Lisa and I met Brown when he came to Wisconsin in the presidential campaign of 1980. The Wisconsin primary was his last stand; if he lost, it was all over.

He stayed two nights at our house in Milwaukee. (This story is detailed in my book “The Odyssey of a Practical Visionary”.) Willis Harman, Stanford professor and renowned futurist, had called me, saying that people had questions about Brown. Although by reputation he’d attracted many non-traditional followers and idealists and articulated astute policies, he’d never shed the “Governor Moonbeam” label of years past. Harman said Brown had a lot to offer, the critics could be wrong, and he represented views not found elsewhere. Would I assemble a microcosm of leaders in southeast Wisconsin to hear him out—politicians, church people, academics, business, the media?

That evening he leaned on the mantel in front of our fireplace for three hours, dialoguing with the 50 people gathered. Afterward, some of us continued into the small hours. It was a tour de force.

A “Milwaukee Journal” reporter covered the meeting in a long piece. A sample quote from Brown: “The old system, old assumptions, old values, no longer apply…It is a threatening idea to those who identify with the old system…(which is) planned obsolescence, waste and pollution. We need to be more frugal, more self-reliant, more caring about others. We need a new path…”

Before everyone left, including the usual skeptics, I asked for feedback. The general comment: “If someone like Brown were elected, American politics would change almost overnight.”

The next day I followed him around to campaign stops—labor unions, hospitals, a factory. At each place he told them exactly what they wanted to hear—like all the other politicians. Was the previous night’s lucid discussion just a charade?

Late the second night we talked for two hours. Since he asked for my observations and I knew I’d not have another chance, I said: “Jerry, you have the opportunity to take a stand as a new kind of politician. I heard this from many folks you met last night. You’re still young, dynamic, politically savvy, well-known, from a respected political family (his father Pat had been a popular California governor) But your talks today were the same old stuff. You blew it. There was nothing to differentiate you from every other candidate. Was the meeting last night just “BS”?

He responded: “To be candid, I didn’t come to Wisconsin to be a new kind of politician. I came to lay the groundwork for winning the primary to save my campaign. I have volunteers here from around the country to help me win—they have no money, are sleeping at the Y. Some may be interested in what you say but this is the way politics works.”

This was 30 years ago. He only won 12 % of the primary vote, and withdrew his candidacy.

Now he is again Governor of California—a top national leader. His challenges are almost overwhelming: a huge State debt, a $90 billion budget gap, and a political climate of gridlock.

This week he stood up: “We’re going to face the music”—no smoke and mirrors. He’s committing to do what few other politicians won’t do: cut expenses in a massive way (the Democrats oppose) and raise taxes significantly (the Republicans oppose). He says this means taking tough choices, facing up to vested interests on all sides.

This is the kind of responsible leadership we’ve been demanding for years from our political class: to confront the federal debt, to solve a whole range of urgent problems.

Will Brown pull off this kind of heavy lifting in California that America desperately needs?

STAY TUNED.

Lisa’s UNCONVENTIONAL JOURNEY—THE STORY OF HIGH WIND, went to the printer yesterday. It details High Wind’s evolution “From Vision to Intentional Community to Eco-neighborhood.” In the Foreword, author David Spangler notes how “ordinary people who placed their lives on the line to bring something new into being and, in the often-difficult process that ensued, discovered that ‘ordinary’ is the new extraordinary.” Her 176 photographs graphically bring to life the array of varied actors and the examples of renewable energy and sustainable farming that were at the heart of this pioneering enterprise.

Every now and then I hear from a new reader of my ODYSSEY OF A PRACTICAL VISIONARY. Recently a visitor from Amherst, Massachusetts picked up the book. She wrote me: “It has me spellbound. There are times when I really can’t put it down. The idea of a kid just out of college going to work with the poor in Naples a few years after WW II, and then Lisa happening to show up—it must have been in the stars. I read about your maneuvering university politics and your contributions towards making people’s lives better….The world needs more people like the two of you.” A few more of those might stimulate me to write another book! (Horrors, not that!)

Belden

Everyone is discussing the need to cut government spending and reduce the huge deficit. So what are many of our political leaders vigorously pushing? Holding on to all the tax cuts of the Bush era, that are estimated to cost some $4 trillion over the next decade.

Again, the big cry across America is to confront the daunting reality of too much government in our lives. Yet a recent Wall Street Journal report summarizing U.S. census fgures noted that nearly half of all American households receive some government benefit—social security, housing subsidies, jobless help, medicare, etc. Does anyone want to cut their benefits, which are expected to consume more and more of our economy? Not likely.

We millions using Facebook—can we figure out how to push for some enlightened political leadership?

Learn about us. Our books give examples of relevant action on complex problems. I expect your experience offers the same. I’m a strong believer that creative energies will harness sane solutions even in the craziest of predictaments.

Belden?

All of these issues have something to do with energy policy and building a sustainable world. The Gulf oil spill was much bigger than this one horrific episode—it once again challenged us to rethink our addiction to oil. The floods, heat waves, droughts all tie into weather extremes that likely have something to do with changing climate. While our traditional economic system may no longer require our total labor force to produce all the goods and services we need, an energy-efficient culture based in sustainable lifestyles will open up a very different economy with a whole range of new work demands.

I seems that the Congress and also, unhappily, Obama, have abandoned ship for an energy/climate bill. Wall Street is still locked in business as usual. This makes clear that the beachhead for transforming our culture toward a more sustainable world is being formed with the huge army of projects being implemented in local areas: creating sustainable communities, constructng buildings using renewable energy, growing food close to home with natural technologies, pioneering new kinds of businesses, inspiring some out-of-the box educators.

I mention in my book, “Odyssey of a Practical Visionary,” that when we served on the Education Task Force of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, it was continually emphasized that th U.N. and governments can pass resolutions but the real action will take place at the local level.

The millions of us who use Facebook, for example, can help to pave the way, countering the mainstream political and economic leadership with our practical models of sustainable living.

Belden

Then people I care about and seldom communicate with will say: “I want to be your ‘friend.’” Naturally I click “Yes” but that’s about it, just one more name. I know folks with hundreds of “friends” but what’s the point? I’m not really interested in the trivial details of someone’s life and I doubt they’re interested in mine. On the oher hand, I’m very interested in what’s on their mind, what’s important to them.

For example, these next efforts to get the Palestinans and Israelis talking has huge importance. A solution there would have more benefit in cooling the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Iran, than anything else we could do. I remember writing in my book (“Odyssey of a Practical Visionary”) about meeting an Arab student from Jordan when I was a grad student at the University of Chicago in the 1950s, over half a centry ago. He said all the talks are useless. The Arab leaders want the Arab refugees to stay in the camps and not be resettled. That keeps the problem alive until they can push the Jews into the sea and get back their lands.

Obama is hosting a big dinner this week at the White House for Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahoud Abbas. There will be intense negotiations, if they don’t get sidetracked right away (e.g., several Israeli settlers were just killed, or if Israeli construction on the West Bank is renewed, the talks could be off). Will each side find something lacking in the past, such as enlightened statesmanship, to bring a two-state conclusion? Will the American public be even-handed? Don’t hold your breath, but a miracle wouldn’t hurt. Imagine the millions who use Facebook pushing both sides! A productive result right here would produce far more value than all the billions of dollars and military might now mobilized elsewhere in the Middle East.

Belden