Campaign for Change

After a talk this past June at Z Media Institute, Noam Chomsky answered some questions from the students. Two of them, in particular, struck us as a good reminder of the task at hand. The first question was about Obama’s message of hope and change that swept him into office in 2008 and “What went wrong?” Chomsky’s answer was: “What went wrong was the hope;” that if you looked at his record and his positions, and who as backing him, you would know that there never been any reason to hope that Obama would bring about the “progressive” changes he spoke about.    

       The second question was how would Chomsky define the left? Chomsky began by saying: “The left is the movement that’s in favor of all decent things--more freedom, more justice, more equality,  more participation, more control over our own lives. That’s the left. How can you present it to people? Honestly. There’s no point in formulating abstractions. Anybody can say those words. You have to show you mean them by the particular way you apply them to the problems people face. The drive to pursue those objectives is, I think, what's always animated the left.”

       We agree. And it seems to us that now, more than ever, left media needs to reach people with the message of real change. At Z we will do our part, providing media that helps left activists, teachers, and organizations in their day-to-day work, fighting for peace and justice. But not without your continued financial help. Which means:

We NEED TO RAISE $150,000 to maintain, sustain, and retain z magazine, znet, z video productions, and z media institute for the next 12 months. Anything less than $150,000 over the course of 2011 and we will have to cut back.

We are asking for immediate donations of any amount. If you give a minimum of $60, we will send you a copy of our new DVD “What Went Wrong? A Q&A With Noam Chomsky” which includes the questions and answers quoted earlier.

But we would like be able to expand, not just maintain. To that end, WE WANT TO RAISE $500,000 so we can carry out many of the plans we've been developing over the years. They include:

-- Publishing Z Books designed specifically for progressive faculty to use in high school and college that promote critical analysis of institutions, as wells as strategies and visions for progressive change

-- Expanding Z Media Institute to a full summer program

-- Organizing smaller Z Sessions on Participatory Society to be held throughout the year, focusing on questions of strategy for building organization

-- Initiating or helping initiate a series of conventions/conferences that work toward building stronger left networks and ultimately international left organization

-- Providing an increasing amount of material in multimedia formats that can be downloaded to IPads and other electronic devices

       We think we can achieve this Campaign for Change goal of $500,000 in 2011 with: one time donations adding up to $100,000; Sustainers could raise their periodic donations an average of about $5 per month; only 5,000 of our 90,000 free members could become Sustainers at an average of $3 a month each; only 3,000 of our 300,000 users could become Sustainers at an average of $3 a month each. In coming months, we will be talking more about the Campaign. In the meantime:

Please help us reach our initial goal of $150,000.  Any amount is welcome, but for a minimum of $60, we will send the DVD “What Went Wrong?”

Mail in your donation to Z Magazine, 18 Millfield Street, Woods Hole MA 02543; Phone: 508-548-9063; Fax: 508-457-0626.

Or check the ZNet donation page for more options.