Can we, in our own little corner of the progressive blogosphere, help to shape a large protest? A sustained protest designed to manifest our unhappiness with the war our country has been lied into?
I don’t know. But I want to try. As those who have followed this idea know, the “Picket for Peace” is a local protest that I am helping to organize in my community. It was roughly described in an earlier diary as follows:
The Picket for Peace
A Demand to Our Legislators
To Stop the War and Provide JusticeWho: Local anti-war groups, individuals committed to peace, and maybe you and those like you in your community who want to stop this war.
What: The March for Accountability is a grass-roots protest designed to influence our legislators to 1) oppose the war and 2) hold accountable those who misled the U.S. into war. On March 20th, 2005 – the third anniversary of this ill-advised war — members of the peace movement will come together to start a 30-day picket of our legislators’ local offices. Picketers will march outside the office during all business hours (7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday). Our demands to our representatives will be clear and simple: Support legislation that has been introduced to stop the war (Murtha), and support efforts for a fair and open investigation on how the U.S. was misled into the Iraq War (Conyers bills for a Select Committee and immediate censure).
Where: At the district office of any legislator who has not already demonstrated a commitment to 1) stopping the war, and 2) holding accountable those who have misled us into war (peace isn’t partisan folks — so I’m afraid some of you live under Democratic legislators who don’t share these views).
When: The March for Accountability will start on March 20, 2006 and continue for 30 days. The picket will be active from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to correspond with the business hours of the office. At the completion of the 30 day protest, participants will gather to determine how best to move forward with other actions toward completion of the goals. (I anticipate that we will renew our efforts in thirty day increments until our legislators meet our demands, or until the election where our legislators are replaced with candidates who will meet our demands — we will keep the pressure on and make change in a democratic fashion).
Why: Our legislative representatives have the power to change the course of our country. Congress has the power to declare war, to fund war and to oversee the executive branch that is prosecuting the war. These powers can be used to effect the changes we seek. Our action has the potential to directly influence the behavior of our elected representatives, or to indirectly effect the election so that a representative sharing our goals takes office. (I am shocked at the number of people — mostly outside the blogosphere — who do not understand these basic tenants of democracy, so education on the mechanism for change is a good thing — and people like to learn — it makes them feel very good knowing that they can stand strongly for peace in a democratic way).
How: To staff a protest of this nature with at least three picketers for every hour of the protest, we need a minimum of 150 volunteered hours per week from committed community activists (3 protestors per hour X 10 protest hours per day X 5 protest days per week). Manpower for this protest will be provided by community groups that support peace (adopting a day or block of time) and individuals who want to support peace. Ideally, we will build a cadre of protestors larger than minimally necessary to staff the protest, and committed enough to volunteer for follow-up actions that may be necessary as we hound our legislators until our goals are met. At an operational level our protest will manage communications with legislators, and will coordinate medial coverage in an effort to build pressure consistent with meeting our goals. We will also supply training and support for our volunteers, so that they are 1) focused on a unified message, 2) capable of dealing with media, 3) safe from threats to their physical security, and 4) protected in their legal right to protest.
From yesterday’s diary on this topic, I gather that many of you think this project may be too ambitious. I think it is ambitious, too. I know that we are still refining it locally. And not everyone on the local level believes we will be able to pull it off successfully. Time will tell.
One thought — perhaps expectations should be lowered. Can we get volunteers from the progressive blogosphere to coordinate any event (even one less ambitious than the above plan) at their local war-mongers office?
A second thought — there are roughly 70 days to go before the third anniversary of war. Third anniversary. People have been dying for a lie for three years. If we are going to get a project of this size off the ground, we are going to need to get out to the wider blogosphere soon. Can we get volunteers to man other blogs, so that we can start cross-posting this idea, once it has ripened into its final form?
And of course, your own thoughts. What do you think? What needs to be addressed? Or what do you propose?