JOHN RENSENBRINK — FRIEND, COLLEAGUE, AND MENTOR

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JOHN RENSENBRINK: LIFE AND WORK https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232216 In sadness, the International Society for Universal Dialogue (ISUD) remembers the passing of John Rensenbrink. John passed away peacefully on July 30th, 2022. He was 93. John was one of ISUD’s founding members and served as President of ISUD from 2005–2007. His many contributions to ISUD included writing the first draft of its constitution. His clear and precise articulation of ISUD’s core values continue to guide the Society. John’s accomplishments include a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago, governmental service for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and research on the early days of the Solidarity movement in Poland. While in Poland, John became acquainted with the rising success of European Green Parties and subsequently became Co-Founder of both the Green Party in the state of Maine (the first of its kind in the United States) and the U.S. Green Party. In 1996 he ran for the U.S. Senate on the Green Party ticket. John served as international roving ambassador for the Green movement, helping to forge links between Green Parties in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. John worked tirelessly to promote international and intercultural dialogue on all things political until his death. His efforts were guided by his life-long belief that politics, i.e., shared deliberation and dialogue for the common good, was a noble and uplifting activity. John continues to be an inspiring model for his belief that theory and practice are inseparable; that the role of a “public intellectual” demands action and not simply theory. He was a local, national, and global activist for many organizations that promoted a more peaceful and humane world, environmental justice, and equal justice for women and minorities. In his 2017 book, Ecological Politics: For Survival and Democracy, he charts a path for the overcoming of the “tragedy” of contemporary (and degraded) forms of politics to a transformational and elevating form of politics rooted in an ecological vision. John argues that much needed values of peace, justice, and environmental integrity are both idealistic and realistic. Over the years that I was fortunate enough to know and work with John, it became clear that a great number of people from many different “walks of life” have been inspired by John and held him in high respect for all the right reasons. The world is a better place because of John Rensenbrink. He will be missed. Charles Brown *** Tony Affigne PhD, Professor of Political Science, Providence College Email: [e-mail] MEMORIES OF MY FRIEND JOHN RENSENBRINK, HIS PASSION AND PRAXIS https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232217 John Rensenbrink’s long life was an adventure, an exploration, a mission of leadership and service to humanity—and the Earth. Guided by passion for knowledge, for understanding, for wisdom, shaped by deeply humanist morality, my dear friend John lived in, and helped create, a world of thought and action, an ecological praxis of resistance, exuberance, and love. John and I first met in the midst of the political and economic crises of the 1970s. At home in the U.S., mass movements were defending Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian peoples, advocating women’s equality, and opposing U.S. wars abroad. Internationally, decolonization was underway, a powerful anti-apartheid movement threatened white nationalist regimes in southern Africa, and insurgencies and counter-insurgencies (funded by the U.S.) kept Latin America in turmoil. Salvador Allende had been overthrown and assassinated in Chile, at U.S. direction, just two years before. Domestically, both major political parties were enmeshed in the Cold War, and the left had largely been purged from both the Democratic Party and the labor movement. In the post-Watergate era, the Republican Party was well down a reactionary path toward Ronald Reagan’s coming assault on the postwar consensus. A growing environmental movement was battling both industrial pollution and nuclear power. Economically, American communities were struggling to recover from the 1973 oil crisis, from wholesale deindustrialization, and from corporate attacks on hard-won labor agreements. Against this backdrop, John and I first crossed paths at a national meeting of radical scholars convened at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. In his keynote lecture to a hundred peers including such irrepressible souls as Betty Zisk, Frances Fox Piven, Richard Cloward, Murray Bookchin, Christian Bay, Joan Roelofs, Murray Edelman, Stanley Aronowitz, Morton Schoolman, and many others, John delivered a rousing call for personal courage and political action, at a time when political science in particular (the profession we shared for more than three decades) had come to seem a timid and soulless enterprise. John was president of the group which organized the conference, known as the Caucus for New Political Science. His fire-and-brimstone speech that day demanded action, not just theory, from his colleagues whose intellectual work, while empathetic, creative, and insurgent, sometimes became unmoored from the lived experiences of the world’s people. Those who’ve worked with Rensenbrink will recognize this: for him, the hard intellectual work of understanding where humanity has gone wrong, and the practical work, the action to make things right, were equally important. In other words, John’s passion for social and ecological change embodied a deep praxis, where transcendental thought guides transformational action. He was inspired by a distinctive vision, but knew how crucial it is to work in concert with others. For John, praxis wasn’t an empty or abstract word. It was a way of life. For many years, John’s praxis revolved around the creation and nurturing of Green political parties in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. After standing with John at just a few of his historic contributions to Green political history, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply his understanding of both people and the Earth shaped his political