First published September 2004
Our bodies ache with bruises and scrapes and sunburns. Our voices are shot. We are sleep deprived.
We were jailed, some of us. Others were preemptively harassed and spied on by transparent under cover police and Secret Service agents in pristine anti-Bush shirts and perfect haircuts. They tried to pen us, and they tried to pin us with “Peaceful Political Protestor” pins. But, few wore the pins or used their protestor coupons to NYC attractions not because we weren’t planning to be peaceful, because all but a very few of us were, but because our voices of dissent and outrage can’t be neatly labeled or preempted or mollified with discounts to Applebees.
And in our peaceful indignation we chanted, we wore pig snouts to signify corporate greed, we laid down in the streets, we sweated, we gave rightwing media mouthpieces our best Bronx cheer, we marched, we unfurled banners, we interrupted speeches, we wept, we laughed, we were creative beyond imagination, and we poured our hearts and our souls out onto the streets of New York City to say no to an administration that has made a mockery of our precious American democracy.
And we’d do it all again in a second because we know democracy doesn’t run itself. By definition it is the “free and equal right of every person to participate in government.” And without vigorous participation on the part of the people we are nothing but an illusion of a democracy, a great, multi-generational experiment gone down the tubes.
We’d do it again because we know that under George W. Bush’s administration we aren’t allowed free and equal participation. Such participation in the decisions that affect each and every one of us is reserved primarily for the well-connected corporate lobbyists and the wealthiest 3% of us. During Bush’s tenure we’ve seen an unprecedented level of partisan laws passed, policies implemented and appointees named, sometimes under the shroud of recess. We know that the vast majority of us, whether we realize it or not, have been shut out, dismissed, and ignored.
Yes, we would rather sit down and hash out our concerns and ideas. We would be happy to have an open discourse, a brainstorming session, with those in the Bush administration. We’ve tried. Again and again we’ve tried. Yet we are knocking on a locked door, the key given only to a select few. So for our voices to be heard at all, we find we must protest loudly, creatively and, yes, sometimes with nonviolent disruptive behavior. That’s precisely how our country was founded and how the women’s vote and civil rights were won. They were not demure efforts. And they weren’t successful overnight. We know this. So despite the hard work and long hours, we would and will protest again and again and again in cities across the United States.
And as we reflect on our week of protest in New York City, we can’t help but think about its people. You deserve an immense thank you.
We know you’ve been through hell since 9.11. We know you lost so many loved ones and experienced an unspeakable collective trauma. We know, adding insult to injury, you’ve keenly felt - perhaps more so than many - the hypocrisy and empty promises of the Bush administration because it was, in part, in your loved ones and your city’s name that the Bush administration has invoked an endless war on terror and an endless assault on much of what we hold dear – what makes America, America – our rights, liberties and altruistic sensibilities.
Promised funds to help rebuild and clean your city have been greatly reduced or suspended. The Bush administration’s EPA withheld crucial information about the level of toxicity near Ground Zero, more concerned about how Wall Street would suffer, than how your children, friends and coworkers would. The list goes on. We know this is a microcosm of how it is for millions of Americans across the country – grand promises given out freely, but rarely or only partly kept. Secrets are withheld risking the health, safety and welfare of countless soldiers, children, and workers.
Yet despite all you’ve been through, you opened your hearts and your home to countless thousands of house guests. Polls showed that the overwhelming majority of you approved of our protest. We felt it. You showed us true generosity, respect, and encouragement throughout our stay. For this there are no words to adequately thank you.
Through you and the more than half a million people who turned out in NYC to say no to the greed and the unprecedented self-interest of the Bush agenda we found renewed hope and revitalization. As we return home and share our stories, so, too, will the millions of Americans who share our ideals but couldn’t be there find hope and inspiration. And, in turn, they will take that to their communities and to polls. So, it is for you and for each other that we will all keep chanting and marching and coming together for as long as it takes because in all its glorious messiness, this is precisely what democracy looks like.
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