0:00:01.343,0:00:02.494
Over the decades,

0:00:02.518,0:00:05.839
my colleagues and I have exposed[br]terrible misdeeds and crimes

0:00:05.863,0:00:07.496
by large corporations,

0:00:08.471,0:00:10.223
which have taken many lives

0:00:10.247,0:00:12.303
and caused injuries and diseases,

0:00:13.215,0:00:16.568
on top of damaging economic costs,

0:00:16.592,0:00:18.696
affecting many incidents.

0:00:19.974,0:00:21.733
But exposure was not enough.

0:00:22.521,0:00:25.177
We had to secure congressional mandates

0:00:26.245,0:00:28.195
to prevent such devastation.

0:00:28.877,0:00:32.795
As a result, many lives were saved[br]and many traumas prevented,

0:00:32.819,0:00:36.442
especially in the areas of automobile,[br]pharmaceutical, environmental

0:00:36.466,0:00:38.557
and workplace health and safety.

0:00:38.581,0:00:42.311
Along the way, we kept getting[br]one question again and again:

0:00:43.104,0:00:45.779
"Ralph, how do you do all this?

0:00:45.803,0:00:47.499
Your groups are small,

0:00:47.523,0:00:49.256
your funds are modest

0:00:49.280,0:00:52.612
and you don't make campaign[br]contributions to politicians."

0:00:53.480,0:00:56.001
My response points to an overlooked,

0:00:56.025,0:00:58.588
amazing pattern of American history.

0:00:59.026,0:01:01.674
Just about every advance in justice,

0:01:01.698,0:01:03.887
every blessing of democracy,

0:01:03.911,0:01:07.773
came from the efforts of small numbers[br]of individual citizens.

0:01:08.590,0:01:10.593
They knew what they were talking about.

0:01:11.045,0:01:13.256
They expanded public opinion,

0:01:13.280,0:01:17.515
or what Abraham Lincoln called[br]"the all-important public sentiment."

0:01:17.994,0:01:20.685
The few citizens who started[br]these movements

0:01:20.709,0:01:24.164
enlisted larger numbers along the way

0:01:24.188,0:01:27.141
to achieving these reforms[br]and redirections.

0:01:27.780,0:01:30.165
However, even at their peak,

0:01:30.189,0:01:35.740
the actively engaged people never[br]exceeded one percent of the citizenry,

0:01:35.764,0:01:37.333
often far less.

0:01:37.887,0:01:41.257
These builders of democracy and justice

0:01:41.281,0:01:44.098
came out of the antislavery drives,

0:01:44.122,0:01:46.476
the pressures for women's right to vote.

0:01:47.015,0:01:51.169
They rose from farmers and workers[br]in industrial sectors

0:01:51.193,0:01:55.910
demanding regulation of banks,[br]railroads and manufacturers

0:01:55.934,0:01:57.909
and fair labor standards.

0:01:58.373,0:02:00.176
In the 20th century,

0:02:00.200,0:02:06.428
improvements of life came[br]with tiny third parties and their allies

0:02:06.452,0:02:09.480
pushing the major parties[br]in the electoral arena

0:02:09.504,0:02:11.479
to adopt such measures,

0:02:12.325,0:02:15.696
such as the right to form labor unions,

0:02:15.720,0:02:17.299
the 40-hour week,

0:02:17.323,0:02:19.681
progressive taxation, the minimum wage,

0:02:19.705,0:02:21.866
unemployment compensation

0:02:21.890,0:02:23.365
and social security.

0:02:23.865,0:02:25.837
More recently came Medicare

0:02:25.861,0:02:28.547
and civil rights, civil liberties,

0:02:28.571,0:02:30.556
nuclear arms treaties,

0:02:30.580,0:02:33.138
consumer and environmental triumphs --

0:02:33.920,0:02:36.443
all sparked by citizen advocates

0:02:36.467,0:02:38.121
and small third parties

0:02:38.145,0:02:40.404
who never won a national election.