work. In 1992 John helped establish the Green Politics Network, which gave rise to the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP), which then became the Green Party of the United States. John’s international role was also historic. Greens from 70 countries came together in Canberra, Australia, at the Global Greens Congress 2001, to approve a Global Green Charter and unify the international Green party movement. At that first-ever gathering, John led the effort to ensure that somewhere in the new global organization, would be a place for broad, grassroots participation. John’s campaign culminated with a unanimous vote to authorize a Global Green Network (GGN), including representatives from every national party, as “a means of effective worldwide communication among Green parties and Movements.” Without John’s perseverance the only formal structure of global Green cooperation to emerge from the 2001 Congress would have been a small leadership body, the “Global Green Coordination,” dominated by the powerful, well-resourced Greens of Western Europe. Instead, the role of the 12-person Coordination became balanced, if unequally so, by the broader, two delegates per country, Global Green Network. Again, John’s vision of a participatory movement, accessible to the global South and East as well as the West, found its way into Green history because he was willing to actively engage, as leader of the U.S. Green Party’s International Committee, and as U.S. delegate to the Global Greens. Through more than forty years, it was my pleasure to walk some of this path with John, finding inspiration in his leadership, and an example in his life of service. For many years, we traveled together as Green Party representatives, including a road trip to Ottawa in 2000 as guest speakers at the Green Party of Canada’s National Convention. John’s speech explained the difficult electoral environment we face in the U.S., and mine addressed developing relationships between U.S. Greens and Indigenous sovereignty and sustainability campaigns. In 2001 we were together at the first Global Greens Congress in Australia. In 2004 we traveled to Rome, Italy, in the U.S. delegation to the founding congress of the European Green Party. We drove together to Quebec City in 2008, for the hemispheric meeting of the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas, where FPVA welcomed new parties from Guatemala, Bolivia, and French Guyana; established the Young Greens of the Americas; established the FPVA Women’s Commission; and voted to oppose the resurgence of nuclear power around the world. At the 2014 state convention of the Maine Green Independent Party—commemorating yet another of John’s many founding roles—his fellow Mainers invited me to speak, to bring greetings from Rhode Island and to remind his closest neighbors of the special place John holds in the hearts and minds of Greens around the world. At his 90th birthday party in 2018, John’s lifelong partner, his wife Carla, and his daughters Kathryn, Greta, and Liz, invited me to do the same, but from the warmer, less formal perspective of one who’s been both friend and political ally. As I did on both occasions, it’s my great pleasure to share these memories with you, with respect, admiration, and love; to affirm again, to his friends and compatriots in the International Society for Universal Dialogue, that John Rensenbrink was one of our world’s very best. He was an inspiration, an example of just what a well-lived, fully-engaged life can be, and a challenge to us all, to rise above the despair the modern world invokes, to think broadly and deeply about what we must do to survive, as a species and as a planetary ecosystem, and above all, to keep faith that our human purpose is greater than we’ve seen so far. We can be better, we can do better, and fortunately for us all, John Rensenbrink’s lifelong, passionate praxis showed the way. (Portions of these reflections were previously published in Green Horizon Magazine, Winter/Spring 2020.) *** Charles Brown Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor, Emporia State University, USA Email: [e-mail] JOHN RENSENBRINK AND THE PROMISE OF POLITICS https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232218 I first met John in Warsaw, Poland where we attended an environmental conference hosted by the Polish Senate. We met again at the biannual conferences of the International Society for Universal Dialogue; a society dedicated to philosophical dialogue across differing cultural traditions. John was later elected President of that organization. His impact was strong and lasting. His love for constructive political dialogue was matched only by his love and commitment to Green politics. I got to know John better when he visited my university to lecture on the positive role of third parties. We found time to drive across the last great stand of never-plowed Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Plenty of time to talk about politics, ecology, and dialogue. I was honored when John asked me to review and comment on his manuscript, subsequently published in 2017 as Ecological Politics: For Survival and Democracy. Like many timely books Ecological Politics reminds us of what we already know while shaping a new vision of how to better make sense of what we already know. John argues that “big action” is needed to change the current direction and destiny of our species and planet. This sort of “big action” requires an inclusive and communal deliberation for the common good, i.e., politics. John argues that the promise of politics continues to fall into cynicism and hopelessness by ever-more jaded sections of the population. Rather than a noble and shared pursuit of the common good, politics has become a tragic source of conflict. John reminds us of the cultural and ecological consequences of this now degraded form of politics—a politics that glorifies and magnifies our individuality, our uniqueness, and our separateness at the cost of concealing our communal nature, our sameness, and our togetherness. The glorification of competition, conflict, struggle, winner take all economics, and radical individualism (all underwritten by what John calls “the ontologies of separation”) too often appear as virtues rather than the social pathologies they