As those of us know, who have been watching with increasing alarm the repressive, inflamed, violent, and fascistic atmosphere that was whipped up during the unlawful tenure of Bush in the White House, and that has escalated since Obama’s taking the presidency, emanating from the studios of Fox News et al and pulpits, the rule of reason, law, fairness, justice and morality have become endangered species:
* Outrageous lies and monstrous immoral policies (including torture and pre-emptive wars of aggression) emanate from the highest offices of the land;
* an abortion doctor is murdered in his own Church and Christian leaders and reactionaries like Bill O’Reilly excuse and justify the deeds of the murderer;
* the government has been openly spying upon all of us – including everyone in Congress and State Houses – for years and getting away with it;
* the presidency itself was stolen in plain sight in 2000 and 2004 and the irrefutable and massive evidence for it is swept under the rug;
* con men dressed in expensive suits and thieves on Wall Street take the economy to the brink of catastrophe and, when bailed out by taxpayers upon threat of martial law if they’re not, continue their previous malevolent ways and pocket tens of billions in bonuses;
* dissidents and protestors are dubbed "low-level terrorists" by the Department of Defense;
* habeas corpus, the right to challenge your detention, is nullified;
Obama, the man of change and hope, counsels common ground with Christian fascists, decides that not only is he going to defend the torture and murders committed by Bush in courts when the victims of this sue, continue rendition and massive, warrantless surveillance, but he will continue to hold detainees in this cursed war of terror even if they have been acquitted.
In this atmosphere, people who dare to hew to the truth, no matter how unfashionable and personally hazardous, and insist on standing on the high moral ground, refusing to adopt the craven slavishness of convenience and expedience, are terribly precious. The majority of Americans and the majority of the world do not support the fascist wind being whipped up. But they are feeling beleaguered and helpless. In such a situation those who are brave enough to stand up in the face of these windstorms and raise the banner of resistance are exceedingly important, for they voice the inchoate sentiments of many.
This is what this national meeting of World Can’t Wait is about. This is what brought you all here.
May this meeting prove to be an important turning point not just for the movement, but the moment when a relatively small group of people came together and charted the course that changed the course of events in a decisive way.