0:02:41.547,0:02:44.331
If you're willing to lose persistently,

0:02:44.355,0:02:47.006
your causes can become winners in time.

0:02:47.030,0:02:48.236
(Laughter)

0:02:48.260,0:02:50.860
The story of how I came[br]to these civic activities

0:02:50.884,0:02:52.764
may be instructive

0:02:52.788,0:02:56.601
for people who go along[br]with Senator Daniel Webster's belief,

0:02:57.141,0:03:00.506
"Justice, sir, is the great interest[br]of man on earth."

0:03:01.654,0:03:06.184
I grew up in a small,[br]highly industrialized town in Connecticut

0:03:06.208,0:03:08.440
with three siblings and parents

0:03:08.464,0:03:12.273
who owned a popular restaurant,[br]bakery and delicatessen.

0:03:13.122,0:03:14.468
Two waterways,

0:03:14.492,0:03:16.873
the Mad River and the Still River,

0:03:16.897,0:03:19.200
crossed alongside our main street.

0:03:20.022,0:03:24.571
As a child, I asked[br]why couldn't we wade and fish in them,

0:03:24.595,0:03:27.198
like the rivers we read about[br]in our schoolbooks.

0:03:27.760,0:03:31.880
The answer: the factories[br]freely use these rivers

0:03:31.904,0:03:35.741
to dump harmful toxic chemicals[br]and other pollutants.

0:03:35.765,0:03:41.069
In fact, the companies took control[br]of rivers that belonged to all of us

0:03:41.093,0:03:43.328
for their own profitable pursuits.

0:03:43.352,0:03:48.172
Later, I realized the rivers[br]were not part of our normal lives at all,

0:03:48.196,0:03:50.773
except when they flooded our streets.

0:03:50.797,0:03:54.641
There were no water pollution[br]regulations to speak of then.

0:03:54.665,0:03:58.375
I realized only strong laws[br]could clean up our waterways.

0:03:58.955,0:04:03.678
My youthful observation[br]of our town's two river-sewers

0:04:03.702,0:04:07.864
started a straight line[br]to my eighth-grade graduation speech

0:04:07.888,0:04:13.893
about the great conservationist,[br]national park advocate John Muir,

0:04:13.917,0:04:18.758
then to my studies at Princeton[br]on the origins of public sanitation,

0:04:18.782,0:04:21.522
and then to Rachel Carson's[br]"Silent Spring."

0:04:22.115,0:04:24.288
These engagements prepared me

0:04:24.312,0:04:28.198
for seizing the golden hour[br]of environmental lawmaking

0:04:28.222,0:04:30.167
in the early 1970s.

0:04:30.191,0:04:32.358
I played a leading citizen role

0:04:32.382,0:04:35.177
in lobbying through Congress[br]the Clean Air Act;

0:04:35.201,0:04:37.907
the clean water laws, EPA;

0:04:37.931,0:04:40.587
workplace safety standards, OSHA;

0:04:40.611,0:04:42.712
and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

0:04:42.736,0:04:45.004
If there's less lead in your body,

0:04:45.028,0:04:47.349
no more asbestos in your lungs

0:04:47.373,0:04:49.281
and cleaner air and water,

0:04:49.305,0:04:52.546
it's because of those laws over the years.

0:04:53.115,0:04:57.345
Today, enforcement of these[br]lifesaving laws under Trump

0:04:57.369,0:05:00.177
is being dismantled wholesale.

0:05:00.894,0:05:04.496
Rolling back these perils[br]is the immediate challenge

0:05:04.520,0:05:07.032
to a resurgent environmental movement

0:05:07.056,0:05:08.512
for the young generation.

0:05:08.536,0:05:12.631
As for consumer advocates,[br]there are no permanent victories.

0:05:12.655,0:05:15.102
Passing a law is only the first step.

0:05:15.126,0:05:19.041
The next step, and the next step,[br]is defending the law.

0:05:19.560,0:05:22.939
For me, some of these battles[br]were highly personal.

