“…we’ve been driven by the desire to have our preaching reach beyond the choir,” writes Jon Rainwater about Peace Action West in a chapter about their priority action methods, which include canvassing, ‘power mapping’ their membership recruitment, selecting clear political missions, gathering hand-written constituent letters and more. Rainwater refers to a study by the Congressional Management Foundation which showed that personalized letters are by far the most persuasive form of individual constituent communication. He further illustrates that Tip O’Neill was said to be able to dismiss the generic postcards, but that handwritten letters really got his attention. O’Neill had a change of heart, becoming a most important leader in the movement to bring the troops home from Vietnam.,
From Peace Action, Past, Present and Future, published in 2007* -- edited by Glen Harold Stassen and Lawrence S. Wittner
Ideas and quotes from Chapter “The Strength of Peace Action’s Affiliate Network: A View from the Left Coast” by Jon Rainwater
“The person whose door we are knocking on is more often a suburban soccer mom or dad thinking about getting their kids to bed than a Berkeley or Hollywood activist worrying about the latest incursion of the American empire. Through this outreach, busy people without a strong activist identity are provided a vehicle for participating in critical U.S. foreign policy debates.”
They target member recruitment to the most politically significant or swing districts (of Congress), calling it “power mapping”.
Also, they choose a clear political mission which leads to the personalized letters described above.
“Learning to Listen…we’ve learned that it’s not enough to get out raw facts about policy or simply to ‘speak truth to (or about) power.’ Our staff has learned how to listen to feedback at the door and to ‘cut the issues’ to different audiences. We’ve had to craft messages for an audience that is diverse ethnically, geographically, and class-wise….
“…we’ve also had to fight against a stereotype of the peace movement as a constituency that is outside of the political mainstream. The right wing has a patented blend of ridicule mixed with a dollop of fear that has successfully undermined many a progressive cause. Visceral culturally based stereotypes portray progressive concerns as elitist or ‘fringe.’ Environmentalists (picture them wearing Birkenstocks) are ‘tree huggers’ out to take your jobs. Labor ‘bosses’ (picture them smoking a cigar) are ‘greedy.’
“The peace movement has a particularly tough hill to climb when it comes to these stereotypes. In this era, many politicians fear the charge ‘soft on defense’ more than any other epithet. The way the communications media cover our issues also marginalizes peace and justice advocacy groups.
“…Peace and justice groups need to be creative to position themselves as legitimate spokespeople.
“Because of this uphill fight, our organization has taken to heart all the recent attention on ‘framing’ and ‘values-based’ language. Peace Action West produces internal message guidance and talking points for each of our priority campaigns, and we ground our message in values-based, everyday language.
“Part of our strategy for getting our message into the mainstream media has been to pay to put out our messages unedited. We’ve done this in full-page newspaper advertisements, radio and cable TV ads, and through billboards and posters in transit systems.
“…that doesn’t mean that we have shied away from hard-hitting messages or biting satire….Our ‘We’ve Found the Weapons of Mass Destruction’ ads highlighted President Bush’s planned development of a new generation of nuclear weapons. This campaign was part of the successful effort to cut funds for development of low-yield nuclear weapons and nuclear bunker-busters…[describing] the administration’s nuclear stance as a ‘do as we say not as we do’ policy that failed the test of common sense and pragmatism…
“We’ve even had a fair amount of success in getting out our message on talk radio—a media environment usually associated with conservative points of view. Our reliance on mainstream-friendly messaging has found surprisingly strong support from moderate and even conservative talk show hosts…
“Broadening the Base…Our movement must also do a better job of articulating what a foreign policy based on our values looks like….
“…to be effective such a movement needs to be able to say what it is for, not just what it is against…
“…it must have a clearly articulated moral vision, with values rather than mere interests determining its political direction…
“Peace Action West worked with the Peace Action affiliate network to create the Campaign for a New Foreign Policy. We called for a foreign policy rooted in international cooperation…
“We shared this campaign with the faith community, with women’s groups, and with organizations representing communities of color as we made presentations in community halls and local congregations…
“At the same time as we have worked to broaden the constituencies we work with, we have worked to create an organization that reflects the diversity of our region…we hold trainings and dialogues to foster a multicultural workplace…
“Coordinated Campaigns and Grassroots Capacity…The arc of the Cold War and its aftermath delineates some of Peace Action’s biggest victories and defeats…Unfortunately, the end of the Cold War era did not usher in the type of peace dividends—economic or metaphorical—that many had hoped it would. The defeat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty…underscored the difficulty…
“The two forces we will need to move the nuclear disarmament agenda are active public concern and carefully coordinated and truly nationwide grassroots efforts…we need to build a larger, more geographically dispersed grassroots constituency…one dramatic advertisement, one swing member of Congress, one alliance partner, one election, and one door at a time.”
*Note: This was written five or six years ago. The issues shift; results sometimes are undone; or the issue must be addressed again and again. Also organizations shift and adjust. This is published to share a look at some processes used.
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