There was something in the ether in the summer of 1970, both inside the room where PIRG advocates first gathered on July 1 and all over the country.
America had far more problems than it should accept—and importantly, many more solutions than it was putting to good use.
Thanks largely to the unprecedented, sustained growth of the US economy, producing enough to meet society’s material needs no longer seemed a distant dream. Expectations were rising along with living standards, inspiring more people to shift the collective focus from quantity of stuff to quality of life. Why tolerate cars that are “unsafe at any speed,” for instance, once the very idea of owning a car is no longer a novelty?
And public attention also began to focus upon a new class of problems rooted in abundance itself, rather than a lack of it—problems such as the impact of pollution on the environment and human health.
Out of this ferment grew the social movements of the 1960s: the consumer movement, with Ralph Nader at the fore; the environmental movement; civil rights; women’s rights; gay rights; the peace movement; and independence movements abroad. By the early 1970s, these new or newly invigorated movements were yielding hundreds of new local and national organizations, including PIRG.
The times called for vision and imagination—and action. The young women and men sitting on the floor of their office on July 1, 1970, answered that call. They each chose work that shaped the rest of their lives. They became effective advocates who positively impacted millions. And together, they launched what would become a national network of organizations that remains among the best places for a young advocate or organizer to get a start—and spend a lifetime—making change.
In the heady days of 1970, nobody expected or even planned for PIRG to endure. But today, PIRG has grown into The Public Interest Network, home to many organizations including:
The Student PIRGs, supporting student-led work to protect the environment, revitalize our democracy, feed the hungry, and more on campuses nationwide;
State PIRGs advocating for a safer, healthier world in state capitols and communities nationwide; and
US PIRG, the national office of the state PIRGs founded in 1983, with national campaign teams and federal advocates promoting the public interest in Washington, DC.
The Public Interest Network is a product of the pivotal moment in US history that this book captures—and of the way this book’s authors each met the moment with a pragmatic, results-oriented approach.
We remain a home for people like young Sam Simon. Sam saw the tangible difference he made working all night to ensure that Vietnam War protesters could demonstrate safely—and then he decided that his place was in continuing to make an impact, not just a statement:
I looked down the road to my left and noticed hundreds of marchers breaking off the sidewalks, filling the streets in safety. From deep inside me, I knew then that I had a different future ahead of me than I had anticipated. While I might spend some time in the Army, that wouldn’t be my career. The United States itself was burning. I knew I wanted to make a difference and didn’t want to be the one marching in the streets. I didn’t want to get arrested, I didn’t want to leave the country—I did want to be an agent for change. So now what?
Sam and his fellow advocates found their answer in using the tools of representative democracy to change the system—not because it’s expedient to do so, but because working within the system is what makes the system work.
And while more Americans were calling for change, people who could take what was in the ether and work effectively within the system to translate it into concrete reforms were—and still are—in relatively short supply.
The first PIRG advocates helped fill this need by providing what Tom Stanton has described as “Wall Street-caliber advocacy expertise, but in the service of the public interest.”
In 1970, that meant:
Producing research that shed light on the nature of modern problems and pointed the way to common sense solutions with real-world impact;
Possessing a nuanced grasp of the law and a clear-headed sense of the political lay of the land;
Communicating strategically and persuasively through traditional media outlets;
Educating and advocating to decision makers;
Facing direct opposition from powerful special interests and their political allies; and
Finding common ground today with those who might end up being opponents tomorrow.
It also meant long hours and hard work for public interest pay and taking a risk to make the pursuit of social change one’s life’s work.
The same holds true today—except that today’s public interest advocates and organizers no longer have to prove it’s possible to professionalize their passion, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of the first PIRG advocates and their contemporaries in allied organizations.
The Public Interest Network published this book because we need more people—especially more young people—following in the footsteps of the first PIRG advocates. The approach pioneered by the first PIRG advocates is and will remain a powerful way to make a difference.
And, yes, no matter when you might be reading this, The Public Interest Network is looking for people like you, people who are eager to learn the tools of the trade in order to make the biggest difference they can, whether as volunteers or paid staff.
If you are about to enter the workforce or are considering your next move professionally, it’s crucial that you take time to reflect upon some important questions:
What are today’s biggest problems?
What is the way forward that will do the most to address those problems?
Will the work in the job opportunities you’re considering help solve those problems, exacerbate them, or be irrelevant to them?
Can you envision yourself working directly to help solve those problems?
There is great peril and great promise in America’s future. And there’s never been a better time for people with the passion for making a positive impact to put that passion to work.