0:05:22.963,0:05:28.147
I lost friends in high school and college[br]to highway collisions,

0:05:28.171,0:05:30.695
the first leading cause of death[br]in that age group.

0:05:31.449,0:05:33.645
Then, the blame was put on the driver,

0:05:33.669,0:05:37.031
derisively called[br]"the nut behind the wheel."

0:05:37.637,0:05:40.682
True, drunk drivers had responsibility,

0:05:40.706,0:05:45.101
but safer-designed vehicles and highways[br]could prevent crashes

0:05:45.125,0:05:47.842
and diminish their severity[br]when they occurred.

0:05:47.866,0:05:50.090
There were no seat belts,[br]padded dash panels,

0:05:50.114,0:05:54.199
no airbags or other[br]crash-worthy protections

0:05:54.223,0:05:57.880
to diminish the severity of collisions.

0:05:57.904,0:06:03.720
The brakes, tires and handling stability[br]of US vehicles left much to be desired,

0:06:03.744,0:06:06.896
even in comparison[br]with foreign manufacturers.

0:06:07.468,0:06:09.291
I liked to hitchhike,

0:06:09.315,0:06:12.782
including back and forth[br]from Princeton and Harvard Law School.

0:06:13.314,0:06:18.411
Sometimes, a driver and I came upon[br]ghastly crash scenes.

0:06:18.974,0:06:21.596
The horrors made a deep impression on me.

0:06:22.214,0:06:25.253
They sparked my writing[br]a paper at law school

0:06:25.277,0:06:29.704
on unsafe automotive design and the need[br]for motor vehicle safety laws.

0:06:30.259,0:06:33.687
One of my closest friends[br]at law school, Fred Condon,

0:06:33.711,0:06:38.185
was driving home one day from work[br]to his young family in New Hampshire

0:06:39.222,0:06:43.730
and momentarily drowsed[br]behind the wheel of his station wagon.

0:06:44.247,0:06:47.446
The vehicle went to the shoulder[br]of the road and tipped over.

0:06:47.931,0:06:50.515
There were no seat belts in 1961.

0:06:50.911,0:06:52.773
Fred became a paraplegic.

0:06:53.437,0:06:58.090
Such preventable violence[br]created fire in my belly.

0:06:58.526,0:07:02.743
The auto industry was[br]cruelly refusing to install

0:07:02.767,0:07:06.982
long-known lifesaving safety features[br]and pollution controls.

0:07:07.006,0:07:11.860
Instead, the industry focused on[br]advertising the annual style changes

0:07:11.884,0:07:13.614
and excessive horsepower.

0:07:13.638,0:07:14.942
I was outraged.

0:07:16.188,0:07:20.001
The more I investigated the suppression[br]of auto safety devices,

0:07:20.025,0:07:23.582
publicized evidence from court cases[br]about the auto companies

0:07:23.606,0:07:26.845
negligently harming vehicle occupants --

0:07:26.869,0:07:31.258
especially the instability[br]of a GM vehicle called the Corvair --

0:07:31.282,0:07:35.876
the more General Motors was keen on[br]discrediting my writings and testimony.

0:07:35.900,0:07:40.931
They hired private detectives[br]to follow me in order to get dirt.

0:07:41.503,0:07:45.096
After the publication of my book,[br]"Unsafe at Any Speed,"

0:07:45.120,0:07:48.723
GM wanted to undermine[br]my forthcoming testimony

0:07:48.747,0:07:51.482
before a Senate subcommittee in 1966.

0:07:52.125,0:07:53.982
The Capitol Police caught them.

0:07:54.715,0:07:56.988
The media was all over[br]the struggle in Congress

0:07:57.012,0:07:59.163
between me and giant General Motors.

0:07:59.644,0:08:02.835
With remarkable speed compared to today,

0:08:02.859,0:08:08.668
in 1966, Congress and President Johnson[br]brought the largest industry in America

0:08:08.692,0:08:10.406
under federal regulation

0:08:10.430,0:08:14.821
for safety, pollution control[br]and fuel efficiency.

