by RJ Schinner, 2/2/06
History doesn’t usually change for the better without
massive protest in the streets. From the
1963 March on Washington, in which a quarter of a million people, black and white,
demanded civil rights and an end to segregation, to the Vietnam veterans who
threw back their medals on the steps of the Capitol and told middle America
that the war was unjust ( these examples and many more like them changed the
sentiments of millions and profoundly changed the world. Today, as history is in desperate need of a
different course, the Bush regime is not going to be driven out unless the
millions who cannot stomach this fascist remaking of society break out of the
killing confines of “politics as usual”, and with our presence out in the streets
of Washington DC, demand Bush step down now.
Let’s be real. As the Call for The World Can’t Wait ( Drive
Out the Bush Regime says, “People who steal elections and believe they’re on a ‘mission from God’ will not go without a fight.” And no, Bush doesn’t particularly care about
public opinion ( except in so much as it puts a wrench in his ability to carry
out this ugly program. And no, there is
not going to be some savior from the Democratic Party ( it is up to the
independent action of millions to stop this regime.
Driving out this regime is a formidable challenge ( and it
can only be met head on. And that means thousands
of people protesting in DC, taking our demand right to the torturers,
mass-murderers, spying and lying theocrats in the seat of government. Doing this in their center of power will
provide inspiration to the millions of people looking for a way to act. It will change the sentiments of many more
when they see a critical mass of people in DC determined to drive out the Bush
regime. And, it will put this regime on
notice that there is a force in society that will not stop until they step
down.
Again, think of the significance anytime there have been
powerful acts of protest, particularly in the seat of government. You’ve seen the pictures from the protests
against the Vietnam
war in the 1960’s, from the powerful image of veterans throwing back their
medals, to the significance of hundreds of thousands marching on the
Pentagon. And
you’ve seen pictures of the civil rights movement, in which protesters
stood up in the face of brutality and repression, but grew to a
movement involving millions. More recently, the mass protests in DC
against the war, or acts of civil disobedience outside the White House (and the
arrest of Cindy Sheehan Tuesday for wearing an anti-war tee-shirt to Bush’s
state of the union speech), have galvanized and organized millions.
As you ponder those images from the 1960’s or more recently,
take a look at pictures from the protests all across the country during Bush’s
state of the union address this past Tuesday. Now imagine all that and more coming together
in Washington DC,
right outside the White House. That’s
not a photo-op you wanna miss. And it’s
a picture that could go down in the history books as a crucial turning point.
So what difference did the protests to stop the war on Iraq
make?
Bush
went into the war exposed to the world as a liar, without the “international
coalition” he wanted, and with a deep and determined resistance all over the
world and right inside the “homeland”. The protests to stop the war on Iraq
changed the whole political climate in the country, causing millions more to
question, and laying the basis for more people (including soldiers) to speak
out. Furthermore, think what would have
happened if there had not been any significant resistance. Think of how demoralized people would be,
think of how much further the Bush regime could get ahead with its program
unchallenged, and think of what millions would be forced to accept without
millions of people taking to the streets in protest.
No,
the protests against the war on Iraq
were not powerful enough to stop it. But
the lesson from this is not acceptance and resignation that there is nothing we
can do, but building off of what was achieved to in fact build a far more
powerful movement to drive this regime from power.
Why
put energy into protests when the 2006 elections are coming up?
Short
answer: how well did this logic work in 2004?
Moreover,
how can we wait for the next election when this regime is on a rapid course to
cement into place its spy program, an ultra-conservative Supreme Court, a
continued war in Iraq (with Iran in their sights), and much more? What Democrats are in the position to or want
to seriously challenge and stop all this?
And if getting the Democrats to do the right thing is your goal, how
will that happen without massive protests forcing them to? Furthermore, can you really count on voting
machines with no paper trails, a Supreme Court (now with Roberts and Alito)
that already handed one election to Bush, and an two presidential elections
with massive evidence of fraud, voter intimidation, and a host of dirty tricks?
Look,
we need a different dynamic than “putting our hopes and energies into ‘leaders’
who tell us to seek common ground with fascists and religious fanatics is
proving every day to be a disaster, and actually serves to demobilize people”
(from the Call for World Can’t Wait). We
need a dynamic where people act based on what’s right and necessary, and
relying our own independent political action.
So quit hesitating (
come protest in Washington DC,
the seat of government, this Saturday, Feb. 4.
As
one high school student in LA put it in describing his decision to take part in
the November 2nd school walk-outs and protests called by World Can’t
Wait:
“Maybe you just get
one chance to be in on making history. I was thinking that maybe this was my
chance and it would be fucked up to miss it… When I saw that you could say
what was on your mind and the cops couldn’t do nothing, I was like, ‘Oh
yeah!'”