What it takes to create social change against all odds
-
0:01 - 0:02Over the decades,
-
0:03 - 0:06my colleagues and I have exposed
terrible misdeeds and crimes -
0:06 - 0:07by large corporations,
-
0:08 - 0:10which have taken many lives
-
0:10 - 0:12and caused injuries and diseases,
-
0:13 - 0:17on top of damaging economic costs,
-
0:17 - 0:19affecting many incidents.
-
0:20 - 0:22But exposure was not enough.
-
0:23 - 0:25We had to secure congressional mandates
-
0:26 - 0:28to prevent such devastation.
-
0:29 - 0:33As a result, many lives were saved
and many traumas prevented, -
0:33 - 0:36especially in the areas of automobile,
pharmaceutical, environmental -
0:36 - 0:39and workplace health and safety.
-
0:39 - 0:42Along the way, we kept getting
one question again and again: -
0:43 - 0:46"Ralph, how do you do all this?
-
0:46 - 0:47Your groups are small,
-
0:48 - 0:49your funds are modest
-
0:49 - 0:53and you don't make campaign
contributions to politicians." -
0:53 - 0:56My response points to an overlooked,
-
0:56 - 0:59amazing pattern of American history.
-
0:59 - 1:02Just about every advance in justice,
-
1:02 - 1:04every blessing of democracy,
-
1:04 - 1:08came from the efforts of small numbers
of individual citizens. -
1:09 - 1:11They knew what they were talking about.
-
1:11 - 1:13They expanded public opinion,
-
1:13 - 1:18or what Abraham Lincoln called
"the all-important public sentiment." -
1:18 - 1:21The few citizens who started
these movements -
1:21 - 1:24enlisted larger numbers along the way
-
1:24 - 1:27to achieving these reforms
and redirections. -
1:28 - 1:30However, even at their peak,
-
1:30 - 1:36the actively engaged people never
exceeded one percent of the citizenry, -
1:36 - 1:37often far less.
-
1:38 - 1:41These builders of democracy and justice
-
1:41 - 1:44came out of the antislavery drives,
-
1:44 - 1:46the pressures for women's right to vote.
-
1:47 - 1:51They rose from farmers and workers
in industrial sectors -
1:51 - 1:56demanding regulation of banks,
railroads and manufacturers -
1:56 - 1:58and fair labor standards.
-
1:58 - 2:00In the 20th century,
-
2:00 - 2:06improvements of life came
with tiny third parties and their allies -
2:06 - 2:09pushing the major parties
in the electoral arena -
2:10 - 2:11to adopt such measures,
-
2:12 - 2:16such as the right to form labor unions,
-
2:16 - 2:17the 40-hour week,
-
2:17 - 2:20progressive taxation, the minimum wage,
-
2:20 - 2:22unemployment compensation
-
2:22 - 2:23and social security.
-
2:24 - 2:26More recently came Medicare
-
2:26 - 2:29and civil rights, civil liberties,
-
2:29 - 2:31nuclear arms treaties,
-
2:31 - 2:33consumer and environmental triumphs --
-
2:34 - 2:36all sparked by citizen advocates
-
2:36 - 2:38and small third parties
-
2:38 - 2:40who never won a national election.
-
2:42 - 2:44If you're willing to lose persistently,
-
2:44 - 2:47your causes can become winners in time.
-
2:47 - 2:48(Laughter)
-
2:48 - 2:51The story of how I came
to these civic activities -
2:51 - 2:53may be instructive
-
2:53 - 2:57for people who go along
with Senator Daniel Webster's belief, -
2:57 - 3:01"Justice, sir, is the great interest
of man on earth." -
3:02 - 3:06I grew up in a small,
highly industrialized town in Connecticut -
3:06 - 3:08with three siblings and parents
-
3:08 - 3:12who owned a popular restaurant,
bakery and delicatessen. -
3:13 - 3:14Two waterways,
-
3:14 - 3:17the Mad River and the Still River,
-
3:17 - 3:19crossed alongside our main street.
-
3:20 - 3:25As a child, I asked
why couldn't we wade and fish in them, -
3:25 - 3:27like the rivers we read about
in our schoolbooks. -
3:28 - 3:32The answer: the factories
freely use these rivers -
3:32 - 3:36to dump harmful toxic chemicals
and other pollutants. -
3:36 - 3:41In fact, the companies took control
of rivers that belonged to all of us -
3:41 - 3:43for their own profitable pursuits.
