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activism
January 2009 
The Activist next door
Uli
I met Robert Bisson at the first Move On! event I ever went to. We were to gather in Hudson, NY on a steamy summer afternoon at a gas station to let voters know about the connections between John McCain and the big oil companies and the difference in the presidential candidates' energy policies. "Bring an umbrella," Robert had written to the participants, "it's likely we'll get a thunderstorm."
When I got there, this lively activist with the energy of a mischievous and optimistic ten year old was setting up signs. Only later, when contacting him for this article did I find out, that he is about to turn 78.
Robert impressed me with his spirit, focus and passion. He was the one who kept leaping into the lanes and crossing the street to pass flyers through open car windows. He figured out which corner of the crossing was the busiest and worked it until rush hour was over. He didn't hang around chatting. He is a fighter who believes that he can make a difference in his part of the world and beyond, and in his presence it was clear that how we are as people while we do what we do is at least as important to how we are received than the facts on the flyers we distribute. A lot of people responded to Robert. His lack of cynicism and sheer positivity made me want to find out more about him for The Sunny Way. Here is what he said in our phone conversation:
I have been a concerned person for a long time, but I wasn't engaged. As an elementary teacher in Westchester, I retired in 1993, I was supporting the teacher's union. I have always been donating to a number of causes, but it wasn't until MoveOn.org provided the opportunities to organize and participate that I jumped at this new way of becoming active. That was two or three years ago. One has to be useful somehow, and I spend at least an hour a day writing to politicians, signing petitions, or making calls.We are not going to change the world overnight, but we have to believe in humanity. I am a subscriber to the magazine YES! and that is my outlook - I am focusing on the positive side of things. Where all my energy comes from? I have always been physically active, but I work out 5 days a week, an hour each time - weekends are off.
I am an atheist, and I think us humans might always act in selfish ways, but I do believe we need to move away from our most immediate selfishness, and work for fairness and a greater inclusivity. We cannot be selfish to the exclusion of others. This kind of attitude only turns out to be destructive, not just to others but to the self. It's not possible to separate the two. We are in this world together, there isn't another one. I am interested in finding those areas in which we all can find a commonality.
When, after two hours of handing out flyers in the humid Hudson heat that day, we ran out of pamphlets and decided to call it a day, Robert was pleased with the event. He had probably distributed 50% of all the flyers in our group of seven. He walked away, holding the hand of his lady to help her across the street, seven signs under his arm.
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