Now is the Time to Take to the Streets
Deb Kory
www.virtualcitizens.com
2007-01-26

http://www.virtualcitizens.com/articles/Now_is_the_Time_to_Take_to_the_Streets

 I imagine that you have attended at least one anti-war demonstration over the last five years – with an increasing sense of futility.  While the corporate media overtly spewed the lies of the Bush administration and justified the invasion and occupation, as images and tales of Abu Ghraib, Falluja, and Haditha emerged, I thought that a new social movement would arise to meet the dangers of the reckless policies of the Bush Administration. 

Sadly, my enthusiasm quickly waned as the media repeatedly ignored or downplayed our demonstrations – a mere 400,000 here, only 300 gatherings across the nation, etc.  So Bush plunged more troops into Iraq – stop-loss and all.  The death toll mounted into the hundreds of thousands (if Iraqis are people), but our Congress shed no tears and showed no moral character, and the talking heads continued to explain the logic of atrocity with Kissinger-like adroitness. 

I started to go a little nuts.  Sitting alone, screaming profanities at the television is now a regular part of my day.  It’s not good.  Last year I stopped attending peace rallies because the morbid vigils and demonstrations have been shrinking, seemingly more impotent the worse things got in Iraq. I thought maybe the era of public protest was over.

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to groups like the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, ANSWER, and the many others who did not fall victim to dismay or hopelessness.  They continued through such hard times to create a space in the public square and alternative media for moral outrage and solidarity. 

Though not proud of my retreat over the past two years, the time spent screaming at the television and reading blogs taught me an invaluable lesson:  All you need in life is a little chutzpah.  The experts, senior analysts, and officials have no more right to speak their minds than the rest of us.  If charlatans can spew nonsense to millions without humility, then I can speak my mind!  Bush and his media pundits have liberated me from the fear of public humiliation.  And the web has made it possible for us to connect with each other while the corporate media does all it can to suppress and deny public outrage, sadness and compassion for all of the suffering our military has wreaked in Iraq.

My exhilaration of the fall elections has been dashed by the timidity of Pelosi (impeachment off the table) and so many Democratic senators who want to help Bush “give war a chance” while they consider non-binding resolutions.  Though some in the corporate media now find reason to critique the surge, extra troops are going and Bush ignores popular opinion.  (Next stop Iran!)

But we need not stand by on the sidelines.  As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his speech against the war crimes of Vietnam War, “We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative means of protest possible.”  And now, for the first time since the 2003 invasion, our protests can move the elites.  The mainstream media, now recognizing its role in creating the catastrophe of Iraq (but not Afghanistan – Condi we are still waiting for that dossier), are now ready to cover the mass peoples’ protest.

Join US 

On Saturday, January 27, millions of people from all over the country will be descending on Washington, D.C. and hundreds of cities across the nation – Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa, Seattle, San Francisco – to say Enough!  Sponsored by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) as well as over 1000 other organizations of various religious and political stripes, the events in DC will be more than one day.

The day after the protest (January 28) groups will be trained and organized for visits to our Congressional representatives on Monday, January 29.  Our corporate-owned representatives need to know that voting against war and escalation is moral, necessary and a political winner.  They will only know this if we show up – in Washington or at their local offices (see more below). 

You not need do it alone.  UFPJ is setting up appointments with officials and their staff for all 435 congressional districts.  (Check out UFPJ’s website which includes the itinerary, transportation and housing information, as well as a sign up for Monday’s meeting with Congress: www.unitedforpeace.org).  The Network of Spiritual Progressives will host interfaith services and gatherings through the three days. 

It is a sign of great progress that spiritual and religious voices are finally being welcomed and integrated into the movement and it will open up a place for people working for peace through their various faiths to work in solidarity with one another.

Scott Ritter has been telling Americans and everyone who will listen that the Bush administration is hell bent on invading Iran – or having Israel fight a proxy war.  He was right about Iraq not having weapons and the lies Bush told to convince Judith Miller, Thomas Friedman and the military.  We need to stop the next atrocity.   

Check out UFPJ’s website for local protests happening near you on January 27 (www.unitedforpeace.org).  Help the Network of Spiritual Progressives publish an ad in national media proposing several steps to transform the political landscape and provide a way for the US to withdraw from Iraq with dignity and honor.  Tell local media and blogs about your story and participation in an anti-war event.

Formal politics has failed us.  Now we need to “take to the streets.”  This is the moment when action must replace solitary frustration—and anything that you do can have rippling effects that change the larger political climate and put pressure on our Congress to stop funding the war. 

Ms. Kory is a graduate student of psychology at the University of California Berkeley

Deb Kory
www.virtualcitizens.com