I came to the national New York organizers meeting to help organize the November 2nd activities to drive out the Bush regime.
I had marched against war and nuclear weapons. I had marched for civil rights and choice. I had boycotted various goods and companies, written letters on behalf of immigrants and the environment and made donations to groups and political campaigns too numerous to name. At the meeting in New York something in me shifted. I finally understood that what we were doing, and what needed to be done, was different from what had been done before.
This important gathering wasn’t going to turn into a fund raiser for some loser democrat. We weren’t being told to back off on issues like troop withdrawal, Roe v. Wade, scientific theories of evolution, global warming and the separation of church and state. Instead, we were asked to be the kind of leaders that our elected officials would or could not be. We were asked to put our agenda forward, even if it meant doing it alone.
People had come from all across the country in answer to the Call to drive out the Bush regime. People in the streets were hungry for what we had to say. A light began to dawn. This is not about protesting government policies; it is about resisting them, with every fiber of your being. This is not about partisan politics; it is about transcending the two-party system. This is not about surrendering your freedom; it is about liberating yourself from tyranny of any kind.
At the meeting we discussed some of the people that I knew who could be brought forward to be a part of this resistance. Many of them are reluctant Democrats, people who felt that anyone or anything was better than Bush and who supported Dean and Kerry on that basis. Organizers at the meeting suggested that I write my own call to these people to give up their illusions and take up the call to Drive Out the Bush Regime. Taking their suggestion to heart, I have written the following. Please use it as you see fit. I and others in my area have begun sending it out to our friends, families and contacts along with the WCW call.
A Call to Democrats, Independents & Non-Voters
You know who you are. You have cried at the endless horror of war and the ongoing development of hideous weapons by a society accustomed to putting profit before peace. You have prayed for change that doesn’t come, and grown disillusioned with efforts to weaken or reverse changes that you helped bring about. You have donated money, even when your own funds were low, to help raise the status of women, people of color, the poor and the homeless. You have loved this Earth, our home, and grown sick at its desecration. You have put your body in harm’s way for a cause you believed in. Maybe you have even fought as a soldier, only to find your medical benefits cut when you needed them most. You have sought refuge in television and books, or pills, to blunt the depression that only grows deeper the longer you fail to act.
Give up your despair and frustration! Are you too sick and tired to take meaningful action right now? Then rest awhile, and join us. The world can’t wait. Are you too busy working or raising a family to help others secure a living wage and reproductive rights? Then fulfill your responsibilities, reorganize your priorities, and join us. The world can’t wait. Are you too old to make a difference in how the future unfolds? Never! Remember a time when you were young and full of fire, then join us. The world can’t wait. Are you thinking, "Been there, done that, it’s useless?" This is not another protest movement. The time to protest is over. The time to resist is here. Join us. The world can’t wait.
You are not alone. There are people of all ages ready, willing and able to change the direction this country is headed. There are wise old people with nothing to lose, people in the prime of life who understand devotion and commitment, and young people full of courage and strength. There are new leaders, brilliant and uncompromised, ready to emerge. Together we will work to stop war on the world and illuminate the darkness.
Some of you are loyal to groups that have united around a common cause, only to see important issues ignored by the media and compromised to death by politicians that care more about their own careers than the well being of their constituents. Leave your groups behind. They no longer serve you. They serve the needs of so-called "viable" candidates who, in the end, do not stand for peace, freedom or equality. With fraudulent elections, your vote means nothing anyway. Join us, and your friends will follow. The world can’t wait.
You know who you are. Somewhere, sometime in your life, you chose freedom; the freedom to love who you want; the freedom to choose where you live, work or go to school; the freedom to worship the God of the Bible, Divine Mother, Buddha, or nothing at all; and the freedom to choose whether or not to bring children into this world.
We know who you are. You are the lovers of the world. Join us. We can’t wait.
–Janet, Connecticut