-
3:43 - 3:48Later, I realized the rivers
were not part of our normal lives at all, -
3:48 - 3:51except when they flooded our streets.
-
3:51 - 3:55There were no water pollution
regulations to speak of then. -
3:55 - 3:58I realized only strong laws
could clean up our waterways. -
3:59 - 4:04My youthful observation
of our town's two river-sewers -
4:04 - 4:08started a straight line
to my eighth-grade graduation speech -
4:08 - 4:14about the great conservationist,
national park advocate John Muir, -
4:14 - 4:19then to my studies at Princeton
on the origins of public sanitation, -
4:19 - 4:22and then to Rachel Carson's
"Silent Spring." -
4:22 - 4:24These engagements prepared me
-
4:24 - 4:28for seizing the golden hour
of environmental lawmaking -
4:28 - 4:30in the early 1970s.
-
4:30 - 4:32I played a leading citizen role
-
4:32 - 4:35in lobbying through Congress
the Clean Air Act; -
4:35 - 4:38the clean water laws, EPA;
-
4:38 - 4:41workplace safety standards, OSHA;
-
4:41 - 4:43and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
-
4:43 - 4:45If there's less lead in your body,
-
4:45 - 4:47no more asbestos in your lungs
-
4:47 - 4:49and cleaner air and water,
-
4:49 - 4:53it's because of those laws over the years.
-
4:53 - 4:57Today, enforcement of these
lifesaving laws under Trump -
4:57 - 5:00is being dismantled wholesale.
-
5:01 - 5:04Rolling back these perils
is the immediate challenge -
5:05 - 5:07to a resurgent environmental movement
-
5:07 - 5:09for the young generation.
-
5:09 - 5:13As for consumer advocates,
there are no permanent victories. -
5:13 - 5:15Passing a law is only the first step.
-
5:15 - 5:19The next step, and the next step,
is defending the law. -
5:20 - 5:23For me, some of these battles
were highly personal. -
5:23 - 5:28I lost friends in high school and college
to highway collisions, -
5:28 - 5:31the first leading cause of death
in that age group. -
5:31 - 5:34Then, the blame was put on the driver,
-
5:34 - 5:37derisively called
"the nut behind the wheel." -
5:38 - 5:41True, drunk drivers had responsibility,
-
5:41 - 5:45but safer-designed vehicles and highways
could prevent crashes -
5:45 - 5:48and diminish their severity
when they occurred. -
5:48 - 5:50There were no seat belts,
padded dash panels, -
5:50 - 5:54no airbags or other
crash-worthy protections -
5:54 - 5:58to diminish the severity of collisions.
-
5:58 - 6:04The brakes, tires and handling stability
of US vehicles left much to be desired, -
6:04 - 6:07even in comparison
with foreign manufacturers. -
6:07 - 6:09I liked to hitchhike,
-
6:09 - 6:13including back and forth
from Princeton and Harvard Law School. -
6:13 - 6:18Sometimes, a driver and I came upon
ghastly crash scenes. -
6:19 - 6:22The horrors made a deep impression on me.
-
6:22 - 6:25They sparked my writing
a paper at law school -
6:25 - 6:30on unsafe automotive design and the need
for motor vehicle safety laws. -
6:30 - 6:34One of my closest friends
at law school, Fred Condon, -
6:34 - 6:38was driving home one day from work
to his young family in New Hampshire -
6:39 - 6:44and momentarily drowsed
behind the wheel of his station wagon. -
6:44 - 6:47The vehicle went to the shoulder
of the road and tipped over. -
6:48 - 6:51There were no seat belts in 1961.
-
6:51 - 6:53Fred became a paraplegic.
-
6:53 - 6:58Such preventable violence
created fire in my belly. -
6:59 - 7:03The auto industry was
cruelly refusing to install -
7:03 - 7:07long-known lifesaving safety features
and pollution controls. -
7:07 - 7:12Instead, the industry focused on
advertising the annual style changes -
7:12 - 7:14and excessive horsepower.
-
7:14 - 7:15I was outraged.
-
7:16 - 7:20The more I investigated the suppression
of auto safety devices, -
7:20 - 7:24publicized evidence from court cases
about the auto companies -
7:24 - 7:27negligently harming vehicle occupants --
-
7:27 - 7:31especially the instability
of a GM vehicle called the Corvair -- -
7:31 - 7:36the more General Motors was keen on
discrediting my writings and testimony. -
7:36 - 7:41They hired private detectives
to follow me in order to get dirt. -
7:42 - 7:45After the publication of my book,
"Unsafe at Any Speed," -
7:45 - 7:49GM wanted to undermine
my forthcoming testimony -
7:49 - 7:51before a Senate subcommittee in 1966.
