Amartya Sen + Van Jones

I am a lucky lady. I had the pleasure of seeing two of my heroes speak within days of each other: Amartya Sen on Friday in Houston and Van Jones tonight in Cambridge. They were both great speeches, though I connected more with Jones' (which you'll find on the Harvard Institute of Politics iTunesU by the end of the week). Definitely check it out. He highlighted some little known information about the Tea Party and drew some interesting comparisons between the Tea Party movement and #Occupy. I actually got a chance to ask both speakers about #Occupy. Sen said he'd been out of the country and needed to read up on it but he was encouraged to see people rising up against the vast economic equality in America. I asked Jones about strategy specifically and he said that he thinks the protests, as a swarm, don't necessarily need to be held accountable for coming up with strategies or solutions for us but should help draw attention to the actors who have put forth solutions. I look forward to a close reading of his organization's Contract for the American Dream which, he claims, lays out some solid solutions. Honestly, we he first announced the contract, and the launch of his group Rebuild the Dream, I thought, "Really, another group?" we already have MoveOn, 350.org, Progressive Change Committee, and a million other groups who haven't put forward a silver bullet, why another? I suppose I'll give it a second look.

Van Jones is so fun to listen to. He's an amazing speaker and has a great knack for making a conversation about the dire circumstances in our country just a little hilarious. Tonight I laughed out loud more than once. He also just made some choice and quotable points:

"When you rig the game, you divide the playground... The kids start acting up."

"Markets work according to rules. The rules are whacky and as long a they're whacky, they're going to give us things we don't want." He then provided some examples, including "...chemicals in our food." I love that.

Thanks Van, for always being an inspiration.

I'm sitting in Club Passim in Cambridge, about to see Pokey LaFarge. Awesome.