and do the more detailed things. It's true throughout our history in a lot of ways. The people who march, the people who protest, the people who [did] the gut work day after day in the Civil Rights Movement were in their 20s. The environmental movement, they're in their 20s. On the other hand, people can waste their 20s, spending their 20s trying to grow up when they should have used their teenage years for that purpose.
TDP: Did you waste your 20s?
RN: I thought I was spinning my wheels because I was investigating General Motors, but fortunately the seeds bore fruit.
TDP: What activist issue will our generation take on?
RN
WGRE: What are some things people can do to help end the war?
RN: Focus on their 535 members of Congress. They need the courage of their constituents back home. So, rallies and marches, personal meetings, letters, investigations by citizens into what Lockheed Martin and Halliburton's hooks are in. Five hundred thirty-five men and women. There are millions of people out there. So, you ask yourself ... who has the authority to change it? It's the Congress. Five hundred thirty-five men and women.
NPR: How has the Internet affected social activism in the 21st Century?
RN: On the one hand, it's a spectacular form of notification; you can tell people in great numbers at very little cost what is going on. It is also a spectacular form of transmitting information, although not necessarily absorbed by the people it's transmitted to. Thirdly, as a mechanism of actually getting people to do something - acting, mobilizing - it's still significantly a snare and an illusion. If you spend 50 hours a week looking at screens - TV, computer, video game, etc. - you're not out in reality, you're in virtual reality, you're not in reality. So, that's why I say it could be a snare and a delusion because things occur and are achieved in reality when it comes to social change.
TDP: What do you think of the 2008 presidential candidates?
RN: I like [Dennis] Kucinich. I think [Mike] Gravel has a lot of good things to say. Both of them have a record of backing up what they are saying, in contrast to some others. ... Hillary [Clinton] is nothing more than a bad imprint of Bill [Clinton]. But she's the frontrunner, and the Republicans don't have a clue how to stop her ... because she's a switch hitter. She has projects with the Republicans; she has Republicans praising her like [Newt] Gingrich; she's done joint introductions on bills with Republicans; she has all the money in the world; she has Bill Clinton; she has hundreds of IOUs from important people to collect, and the polls recognize people who are well-known.
Ken Owen, executive director of media relations: Are you thinking of running in the next presidential election?
RN: I've said for some months now, I am thinking, I'll decide before the end of the year. A lot of it is whether the resources are available to deal with dozens of lawsuits by the democrats to keep us off the ballot. Certainly the need for more voices and choices has not diminished. The increasing convergence of the two major parties has not subsided. The concentration of corporate power and the distortion of our federal budget toward military expenditures has only gotten worse and the demoralization of the public has deepened. That really is the most serious problem of all, when people give up on themselves. We all have an obligation to turn that around in our different ways.
The DePauw: Why did you choose "Don't Waste Your 20s" as the topic of your speech?
Ralph Nader: The change that will come in this country in any fundamental nature will be sparked by people in their 20s, and then older people will draft the laws and do the more detailed things. It's true throughout our history in a lot of ways. The people who march, the people who protest, the people who [did] the gut work day after day in the Civil Rights Movement were in their 20s. The environmental movement, they're in their 20s. On the other hand, people can waste their 20s, spending their 20s trying to grow up when they should have used their teenage years for that purpose.
TDP: Did you waste your 20s?
RN: I thought I was spinning my wheels because I was investigating General Motors, but fortunately the seeds bore fruit.
TDP: What activist issue will our generation take on?
RN
WGRE: What are some things people can do to help end the war?
RN: Focus on their 535 members of Congress. They need the courage of their constituents back home. So, rallies and marches, personal meetings, letters, investigations by citizens into what Lockheed Martin and Halliburton's hooks are in. Five hundred thirty-five men and women. There are millions of people out there. So, you ask yourself ... who has the authority to change it? It's the Congress. Five hundred thirty-five men and women.
NPR: How has the Internet affected social activism in the 21st Century?
RN: On the one hand, it's a spectacular form of notification; you can tell people in great numbers at very little cost what is going on. It is also a spectacular form of transmitting information, although not necessarily absorbed by the people it's transmitted to. Thirdly, as a mechanism of actually getting people to do something - acting, mobilizing - it's still significantly a snare and an illusion. If you spend 50 hours a week looking at screens - TV, computer, video game, etc. - you're not out in reality, you're in virtual reality, you're not in reality. So, that's why I say it could be a snare and a delusion because things occur and are achieved in reality when it comes to social change.
TDP: What do you think of the 2008 presidential candidates?
RN: I like [Dennis] Kucinich. I think [Mike] Gravel has a lot of good things to say. Both of them have a record of backing up what they are saying, in contrast to some others. ... Hillary [Clinton] is nothing more than a bad imprint of Bill [Clinton]. But she's the frontrunner, and the Republicans don't have a clue how to stop her ... because she's a switch hitter. She has projects with the Republicans; she has Republicans praising her like [Newt] Gingrich; she's done joint introductions on bills with Republicans; she has all the money in the world; she has Bill Clinton; she has hundreds of IOUs from important people to collect, and the polls recognize people who are well-known.
Ken Owen, executive director of media relations: Are you thinking of running in the next presidential election?
RN: I've said for some months now, I am thinking, I'll decide before the end of the year. A lot of it is whether the resources are available to deal with dozens of lawsuits by the democrats to keep us off the ballot. Certainly the need for more voices and choices has not diminished. The increasing convergence of the two major parties has not subsided. The concentration of corporate power and the distortion of our federal budget toward military expenditures has only gotten worse and the demoralization of the public has deepened. That really is the most serious problem of all, when people give up on themselves. We all have an obligation to turn that around in our different ways.
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