I know more about Ireland’s Green Party than I do about the U.S. Green Party (thanks in part to a charismatic lecturer in an environmental policy class), but I certainly wouldn’t mind learning more about my hometown Greens. It seems, however, that I can’t rely on the American media for this information, argues Green Party cofounder John Rensenbrink in the Spring issue of Green Horizon (article not available online).
It’s a point well taken–but unfortunately, in the course of Rensenbrink’s rant about his party’s invisibility (full disclosure: he includes Utne Reader in a list of lefty magazines that ignore the party), he does not explain the Green Party’s principles or flesh out why it should hold such irresistible appeal for American progressives. Rensenbrink gushes about Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney’s nomination speech this winter–“brilliantly crafted, beautifully delivered, convincingly argued, and courageous”–but he doesn’t include a word of what McKinney said.
If Rensenbrink is just blowing off steam to fellow Greens, fine. But he’s not going to win any information-starved converts if even he doesn’t devote print space to explaining his party.
Image by Lili Vieira de Carvalho, licensed under Creative Commons.
