THE PEACE WITH JUSTICE CAMPAIGN
FOR UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE
SUBMITTED BY DAVID WEST
As I’ve listened at the meetings for the last couple months there are some things that seemed to have a consensus in our fledgling Peace with Justice Committee: we want systemic change and a definable winnable campaign. I strongly believe that the campaign I’ve outlined has those things or at least could have should we decide to pursue it.
Nothing is more systemic changing than the care of
children. Furthermore, we are judged as
a society and as a human race on how we treat our young. The way we treat our young will continue to reconstellate itself for generations. For this we unfortunately have ample
evidence. Any way that we can intervene
in that system is a way we can define our campaign.
How is a victory defined by your campaign?
We will not rest until every child in
Where is the campaign happening?
The struggle is happening in every block in every
neighborhood in this city, wherever there are children living in a middle class
home there are parents concerned about how they are going to care for them.
What have been the highlights of your campaign so far?
Skyler West.
What is it about the campaign that you (and others) have
been excited and inspired about?
What excites me is that nowhere in this entire civilized
democracy is anybody talking about universal childcare. We have kids coming
into the public school system who’ve never been read to, whose basic attachment
needs have not been met, and who’ve been raised in families stressed out in
part by the struggle to provide childcare for them and instead of doing anything
significant about it, we just muddle through hoping overworked kindergarten and
elementary teachers can catch them up.
Or we throw a few crumbs at them in the form of Early Childhood
Education Funding or Headstart money when times are
fat, only to cut it later when times are lean.
I’m excited that our own outreach program sees these kids
and tries to give them the love and resources the economic system has robbed
them of every day.
I’m excited that none of our leaders talk about this vital
issue because none of our leaders depend on the children’s vote for their jobs.
I’m excited that parents are isolated from each other and
childcare resources and have no real organization.
I’m excited to the point of rage.
Why are you motivated
to work on this?
I’m tired of watching children in
I also believe that Education, Corrections, Healthcare,
Poverty and Racism can all improve with relatively meager investment at this
age level.
What efforts or projects are happening soon in the campaign?
We have to figure that out.
Yes, people are working on childcare.
This Children’s Defense Fund specifically is lobbying to restore the
cuts sustained by childcare in 2003.
They are also researching what has happened to children since that
disastrous budget cycle. We need to fundraise for own Outreach program. Linda Berglin’s constitutional amendment regarding healthcare is
also related. But no effort that I know
of addresses what I see as the central issue: children deserve care, permanent,
reliable, loving, affordable.
What things are needed to be done?
We need to break the issue down to a series of winnable
campaigns or attainable goals. We need
to strategize. We need to establish
coalitions with the Children’s Defense Fund, Linda Berglin,
Sally Kuehn, and others working on children’s issues.
Perhaps we need to work closely with the yet to be formed
Spanish speaking Methodist Congregation and explore a bilingual childcare
center.
Perhaps we need to use the old Black Panther style of
political organizing and create a childcare system of our own since the
government seems incapable of doing what every other civilized government in
the world has done.
Perhaps we need to start on our own block and ensure that
every child there is adequately cared for.
And then build from there.
We also need to continue providing spiritually nurturing and
loving childcare every Sunday morning from