| my essays: response to the state of the union |
| Response to the State of the Union by Evan Greer Adapted from my letter to the People's Global Action Network Copyright Evan Greer, 2003 Dear Friends, As an organization, The People's Global Action Network looks for innovative and direct responses to threats of imperialism and war. We must realize, as we attempt to influence our government, that the President is not listening. Our �democracy� is in shambles. Even the polls administered by the mainstream media clearly show that the majority of people in this country do not support a war in Iraq without a UN resolution, and yet Congress continually ignores the will of the people. More than 300,000 people rallied in Washington D.C. on January 18th, and yet the Administration ignored these pleas for peace, dismissing them as coming from an insignificant minority. The press, realizing that they could no longer ignore the overwhelming protest against this oil war, finally gave the movement front page coverage; but they described the mass of people stretching from the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument as being in the �tens-of-thousands,� and the photos printed made the rally appear to be a rather meager group of radicals. The papers did not mention the anti-capitalist convening that attracted thousands nearby, or the arrests and police brutality that occurred away from the main rally. It is clear that these rallies are not achieving the goals that they intended. They must continue, however, but we must return to the age old tradition of grassroots organizing, rather than relying on powerhouse groups with questionable motives like International A.N.S.W.E.R., a group that fronts for the Workers World Party and receives funding from North Korea. The old saying goes, �What if they had a war and nobody came.� As citizens, we must exert to the fullest extent what little influence we have left over the government. . We must refuse to participate in state-sanctioned terrorism. When a supposedly democratic government shows utter disregard�in domestic and foreign policy�for self-determination and civil liberties, it is the obligation of the people to demand a form of government that not only truly represents, but also enacts the will of the people. I encourage you to attend as many vigils, rallies, and demonstrations as possible, but something more must be done. The only thing that our president seems to understand is the Golden Arches and green dollar signs. If we are going to stop this war, we must put concrete economic pressure on the United States Government. This means walkouts from factories, major labor strikes. We must take direct action to prevent the war machine from moving forward. This means blocking revolving doors at weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin. This means resisting war by refusing to pay the portion of our taxes that goes to support the $356 Billion dollars that this �peaceful� nation spends on weapons every year. 356 Billion dollars, while our public schools our in debt, our factories are moving overseas, and millions of children worldwide are without adequate healthcare, clothing, or hope for the future. The World Health Organization has determined that $101 Billion a year would be enough to feed and clothe every person in the world. Every single person. Rather than protesting war after war without questioning our reasons, we must look deeper, and ask ourselves: what causes war? What causes terrorism? I would argue that if every person in the world had adequate food, healthcare, housing and education, terrorism would all but disappear. We�re not going to find democracy in Washington; we will have to bring it with us. This means taking to the streets or sitting in at the State House to demand that the government enact the will of the people. To demand the release of the hundreds of men and women who have been unconstitutionally detained in INS Facilities for months without being allowed to see a lawyer or even being informed of the charges against them. We must confront war, corporatization, and imperialism at every turn. Wearing buttons on your bag is not enough. Making fun of Bush with your friends is not enough. Sending money to the ACLU is not enough. Standing around at rallies listening to speakers is not enough. Words are not enough. There is a time when peaceful people must take action. Now is the time. We are the people. This is our action. �Well done is better than well said.� --Benjamin Franklin |
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