Van Jones is one of the most powerful speakers I’ve seen, and a brilliant thinker to boot (with a big heart), so it is with no trepidation that I recommend the following profile from the New Yorker.
I’m currently reading his new book, The Green Collar Economy, which is poignant call for turning the US economy around through the creation of green jobs (the “labor” kind). It’s abut time we made the green movement more colorful.
For more info, go to Green for All.
In the snip below, Jones gives his “street rap” to a group of kids.
The Political Scene: Greening the Ghetto: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker:
“I love Barack Obama,” he said. “I’d pay money just to shine the brother’s shoes. But I’ll tell you this. Do you hear me? One man is not going to save us. I don’t care who that man is. He’s not going to save us. And, in fact, if you want to be real about this—can y’all take it? I’m going to be real with y’all. Not only is Barack Obama not going to be able to save you—you are going to have to save Barack Obama.”
Jones went on to discuss the crisis on Wall Street, the federal budget deficit—“We’re going broke by the second”—and how annoying it can be to listen to people who use a lot of fancy words. “People who know a lot talk weird,” he said. “So you can spend a lot of time listening to people who are educated, and all you get is frustrated, because what they’re saying doesn’t actually land with you. Well, boohoo. Get over it.”
