Join us for a very important PDA Town Hall, Sunday at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. We need to build a powerful Peace Movement and a strong Progressive Left in the United States. PDA exists to achieve both of these goals, and we plan to succeed. We’ll explain how on Sunday. RSVP Now!

It’s been a rough week, given the horrific events in Israel/Palestine. It was also a very important week, one that lurches us into a period of heightened geopolitical and historical significance.

We at PDA understand that our work is even more important now. Both the Peace Movement and the American Progressive Left need to be strong enough not only to be heard, but to influence events. We may not be there yet, but we’re not that far away. After all, there are many seemingly intractable crises across the world, yet progressives have proposals to remedy these, if only they can win power and implement them. We’ll be addressing how these goals can be achieved on Sunday. RSVP now!

Sadly, there were stories in the U.S. press this week about how the violence in Israel/Palestine sparked recriminations and infighting across the political left here and abroad. Some of these articles made the all-too-familiar claim that infighting and vitriol are common features of the left, and have been for time immemorial. We not only reject this notion, PDA is living proof of its falsity. We’ve been an oasis of solidarity—with a culture of cooperation and “getting things done”—for 20 over-achieving years!

Is there a secret to our success? Yes. Well, actually there are quite a few—and we’ll discuss them on Sunday.

In the meantime, consider this one core PDA tenet: Peace Movement activists and Progressive leftists need to start prioritizing the Peace Movement and the Progressive Left, respectively.

Why? Because movement activists and progressives tend to focus their passion on issues: e.g., a living wage, excess carbon in the atmosphere, Russia/Ukraine, mass incarceration, whatever it might be. That’s OK, but we have to place the strength, cohesion, and growth of the peace and progressive movements themselves on an equal footing with underlying issues. Otherwise, we’re not going to win much of anything—and the world, the people, and the planet desperately need us to win.

Looking forward to discussing the implications of these priorities, and how we can build more powerful peace and progressive movements, at the Town Hall on Sunday. RSVP now!

We hope to see you there.

Solidarity!
Alan Minsky for the PDA National Team