-
7:52 - 7:54The Capitol Police caught them.
-
7:55 - 7:57The media was all over
the struggle in Congress -
7:57 - 7:59between me and giant General Motors.
-
8:00 - 8:03With remarkable speed compared to today,
-
8:03 - 8:09in 1966, Congress and President Johnson
brought the largest industry in America -
8:09 - 8:10under federal regulation
-
8:10 - 8:15for safety, pollution control
and fuel efficiency. -
8:15 - 8:17By the year 2015,
-
8:17 - 8:21three and a half million deaths
were averted just in the US, -
8:22 - 8:24millions more injuries prevented,
-
8:24 - 8:26billions of dollars saved.
-
8:26 - 8:31What did it take for a victory
against such overwhelming odds? -
8:32 - 8:34Well, there were:
-
8:34 - 8:39one, a few advocates who knew how
to communicate the evidence everywhere; -
8:39 - 8:43two, several key receptive
congressional committee chairs -
8:43 - 8:45led by three senators;
-
8:46 - 8:49three, about seven reporters
from major newspapers -
8:49 - 8:53who regularly reported on
the unfolding story; -
8:53 - 8:57four, President Lyndon Johnson,
with assistance, -
8:57 - 9:03amenable to creating
a regulatory safety agency, NHTSA; -
9:03 - 9:08and five, a dozen auto engineers,
inspectors and physicians -
9:09 - 9:11who divulged crucial information,
-
9:11 - 9:14and who need to be better known.
-
9:14 - 9:18One more factor was critical:
informed public opinion. -
9:18 - 9:23A majority of people learned about
how much safer their cars could be. -
9:23 - 9:26They wanted their vehicles
to be fuel-efficient. -
9:26 - 9:28They wanted to breathe cleaner air.
-
9:28 - 9:31The result: in September 1966,
-
9:31 - 9:36President Lyndon Johnson signed
the safety legislation in the White House -
9:36 - 9:40with me by his side, receiving a pen!
-
9:40 - 9:41(Laughter)
-
9:41 - 9:44Between 1966 and 1976,
-
9:44 - 9:49those six critically connected factors
were used over and over. -
9:49 - 9:54It became the golden age
of legislation and regulatory action -
9:54 - 9:57for consumer, worker
and environmental protection. -
9:58 - 10:01Those connected elements
of our past campaigns -
10:01 - 10:06need to be kept in mind
by people striving to do the same today -
10:06 - 10:08for drinking water safety,
-
10:08 - 10:10antibiotic resistance deaths,
-
10:10 - 10:13criminal justice reform,
-
10:13 - 10:15risks from climate disruption,
-
10:15 - 10:17bio- and nanotech impacts,
-
10:17 - 10:19the nuclear arms race,
-
10:19 - 10:20peace treaties,
-
10:20 - 10:21dangers to children,
-
10:22 - 10:24chemical and radioactive perils,
-
10:24 - 10:25and the like.
-
10:25 - 10:31According to a solid study in 2016
by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, -
10:31 - 10:33preventable hospital deaths
-
10:33 - 10:38take a mind-boggling 5,000 lives
a week in America. -
10:39 - 10:42The 1980s climax:
-
10:42 - 10:47our dramatic struggle
to limit smoking in public places, -
10:47 - 10:49regulate the tobacco industry
-
10:49 - 10:52and establish conditions
for reducing smoking. -
10:52 - 10:56Their struggle began in earnest in 1964,
-
10:56 - 10:59with the US Surgeon
General's famous report -
10:59 - 11:03linking cigarette smoking
to cancer and other diseases. -
11:03 - 11:07Over 400,000 deaths a year
in the United States -
11:07 - 11:09are related to smoking.
-
11:10 - 11:16Public hearings, litigation, media exposés
and industry whistleblowers -
11:16 - 11:21joined with crucial medical scientists
to take on a very powerful industry. -
11:21 - 11:25I asked Michael Pertschuk,
a leading Senate staffer, -
11:25 - 11:30how many full-time advocates were working
on tobacco industry control at that time. -
11:30 - 11:36Mr. Pertschuk estimated no more
than 1,000 full-time champions in the US -
11:36 - 11:38pressing for a smoke-free society.
