Ed Note: VetSpeak.org will be in D.C. October 6 -9, covering the End the Occupations Occupation of Freedom Plaza. We will be there seeking some of the same answers to the questions that my cyber-journalist friend Rafe Pilgrim asks in his original Op-Ed piece, published on August 26, 2011...questions we should all be asking ourselves, as our Constitution and Bill of Rights are being co-opted and reinterpreted right before our eyes by the multi-national Corporatists who are profiting from our mid-eastern losses of blood and treasure. This corporate profit sharing is at the root of our economic stress here on the home-front. Greed is an ugly word, but it is a far uglier thing to see in action. WH
Going to the October Event in the District of Corruption?
by Rafe Pilgrim
The word is out on the big protest against everlasting war and indecent governance in D.C. in October. An impressive number of activist luminaries are committed. But the nagging question remains: Will this make any substantial difference in the treacherous course our government is set upon, or will this be -- however noble and moral -- just another message to find its way into the Capitol's refuse bin?
I do feel a strong urge to get off the complaining and actually do something that makes the difference -- after 10 years! (Some would have it 30 years.)
But I am far from certain this October program is it. I want to be part of the last battle, not another sacrificial skirmish, but the battle that counts, the tough one, the honest one, the one that makes the change -- not just another display of morality.
We went up to Sodom-on-the-Potomac six years ago with 350,000 compadres. It was a good show, despite the lying press reports that our numbers were much lower, such that we got any press at all. But it did not cause a ripple -- despite rating perhaps a laugh or sneer in the corridors of power. We displayed, went home -- they returned, they won.
This left me acidly furious and emotionally crippled. And nothing has changed, despite the rise of President "Hope and Change" and -- for a brief trashed opportunity -- a Democrat (of the people?) majority in both houses of Congress -- and all of this maintained the treachery and exploitation.
Bang! Down went the gavel -- "Impeachment is off the table!" -- but WAR was still at the table! -- foreclosures and evictions were still at the table! -- trillions to the banksters were at the table! -- while such as Medicare and Social Security were on the chopping block!
I do feel a strong urge to get off the complaining and actually do something that makes the difference -- after 10 years! (Some would have it 30 years.)
But I am far from certain this October program is it. I want to be part of the last battle, not another sacrificial skirmish, but the battle that counts, the tough one, the honest one, the one that makes the change -- not just another display of morality.
We went up to Sodom-on-the-Potomac six years ago with 350,000 compadres. It was a good show, despite the lying press reports that our numbers were much lower, such that we got any press at all. But it did not cause a ripple -- despite rating perhaps a laugh or sneer in the corridors of power. We displayed, went home -- they returned, they won.
This left me acidly furious and emotionally crippled. And nothing has changed, despite the rise of President "Hope and Change" and -- for a brief trashed opportunity -- a Democrat (of the people?) majority in both houses of Congress -- and all of this maintained the treachery and exploitation.
Bang! Down went the gavel -- "Impeachment is off the table!" -- but WAR was still at the table! -- foreclosures and evictions were still at the table! -- trillions to the banksters were at the table! -- while such as Medicare and Social Security were on the chopping block!
Everything moral is still on the block, while the Banksters, Big Oil, WeaponsRus, Securititis, JobsExport Inc, Big Agri, Big Pharma, Tax Cuts for Billionaires, ad nauseam -- are all at the table. And when their feed runs out, who picks up the check? We do! Then Government Inc. loads up the table again at the expense of education, roads and bridges, public transportation, flood control, climate change, medical care, Social Security and everything else except More War and More More for the Elite, the Crooks and their Indentured Politicos.
Trekking to the District of Corruption for a week or so, staying in a motel, eating in restaurants, and hitting the Mall from Ten till Two -- won't cut it. That's not the fabric victory is made from. Military battles can be won in days, sometimes hours. But we depend (at least thus far!) on passive means. Our passive strength lies in morality, and profits from persistence, large numbers and weaponless courage in confrontation with the opposition, very likely armed opposition.
If October is to be our defining action, it needs to be other than just one more display of the moral cause, after 10 years of such, and one more of which could exhaust our waning credibility. We need a victory -- the victory!
I don't need everyone else to do the work. I know victory can never be guaranteed. But I'll watch October for a while. I need to feel more confident about how many compadres will be camping and eating and sleeping by me on the Mall, and how long they will persevere; how much they share my disdain for display above victory for change.
If I can bring myself to feel, not guaranteed, but good, that a decent number (a million at minimum) of stubborn (weeks, months, as long as it takes) compadres will camp together on the Mall -- then I'll be there, content to be quietly and unmovingly awaiting the Peace and the return of our Bill of Rights.
I am confident there will be discomfort. There will be sickness. There will be hunger. There will be lack of sanitation. There will be police action and, most likely, military threats.
If I can gain sufficient confidence in our numbers and our resolve to stay the course, then I will be there.
Who else is planning to go? How many are you? How long will you stay?
Let us know!
