Yesterday's arctic blast didn't dissuade about one-hundred, We the People, from attending the rally marking the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's monumental and disastrous decision, Citizens United v. FEC. The wind blew furiously out of the north, but We the People held fast to the concept of true democracy, while holding up, equally tight, a giant (20’ x 210’) replica of the original Preamble to the Constitution. It was a celebration of our inalienable rights, as they were intended, for actual blood-in-our-veins persons (not the corporate variety), who also happen to have this unending capacity to breathe unpolluted air, drink clean water, along with other human qualities that make it impossible to compete on even ground with corporate entities and their unlimited "speech" and interminable lives.
The turnout was low, disappointingly small to me, but the recognition and understanding has to start somewhere. The movement has to begin within our conscience body, that almost unrecognizable part of ourselves that comes to the forefront when we see wrongs that need to be righted and injustices made whole. It's that portion that realizes our busy lives, with all the routine and trivial minutia, finally takes a backseat. That's why I chose, and will continue to choose, to stand-up for democracy; why I stand against oppression, no matter the oppressor. I've recognized the real enemy, and as Pogo famously said, it is us.
Read John Nichols' excellent article from yesterday. He talks about the numerous community events that took place yesterday, including the one I attended on the Capitol lawn. Grassroots movements: it's where every extraordinary and mighty truth-against-power and power-to-the-people action had its beginning. It has to start somewhere.
P.S. I'll never listen to A Day in the Life in the same way again. If you're a child of the '60s, or even a Beatles aficionado, you'll know what I mean. Special thanks, and kudos, to The Coffee Party U.S.A.