0:08:14.845,0:08:17.110
By the year 2015,

0:08:17.134,0:08:21.477
three and a half million deaths[br]were averted just in the US,

0:08:21.501,0:08:23.688
millions more injuries prevented,

0:08:23.712,0:08:26.256
billions of dollars saved.

0:08:26.280,0:08:31.101
What did it take for a victory[br]against such overwhelming odds?

0:08:31.691,0:08:33.548
Well, there were:

0:08:33.572,0:08:38.702
one, a few advocates who knew how[br]to communicate the evidence everywhere;

0:08:38.726,0:08:43.405
two, several key receptive[br]congressional committee chairs

0:08:43.429,0:08:44.974
led by three senators;

0:08:45.590,0:08:48.987
three, about seven reporters[br]from major newspapers

0:08:49.011,0:08:53.221
who regularly reported on[br]the unfolding story;

0:08:53.245,0:08:56.970
four, President Lyndon Johnson,[br]with assistance,

0:08:56.994,0:09:02.503
amenable to creating[br]a regulatory safety agency, NHTSA;

0:09:02.527,0:09:08.493
and five, a dozen auto engineers,[br]inspectors and physicians

0:09:08.517,0:09:11.337
who divulged crucial information,

0:09:11.361,0:09:13.874
and who need to be better known.

0:09:13.898,0:09:17.588
One more factor was critical:[br]informed public opinion.

0:09:17.612,0:09:22.722
A majority of people learned about[br]how much safer their cars could be.

0:09:22.746,0:09:25.579
They wanted their vehicles[br]to be fuel-efficient.

0:09:25.603,0:09:27.931
They wanted to breathe cleaner air.

0:09:28.471,0:09:31.408
The result: in September 1966,

0:09:31.432,0:09:36.237
President Lyndon Johnson signed[br]the safety legislation in the White House

0:09:36.261,0:09:39.506
with me by his side, receiving a pen!

0:09:39.530,0:09:40.539
(Laughter)

0:09:40.563,0:09:44.260
Between 1966 and 1976,

0:09:44.284,0:09:48.771
those six critically connected factors[br]were used over and over.

0:09:49.334,0:09:53.842
It became the golden age[br]of legislation and regulatory action

0:09:53.866,0:09:57.382
for consumer, worker[br]and environmental protection.

0:09:57.967,0:10:01.116
Those connected elements[br]of our past campaigns

0:10:01.140,0:10:05.566
need to be kept in mind[br]by people striving to do the same today

0:10:05.590,0:10:07.507
for drinking water safety,

0:10:07.531,0:10:09.879
antibiotic resistance deaths,

0:10:09.903,0:10:12.521
criminal justice reform,

0:10:12.545,0:10:15.135
risks from climate disruption,

0:10:15.159,0:10:17.363
bio- and nanotech impacts,

0:10:17.387,0:10:18.933
the nuclear arms race,

0:10:18.957,0:10:20.115
peace treaties,

0:10:20.139,0:10:21.477
dangers to children,

0:10:21.501,0:10:23.640
chemical and radioactive perils,

0:10:23.664,0:10:25.210
and the like.

0:10:25.234,0:10:31.129
According to a solid study in 2016[br]by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,

0:10:31.153,0:10:33.222
preventable hospital deaths

0:10:33.246,0:10:37.968
take a mind-boggling 5,000 lives[br]a week in America.

0:10:39.170,0:10:41.975
The 1980s climax:

0:10:41.999,0:10:46.839
our dramatic struggle[br]to limit smoking in public places,

0:10:46.863,0:10:48.505
regulate the tobacco industry

0:10:48.529,0:10:51.693
and establish conditions[br]for reducing smoking.

0:10:52.250,0:10:55.945
Their struggle began in earnest in 1964,

0:10:55.969,0:10:58.822
with the US Surgeon[br]General's famous report

0:10:58.846,0:11:02.942
linking cigarette smoking[br]to cancer and other diseases.