are. Our degraded political world increasingly matches our degraded ecological world as the state of each is continually “normalized” in rhetoric and practice. The “big action” needed to change the direction and destiny of our species requires an overcoming of this tragedy of politics. Serious reflection on the great issues of our times and our seeming inabilities to constructively deal with these issues leads many to pessimism and hopelessness. Ubiquitous pollution, mass extinction, rising seas, climate disaster, growing economic inequality, and pernicious forms of ethnic and exclusionary nationalism too often lead to despair and the withdrawal from public life. Unlike some others, John expresses no sense of gloom or despair but rather a confident optimism that a new and transformational politics can be cultivated as an instrument of thriving and healing. John gave us reason to believe that a politics built on community, care, cooperation, and a shared sense that we are all in it together is still within our reach. John argued that this radical possibility (of a transformational politics) arises from an ecological way of looking at the world. He argued that an ecological way of seeing the world has the power to teach us that our constant pursuit of self-interest depends on a world already structured by shared, interrelated, and mutually beneficial cooperation. An ecological way of looking at the world teaches us that our pursuit of private self-interest it is only possible (and sustainable) when our shared interests, the common good of all, is recognized, respected, and cultivated. An ecological way of looking at the world has the power to shape and inspire a politics rooted in meaningful and constructive dialogue; a form of politics desperately needed to overcome the Hobbesian roots of our current ecological, cultural, and political condition. There is little doubt that the world is a better place because of John Rensenbrink and that he will be remembered, admired, and respected for all the right reasons. *** Michael H. Mitias PhD, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi Email: [e-mail] JOHN RENSENBRINK, THE MAN I KNEW https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232219 John Rensenbrink was one of the early, founding members of the Society for Universal Dialogue who exemplified its humanistic spirit and ideals in the way he thought and lived: enlightenment, peace, dialogue, justice, freedom, cooperation, and especially respect for the natural environment. During my active years in the Society, I noticed that John was not physically visible much during the social and formal activities of the Society, but he was an active, productive, caring, and loyal presence in its work. I frequently, and whenever I could, read his contributions to Dialogue and Universalism. In a long conversation I had with him in the early days of the Society, he told me that he retired early as a professor of philosophy and decided to devote the rest of his intellectual life to the promotion of the ideas of the Green Movement and the ideals of humanism. He viewed the Society as an intellectual community in which he could speak, write, and associate socially as an intellectual and as a citizen. I was moved warmly by his spiritual posture and devotion to wellbeing of society! He retired early as a professor of philosophy, but he remained an active and productive philosophical presence in the life of Society to the end of his life. He was a true example of social and intellectual activism to the very end. I say with a deep feeling of sorrow that John’s death will be a great loss for the Society. But this loss will be temporary because the impact of his writings and the vital role he played in the life of the Society will linger for quite a long time. *** Betsy Garrold President, Board of Directors, Food for Maine’s Future Email: [e-mail] REMEMBERING JOHN RENSENBRINK https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232220 I met John during my first run for the legislature. He came to my house and sat at my kitchen table eating blueberry muffins with me, Jonathan Carter and some others. Checking me out as a candidate and a person. He became one of my most cherished political mentors, gave me an autographed copy of Against All Odds, made me laugh, made me cry, praised my ethics, and pointed out my mistakes. I will miss him. *** Steven Welzer Co-editor, Green Horizon Magazine Email: [e-mail] REFLECTIONS AND APPRECIATION FOR JOHN RENSENBRINK https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232221 It was my privilege to jointly edit and publish Green Horizon Magazine with John Rensenbrink over a span of twenty years. John was the one who conceptualized and initiated this distinctive publication—a print magazine covering the international Green politics movement from the perspective of this country’s state-based ecological parties. Readers of and contributors to the magazine appreciated John’s unerring guidance. They also were aware of his lifelong commitment to the movement, within which John wore many hats and played many roles. Those were featured in a tribute issue of the magazine published two years ago and available upon request from: Green Horizon Foundation, PO Box 2029, Princeton, NJ 08543. *** Albert A. Anderson Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Babson College Email: [e-mail] SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT JOHN RENSENBRINK AND ISUD https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232222 John Rensenbrink was a long-time member of the International Society for Universal Dialogue, serving as president of the society for two years (2005-2007). His distinguished career in higher education included positions at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (from which he retired as full professor in 1989), Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts where he taught political science. He was co-founder of the Green Party in the state of Maine (the first of its kind in the United States). In 1996 he ran for the U.S. Senate on the Green Party ticket. More information can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_ Rensenbrink My purpose for writing about John in this context is to express my gratitude for his friendship and to remember his