first published in Comet Magazine, Vol. 4 No. 1, The Tenacity Issue, 2003

Detail of My Green Manifesto, printed by the Greenwood Press, photograph by Pino Trogu.

MY GREEN MANIFESTO by Matt Gonzalez

for Isaac Opalinsky, Alison Gibbons, & Erik Michelson

I shall vote Green because I love bicycles
I shall vote Green because there are too many prisons
I shall vote Green because I love St. Patrick’s Day
I shall vote Green because the world needs more parks & benches
I shall vote Green because I believe workers should be paid the value of their labor
I shall vote Green because I don’t like blue dogs
I shall vote Green because Federico García Lorca loved green
I shall vote Green because the Whigs are too old
I shall vote Green because the Anarchists wear too much black
I shall vote Green because I love the Socialists
I shall vote Green because I oppose the death penalty
I shall vote Green because I believe housing is a human right
I shall vote Green because men shouldn’t decide what women do with their bodies
I shall vote Green because the Democrats voted for welfare reform
I shall vote Green because the Democrats voted for Three Strikes
I shall vote Green because the Democrats voted for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
I shall vote Green because the Democrats are a mean bunch
I shall vote Green because I support reparations for the taking of land & liberty
I shall vote Green because I am tired of having the Blue Angels fly over my city
I shall vote Green because I read the Magna Carta & liked it
I shall vote Green because I read the Communist Manifesto & liked it
I shall vote Green because I read the Declaration of Independence & liked it
I shall vote Green because I love asparagus
I shall vote Green because I love artichoke hearts
I shall vote Green because I love spinach
I shall vote Green because the world needs more gardens
I shall vote Green because I love jazz
I shall vote Green because my mother votes Green
I shall vote Green because Jonathan Richman probably votes Green
I shall vote Green because Lawrence Ferlinghetti votes Green
I shall vote Green because Jello Biafra votes Green
I shall vote Green because Medea Benjamin votes Green
I shall vote Green because Cornell West votes Green
I shall vote Green because Peter Camejo votes Green
I shall vote Green because there are too many guns
I shall vote Green because there is too much noise
I shall vote Green because I’d rather have peace than war
I shall vote Green because I believe in free needle exchange
I shall vote Green because it should be illegal to sell animal fur
I shall vote Green because I don’t like zoos
I shall vote Green because I am going to sell my car soon
I shall vote Green because I want to repeal Proposition 13
I shall vote Green because a corporation should not have the rights of a person
I shall vote Green because green is easy to remember
I shall vote Green because I believe in municipalized water & electricity
I shall vote Green because two parties just aren’t enough
I shall vote Green because the Mayor of Rome is Green
I shall vote Green because it’s better than throwing bombs
AND
I shall vote Green because deep in my heart I believe in democracy

Written in the spirit of Christopher Logue & Jack Micheline
for my friends in the Maryland State Green Party
February 14, 2002, San Francisco, California

Editors Note: This manifesto has undergone several revisions. The most recent version is published above.