0:11:02.966,0:11:07.464
Over 400,000 deaths a year[br]in the United States

0:11:07.488,0:11:09.460
are related to smoking.

0:11:10.172,0:11:15.656
Public hearings, litigation, media exposés[br]and industry whistleblowers

0:11:15.680,0:11:20.569
joined with crucial medical scientists[br]to take on a very powerful industry.

0:11:21.046,0:11:24.581
I asked Michael Pertschuk,[br]a leading Senate staffer,

0:11:24.605,0:11:30.280
how many full-time advocates were working[br]on tobacco industry control at that time.

0:11:30.304,0:11:35.630
Mr. Pertschuk estimated no more[br]than 1,000 full-time champions in the US

0:11:35.654,0:11:37.785
pressing for a smoke-free society.

0:11:38.230,0:11:43.511
I say that's a remarkably small number[br]of people making it happen.

0:11:44.233,0:11:49.055
They had a public opinion majority[br]of aroused people, nonsmokers,

0:11:49.079,0:11:50.419
behind them.

0:11:50.443,0:11:53.722
Many smokers were quitting[br]the nicotine addiction.

0:11:53.746,0:11:57.185
Just think: from 45 percent of adults

0:11:57.209,0:12:01.287
down to 15 percent by 2018.

0:12:01.746,0:12:04.574
The tipping point was when[br]Congress passed legislation

0:12:04.598,0:12:07.109
empowering the Food[br]and Drug Administration

0:12:07.133,0:12:09.566
to regulate the tobacco companies.

0:12:09.590,0:12:12.955
Keep in mind that advances[br]for consumers and workers

0:12:12.979,0:12:17.347
are usually followed by[br]a variety of corporate counterattacks.

0:12:17.371,0:12:20.893
When the fervor behind such reform fades,

0:12:21.734,0:12:28.065
then legislatures and regulatory agencies[br]become very vulnerable to industry capture

0:12:28.089,0:12:31.060
that stalls existing[br]or further enforcement.

0:12:31.719,0:12:32.896
What's that saying?

0:12:32.920,0:12:36.633
"Justice requires constant vigilance."

0:12:37.142,0:12:38.647
We see the difference between

0:12:38.671,0:12:43.700
the driven stamina of counterattacking,[br]profit-driven corporate power

0:12:43.724,0:12:47.760
and the fatigue that overcomes[br]a voluntary citizenry

0:12:47.784,0:12:50.980
whose awareness and skill need renewal.

0:12:51.799,0:12:53.704
It is not a fair contest

0:12:53.728,0:12:57.636
between large companies[br]like General Motors, Pfizer,

0:12:57.660,0:13:01.623
ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo, Monsanto,

0:13:01.647,0:13:05.325
plus other very wealthy[br]companies and lobbyists,

0:13:05.349,0:13:09.463
compared to people protection groups[br]with very limited resources.

0:13:10.070,0:13:13.016
Moreover, the corporations[br]have immunities and privileges

0:13:13.040,0:13:15.923
unavailable to real human beings.

0:13:16.443,0:13:22.150
For example, Takata was guilty[br]of a horrific airbag scandal,

0:13:22.174,0:13:25.060
but the company escaped[br]criminal prosecution.

0:13:25.084,0:13:31.371
Instead, Takata was allowed to go bankrupt[br]and its executives kept nice nest eggs.

0:13:32.077,0:13:35.910
But organized people need not[br]be awed by corporate power.

0:13:35.934,0:13:38.605
Lawmakers still want votes

0:13:38.629,0:13:43.857
more than they need[br]campaign finance from corporations.

0:13:44.616,0:13:48.998
We far outnumber corporations[br]in potential influence.

0:13:49.506,0:13:52.247
But voters must be connected clearly

0:13:52.271,0:13:57.017
to what organized voters want[br]from the lawmakers.