special contribution to ISUD. His unique perspective was shaped by early spiritual nurture at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan; a Ph.D. in political science at University of Chicago; governmental service for U.S. Agency for International Development; first-hand research on the Solidarity movement in Poland prior to the collapse of the Berlin Wall; and as an activist for organizations that promoted peace, the ecological movement, and equal justice for women and minorities. During the time I served as president of ISUD (1996–2001), John was invaluable as an advisor, a colleague, and a seasoned organizer. He joined me in persuading the membership to change the name of the society from “International Society for Universalism” to “International Society for Universal Dialogue,” which we did at our Third World Congress in 1998. Janusz Kuczyński invited the participants who met in Warsaw in 1989 to explore the idea of “universalism” as an inclusive philosophy to unite all people. While retaining the quest for values that are common to all, the name change made clear that our founding principles demand maximum inclusion and an open search for universals as well as the means to implement them. Universal dialogue continues to be the best way to seek rather than propagate the truth. Perhaps John’s most valuable contribution to ISUD was writing the first draft of the ISUD constitution that was adopted at the Third World Congress in 1998. The core principles that he formulated so clearly and precisely remain in the ISUD constitution and bylaws. To review the current document, visitńhttps://www.worldialogue.org/ constitution During the past quarter of a century, the history of the ISUD and the history of the Cold war have shown an uncanny similarity. We founded ISUD on the day the Berlin Wall collapsed, feeding the hope for an end to the threat of a fatal nuclear exchange with the former Soviet Union—a reason for exhilaration and celebration. Some even dreamed of an “end to history” and an era of lasting peace and cooperation. Global warming and pollution emerged as a second existential threat to the human species, and ISUD joined that dialogue with John playing a central role as a leader, a scholar, and as an active member. John was also co-founder and editor of Green Horizons, a periodical that publishes articles and opinion on the environmental crisis and possible solutions. One way to remember and honor John’s work is by contributing to that publication: https://green-horizon.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GHM40_web.pdf Unfortunately, the ISUD and world events are not immune to the diseases of vicious conflict, enmity, and mutual destruction. Utopia continues to be “no place,” but John Rensenbrink’s presence and contributions to ISUD continue to offer a glimpse of what is desirable and perhaps even possible both for a scholarly society and for the world as a whole. *** Kevin M. Brien Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Washington College, USA Email: [e-mail] HE WAS A REAL WONDER!! https://doi.org/10.5840/du202232223 John Rensenbrink was a very remarkable human being, one of the most truly wonderful human beings I have ever encountered. He was a real Wonder!! My first interactions with him go back to the times he was President of the ISUD. What struck me most about him then was the unusual way in which he fully embraced participatory democracy in the ways he interacted with others on the ISUD Board, and with the members of the ISUD at large. When he was Chair of the ISUD he embraced the members of the ISUD as a community of equals, of which he himself was only a temporary figurehead but not a boss. As I gradually got to know more about his life, I came to realize that he was a giant figure in environmental politics, as well as one of founders of the Green Party. What also eventually became clear to me was John’s deep realization that we human beings are not separate discrete individuals who are unrelated to one another. Rather, human beings in whatever specific community they might be situated are already related in a myriad of ways. For John it was not a question of whether human beings are related, but a question of how they are related and interrelated. Let me refer again to John’s long and extraordinary commitment to his avid wrestling with environmental problems, and the lingering threats they pose for humankind. Perhaps I can do no better here than to bring into focus special discussions between John, Charles Brown, and myself many years ago at a college in St Louis. These discussions were captured by Pawel Kuczyński in his extraordinary documentary named “The Ontological Imperative” — (especially part 4, available on youtube.com). John was fully aware that for thousands of years human kind separated itself into contending camps that were at odds with one another, instead of nurturing their actual togetherness in so many ways. Moreover, he was also fully aware many decades ago of the real possibility that the human species could eventually destroy itself. John understood that the most viable instrument for offsetting such a catastrophe is genuine dialogue between islands of community. But not the sort of dialogue in which the contending parties are talking at one another. Rather the sort of dialogue in which people are talking with one another. Short of this, John says that such dialogue is just vapor. At this juncture in human history, threats of myriad sorts confront us all, no matter where we might live on planet Earth. Think of what has been happening in the United States for some years. Think of the fractures that have taken place in our body politic in very recent years, and the divisions which now loom in threatening ways over all of us. I am hand in hand with John that the most favourable instrument for confronting the growing threats in our own country is genuine dialogue, not talking at those with whom we presently disagree. But talking together with them for the common good, rather than a slow slide into ultimate destruction for all humankind.

• Publisher: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk; Fundacja Filozofia Na Rzecz Dialogu
• Journal: Dialogue and Universalism
• Year: 2022
• Issue: 2

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