-
11:38 - 11:44I say that's a remarkably small number
of people making it happen. -
11:44 - 11:49They had a public opinion majority
of aroused people, nonsmokers, -
11:49 - 11:50behind them.
-
11:50 - 11:54Many smokers were quitting
the nicotine addiction. -
11:54 - 11:57Just think: from 45 percent of adults
-
11:57 - 12:01down to 15 percent by 2018.
-
12:02 - 12:05The tipping point was when
Congress passed legislation -
12:05 - 12:07empowering the Food
and Drug Administration -
12:07 - 12:10to regulate the tobacco companies.
-
12:10 - 12:13Keep in mind that advances
for consumers and workers -
12:13 - 12:17are usually followed by
a variety of corporate counterattacks. -
12:17 - 12:21When the fervor behind such reform fades,
-
12:22 - 12:28then legislatures and regulatory agencies
become very vulnerable to industry capture -
12:28 - 12:31that stalls existing
or further enforcement. -
12:32 - 12:33What's that saying?
-
12:33 - 12:37"Justice requires constant vigilance."
-
12:37 - 12:39We see the difference between
-
12:39 - 12:44the driven stamina of counterattacking,
profit-driven corporate power -
12:44 - 12:48and the fatigue that overcomes
a voluntary citizenry -
12:48 - 12:51whose awareness and skill need renewal.
-
12:52 - 12:54It is not a fair contest
-
12:54 - 12:58between large companies
like General Motors, Pfizer, -
12:58 - 13:02ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo, Monsanto,
-
13:02 - 13:05plus other very wealthy
companies and lobbyists, -
13:05 - 13:09compared to people protection groups
with very limited resources. -
13:10 - 13:13Moreover, the corporations
have immunities and privileges -
13:13 - 13:16unavailable to real human beings.
-
13:16 - 13:22For example, Takata was guilty
of a horrific airbag scandal, -
13:22 - 13:25but the company escaped
criminal prosecution. -
13:25 - 13:31Instead, Takata was allowed to go bankrupt
and its executives kept nice nest eggs. -
13:32 - 13:36But organized people need not
be awed by corporate power. -
13:36 - 13:39Lawmakers still want votes
-
13:39 - 13:44more than they need
campaign finance from corporations. -
13:45 - 13:49We far outnumber corporations
in potential influence. -
13:50 - 13:52But voters must be connected clearly
-
13:52 - 13:57to what organized voters want
from the lawmakers. -
13:57 - 14:02Delegating the constitutional
authority of "we the people," -
14:02 - 14:06we want them to do the people's work.
-
14:07 - 14:08A people's Congress,
-
14:08 - 14:12the most constitutionally powerful
branch of government, -
14:12 - 14:17can override, block or rechannel
the most destructive corporations. -
14:18 - 14:22There are only 100 senators
and 435 representatives -
14:22 - 14:25with just two million
organized activists back home, -
14:25 - 14:27a Congress watchdog hobby.
-
14:28 - 14:32Congressional justice
can be made reliable and prompt. -
14:32 - 14:35We've proved that again and again
with far fewer people. -
14:35 - 14:38But today, Congress,
marinated in campaign money, -
14:38 - 14:42has been abdicating its responsibilities
to an executive branch -
14:43 - 14:47which too often has become a corporate
state controlled by big companies. -
14:48 - 14:53President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
in 1938, in a message to Congress, -
14:53 - 14:57called concentrated corporate power
over our government -
14:57 - 15:00quote -- fascism -- end quote.
-
15:01 - 15:04A modest engagement
of one percent of adults -
15:04 - 15:08in each of the 435
congressional districts, -
15:08 - 15:12summoning senators and representatives
or state legislators -
15:12 - 15:14to their own town meetings,
-
15:14 - 15:17where the citizenry presents their agenda,
-
15:17 - 15:19backed by a majority of voters,
-
15:19 - 15:21can turn Congress around.
-
15:21 - 15:26Our representatives can become
a fountainhead of democracy and justice, -
15:26 - 15:28elevating human possibilities.