0:13:57.041,0:14:02.043
Delegating the constitutional[br]authority of "we the people,"

0:14:02.067,0:14:05.607
we want them to do the people's work.

0:14:06.584,0:14:08.402
A people's Congress,

0:14:08.426,0:14:11.806
the most constitutionally powerful[br]branch of government,

0:14:11.830,0:14:16.673
can override, block or rechannel[br]the most destructive corporations.

0:14:17.736,0:14:21.899
There are only 100 senators[br]and 435 representatives

0:14:21.923,0:14:25.327
with just two million[br]organized activists back home,

0:14:25.351,0:14:27.334
a Congress watchdog hobby.

0:14:27.798,0:14:31.521
Congressional justice[br]can be made reliable and prompt.

0:14:31.545,0:14:34.603
We've proved that again and again[br]with far fewer people.

0:14:35.183,0:14:38.464
But today, Congress,[br]marinated in campaign money,

0:14:38.488,0:14:42.486
has been abdicating its responsibilities[br]to an executive branch

0:14:42.510,0:14:46.834
which too often has become a corporate[br]state controlled by big companies.

0:14:47.557,0:14:53.082
President Franklin D. Roosevelt,[br]in 1938, in a message to Congress,

0:14:53.106,0:14:57.464
called concentrated corporate power[br]over our government

0:14:57.488,0:15:00.266
quote -- fascism -- end quote.

0:15:00.905,0:15:04.207
A modest engagement[br]of one percent of adults

0:15:04.231,0:15:07.855
in each of the 435[br]congressional districts,

0:15:07.879,0:15:11.577
summoning senators and representatives[br]or state legislators

0:15:11.601,0:15:13.966
to their own town meetings,

0:15:13.990,0:15:16.552
where the citizenry presents their agenda,

0:15:16.576,0:15:18.717
backed by a majority of voters,

0:15:18.741,0:15:20.699
can turn Congress around.

0:15:20.723,0:15:26.142
Our representatives can become[br]a fountainhead of democracy and justice,

0:15:26.166,0:15:28.166
elevating human possibilities.

0:15:28.618,0:15:30.368
I dream of our schools,

0:15:30.392,0:15:31.849
or after-school clinics,

0:15:31.873,0:15:36.510
teaching community civic action skills,[br]leading to the good life.

0:15:36.534,0:15:39.034
Adult education classes[br]should do the same.

0:15:39.058,0:15:43.976
We need to create citizen training[br]and action libraries.

0:15:44.000,0:15:48.888
Students and adults love knowledge[br]that relates to their daily lives.

0:15:49.375,0:15:53.852
Large majorities of Americans,[br]regardless of political labels,

0:15:53.876,0:15:55.364
favor a living wage,

0:15:55.388,0:15:57.105
universal health insurance,

0:15:57.129,0:16:00.717
real enforcement against[br]corporate crime, fraud and abuse.

0:16:00.741,0:16:03.175
They want a fair, productive tax system,

0:16:03.199,0:16:06.897
public budgets returning value[br]to the people back home

0:16:06.921,0:16:08.589
in modern infrastructure,

0:16:08.613,0:16:11.193
and an end to most corporate subsidies.

0:16:11.217,0:16:15.785
Increasingly, they're demanding[br]serious attention to climate disruption

0:16:15.809,0:16:19.960
and other environmental[br]and global health perils and pandemics.

0:16:20.563,0:16:23.236
Big majorities of people[br]want efficient government,

0:16:23.260,0:16:27.850
an end to endless,[br]aggressive wars that boomerang.

0:16:27.874,0:16:32.536
They want clean elections[br]and fair rules for voters and candidates.

0:16:32.560,0:16:35.539
These are changes[br]that bring people together,

0:16:35.563,0:16:38.233
changes Congress can make happen.

0:16:38.257,0:16:40.991
People around the world favor democracy,

0:16:41.015,0:16:45.119
because it brings the best[br]out of its inhabitants and its leaders.

