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Why I've been missing (CPMM Newsletter, October 2017)

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George Lakey

By the time you read this I’ll be back in Britain for my equality traveling ministry to share the vision expressed in “Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too.”

In August a number of British Friends volunteered, following my keynote of the Britain Yearly Meeting Gathering, to organize an October tour. They’ve organized venues in both Scotland and England, including bookshops, universities, and Meetinghouses. The tour includes a national gathering of Quaker activists.

Overall, the tour has taken me to 20 states, from Maine to California, Georgia to Alaska, North Dakota to Arizona. Some bookstores had standing room only, as had some Friends Meetinghouses. Everywhere I met people who are aware of what it means to live in a country where one-third of working age men are either unemployed or unable to keep a family of four out of poverty; half of the entire American workforce earns less than $15/hour!

Since the tour began in July 2016 I published 18 articles related to the book, to increase awareness of how the Nordics reversed the high inequality they once lived with. In addition, Bernie Sanders’ Facebook page re-published an earlier Nordic article of mine; it garnered 270,000 views within a few days.

A recent article sharing observations from my book tour was published by Common Dreams: “What the Nordics Bravely Won, People Across the US Are Now Demanding.” https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/07/28/what-nordics-bravely-won-p....

During this period, I also published 12 articles not related directly to the book, concerning grassroots nonviolent strategies for this turbulent moment in the U.S. “A ten-point plan to make gains in justice and equality” went viral and was called a “must-read” by the national organizers of the Women’s March. http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/stop-trump-10-point-strategy/.

Email me if you want a list of my articles.

A generous donor worked with the publisher to mail sample copies to 200 college professors known to be interested in economic justice. I guest-taught in universities from California to Massachusetts, and in Norway keynoted a conference of 300 Nordic economics professors gathered at a university north of the Arctic Circle. I also wrote a chapter for a forthcoming book by U.S. Quaker economists.

Even though my own graduate training is in sociology, not economics, my story about the Nordic model is provoking new interest in an alternative often left out of comparative economics courses.

Mass media showed strong interest. I’ve given over 40 radio and television interviews so far. The PBS-TV station in Juneau, Alaska, filled its largest studio with citizens and for one hour televised live -- statewide -- my responses to the questions from the audience. This video and some others are available on YouTube.

I took time off from the tour in order to walk one hundred miles with Earth Quaker Action Team’s spring action, demanding that PECO substantially increase its use of solar and, as EQAT puts it,

“Power Local Green Jobs.” EQAT’s action was a welcome respite from trains and planes.

I expect to be finished touring by the end of November, having enjoyed my 80th birthday party break at Friends Center at 7pm on Nov 4 (CPMM invited). I will remain available for episodic one-off engagements, but am ready to let go of the touring. I’m left with enormous gratitude to the many Friends who made the tour possible and who are ready to live in a just nation.

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