-
15:29 - 15:30I dream of our schools,
-
15:30 - 15:32or after-school clinics,
-
15:32 - 15:37teaching community civic action skills,
leading to the good life. -
15:37 - 15:39Adult education classes
should do the same. -
15:39 - 15:44We need to create citizen training
and action libraries. -
15:44 - 15:49Students and adults love knowledge
that relates to their daily lives. -
15:49 - 15:54Large majorities of Americans,
regardless of political labels, -
15:54 - 15:55favor a living wage,
-
15:55 - 15:57universal health insurance,
-
15:57 - 16:01real enforcement against
corporate crime, fraud and abuse. -
16:01 - 16:03They want a fair, productive tax system,
-
16:03 - 16:07public budgets returning value
to the people back home -
16:07 - 16:09in modern infrastructure,
-
16:09 - 16:11and an end to most corporate subsidies.
-
16:11 - 16:16Increasingly, they're demanding
serious attention to climate disruption -
16:16 - 16:20and other environmental
and global health perils and pandemics. -
16:21 - 16:23Big majorities of people
want efficient government, -
16:23 - 16:28an end to endless,
aggressive wars that boomerang. -
16:28 - 16:33They want clean elections
and fair rules for voters and candidates. -
16:33 - 16:36These are changes
that bring people together, -
16:36 - 16:38changes Congress can make happen.
-
16:38 - 16:41People around the world favor democracy,
-
16:41 - 16:45because it brings the best
out of its inhabitants and its leaders. -
16:45 - 16:48But this objective requires citizens
to want to spend time -
16:48 - 16:51on this great opportunity
called democracy, -
16:51 - 16:53between and at elections.
-
16:54 - 16:57History gives examples
that encourage us to believe -
16:57 - 17:00that breaking through power
is easier than we think. -
17:00 - 17:03People say to me,
"I don't know what to do!" -
17:03 - 17:05Start to learn by doing.
-
17:05 - 17:07The more they practice citizen action,
-
17:07 - 17:09the more skilled and innovative
they become at it. -
17:10 - 17:14Like learning a trade, a profession,
a hobby, learning how to swim, -
17:14 - 17:17their doubts, prejudgments and hesitancy
-
17:17 - 17:20begin to melt away
in the crucible of action. -
17:21 - 17:24Their arguments for change
become deeper and sharper. -
17:24 - 17:28From 1965 to 1966,
-
17:28 - 17:31when I was making the case
for safer automobiles, -
17:31 - 17:34I realized that there were a lot
of industries making a lot of money -
17:34 - 17:38from dealing with
the horrific results of crashes: -
17:38 - 17:42medical care, insurance sales,
repairing cars ... -
17:42 - 17:47There was a perverse incentive
to do nothing but maintain the status quo. -
17:47 - 17:51By contrast, preventing these tragedies
-
17:51 - 17:55frees consumer dollars to spend or save
in voluntary [ways] -
17:55 - 17:57for better livelihoods.
-
17:57 - 18:02What it takes is a small number of people
to exert their civic muscle, -
18:02 - 18:04both as individuals and organized groups,
-
18:04 - 18:07on our legal decision makers.
-
18:07 - 18:12Ideally, it only takes a few enlightened
rich people contributing funds -
18:12 - 18:17to accelerate citizen efforts
against the commanders of greed and power. -
18:17 - 18:20Why, in our past, rich people
donated essential money -
18:20 - 18:25for the antislavery, women's right
to vote and civil rights movements. -
18:25 - 18:26We should remember that.
-
18:26 - 18:28With the onset of climate catastrophe,
-
18:28 - 18:33every one of us needs to have
a higher estimate of our own significance, -
18:33 - 18:36of our own sustained
dedication to the civic life, -
18:36 - 18:40as part of a normal way of daily living,
-
18:40 - 18:43along with our personal family life.
-
18:43 - 18:46Showing up thoughtfully
is half of democracy. -
18:46 - 18:49That's what advances life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. -
18:50 - 18:53Remember, our country
is full of problems we don't deserve -
18:53 - 18:56and solutions which we do not apply.
-
18:56 - 19:01That gap is a democracy gap
that no power can stop us from closing. -
19:01 - 19:04We owe this to our posterity.
-
19:04 - 19:06Don't we want our descendants,
-
19:06 - 19:10instead of cursing us
for our shortsighted neglect, -
19:10 - 19:12don't we want them to bless our foresight
-
19:12 - 19:17and bright horizons which can
fulfill their lives peacefully -
19:17 - 19:19and advance the common good?
-
19:19 - 19:20Thank you.
-
19:21 - 19:23(Applause)
- Title:
- What it takes to create social change against all odds
- Speaker:
- Ralph Nader
- Description:
-
Ralph Nader speaks at TEDMED 2020
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 19:38
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Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for What it takes to create social change against all odds |