0:16:45.143,0:16:47.963
But this objective requires citizens[br]to want to spend time

0:16:47.987,0:16:51.244
on this great opportunity[br]called democracy,

0:16:51.268,0:16:53.458
between and at elections.

0:16:53.922,0:16:57.066
History gives examples[br]that encourage us to believe

0:16:57.090,0:16:59.920
that breaking through power[br]is easier than we think.

0:17:00.328,0:17:02.915
People say to me,[br]"I don't know what to do!"

0:17:02.939,0:17:04.580
Start to learn by doing.

0:17:05.074,0:17:07.015
The more they practice citizen action,

0:17:07.039,0:17:09.373
the more skilled and innovative[br]they become at it.

0:17:09.910,0:17:14.472
Like learning a trade, a profession,[br]a hobby, learning how to swim,

0:17:14.496,0:17:17.378
their doubts, prejudgments and hesitancy

0:17:17.402,0:17:20.497
begin to melt away[br]in the crucible of action.

0:17:20.521,0:17:23.746
Their arguments for change[br]become deeper and sharper.

0:17:24.361,0:17:27.704
From 1965 to 1966,

0:17:27.728,0:17:30.983
when I was making the case[br]for safer automobiles,

0:17:31.007,0:17:34.402
I realized that there were a lot[br]of industries making a lot of money

0:17:34.426,0:17:37.956
from dealing with[br]the horrific results of crashes:

0:17:37.980,0:17:42.384
medical care, insurance sales,[br]repairing cars ...

0:17:42.408,0:17:47.034
There was a perverse incentive[br]to do nothing but maintain the status quo.

0:17:47.058,0:17:50.766
By contrast, preventing these tragedies

0:17:50.790,0:17:54.755
frees consumer dollars to spend or save[br]in voluntary [ways]

0:17:54.779,0:17:56.881
for better livelihoods.

0:17:57.430,0:18:01.692
What it takes is a small number of people[br]to exert their civic muscle,

0:18:01.716,0:18:04.275
both as individuals and organized groups,

0:18:04.299,0:18:06.877
on our legal decision makers.

0:18:06.901,0:18:12.055
Ideally, it only takes a few enlightened[br]rich people contributing funds

0:18:12.079,0:18:16.745
to accelerate citizen efforts[br]against the commanders of greed and power.

0:18:16.769,0:18:19.972
Why, in our past, rich people[br]donated essential money

0:18:19.996,0:18:24.505
for the antislavery, women's right[br]to vote and civil rights movements.

0:18:24.529,0:18:26.021
We should remember that.

0:18:26.045,0:18:28.148
With the onset of climate catastrophe,

0:18:28.172,0:18:32.915
every one of us needs to have[br]a higher estimate of our own significance,

0:18:32.939,0:18:36.451
of our own sustained[br]dedication to the civic life,

0:18:36.475,0:18:39.856
as part of a normal way of daily living,

0:18:39.880,0:18:42.512
along with our personal family life.

0:18:42.536,0:18:45.800
Showing up thoughtfully[br]is half of democracy.

0:18:45.824,0:18:49.199
That's what advances life, liberty[br]and the pursuit of happiness.

0:18:49.581,0:18:53.015
Remember, our country[br]is full of problems we don't deserve

0:18:53.039,0:18:55.569
and solutions which we do not apply.

0:18:56.022,0:19:00.964
That gap is a democracy gap[br]that no power can stop us from closing.

0:19:00.988,0:19:03.719
We owe this to our posterity.

0:19:03.743,0:19:05.540
Don't we want our descendants,

0:19:05.564,0:19:09.750
instead of cursing us[br]for our shortsighted neglect,

0:19:09.774,0:19:12.256
don't we want them to bless our foresight

0:19:12.280,0:19:16.740
and bright horizons which can[br]fulfill their lives peacefully

0:19:16.764,0:19:18.660
and advance the common good?

0:19:19.135,0:19:20.384
Thank you.

0:19:21.028,0:19:23.341
(Applause)