In 2008, Dr. Gary Tabor and the conservation community were on the cusp of a revolution. With financial support from corporate giants: BP, Waste Management, Microsoft, Patagonia, National Geographic and more, The Center for Large Landscape Conservation seethed at the possibility of initiating state and maybe even federal legislation to protect large swaths of Western lands known as wildlife corridors. Then the real estate bubble burst. Then the economy tanked. Then, all of The Center for Large Landscape Conservation’s corporate backing bailed. The revolution died before it started.

In policy making, money rules. It is an unfortunate reality of government in the United states today. Whether it be state or federal, it does not matter. Lobbying persists in town halls, state capitols and all the way to Capital Hill. This seemingly corrupt practice is nonetheless a democratic necessity, especially in the federal government. Lobbying allows non-profit groups to speak out on behalf of their constituents while providing policy makers with expertise on convoluted topics, allowing them to make educated legislative decisions.

There are two types of lobbying: that of non-profits lobbying congressional committees and individual legislators and that of the citizen contacting their congressman directly. Voicing individual concerns to a representative in an eloquent rational manner inspires healthy discourse and understanding between our government and its citizens. One email, one letter or a brief meeting may seem hopeless in influencing larger policy. But, collectively our ideas can coalesce to create an impetus for legislative action.

At first, I was shocked to see some of the corporations supporting the idea of large landscape conservation. BP, really? Microsoft? What is their stake in this? I thought it must be their bottom lines. But, their underlying interests did not matter because they conspired as a coalition for good. Of course, my amazement dissipated when Dr. Tabor clicked to the next slide and informed us of the economic disaster that destroyed the coalition. It was not what Dr. Tabor told us about the desertion of every large corporate supporter of the CLLC when the Great Recession struck that frustrated me. In times of economic distress, a company must protect its internal assets and frankly does not posses the resources for lobbying. I completely understand. What frustrated me and continues to nag me is the fact that without corporate sponsorship the CLLC’s legislative velocity died. There would be no more federal or state laws regarding wildlife corridors. Without these private financial resources, this alliance, on the cusp of the next great land management revolution, was no more. It ceased not because the passion vanished or the idea was unsound. It died because of the CLLC could not afford to enact their ideas in Congress. Should it really cost that much money to get heard in our government: to make real change?

I do not think so. Even if we accept this bourgeois reality, as citizens, as individuals, we should be inspired to get heard in government and make real change. Instead of forfeiting our ideas when corporate backing bails, we should let it light a flame in our stomachs that excites us to action. The CLLC gave up, when they should have been impassioned to revive their movement through their constituents, and the people. They had the opportunity to start a grassroots movement. It might have been unsuccessful, nobody knows because they did not try.

If such action fails then we better understand our legislative system and, in the future, can more efficiently affect it. Whether that means significant private funding  is necessary or non-profit support is required then so be it. At least we know.

I believe that individuals still posses sufficient political efficacy and the general rationality to influence our legislative process. It just takes determination and a will to succeed. Corporate backing is a luxury of modern times and a privilege of democracy. In feudal times, serfs did not have the resources of corporations to help fund a people’s revolution or to overthrow a monarch. Instead they grabbed their pitchforks and cabbage and attacked their ruthless leaders. Today, for the people to remain relevant, we must grab our hypothetical pitchforks and cabbage and participate in our beautiful democracy.