I slipped off the side of the road seven or eight months ago and landed on some Frostian path that sees less traffic. Through childlike eyes the new trail did not seem dark nor dangerous. It was glowing. I met new people. I fought like hell to awaken the sleeping. I smiled a lot, for the sheer joy of being engaged in the struggle. And this coming week, I’m going totally Quixote. And I’m going to invite some of you to go Quixote with me. But I’ll save the invitation for the last. Because one of the real joys in becoming an anti-war activist has been sharing the story with you.
It has been some time since I wrote. I am not even sure where I left you in my own tale. And I suppose more than a few of you don’t know me from a stark raving lunatic. So maybe I’ll just start at the beginning.
Like many of you, I knew the War in Iraq was a lie from before the beginning. I read the newspaper accounts. Read between the lines. And smelled that the smoking guns and mushroom cloud rhetoric was more stage effect dry ice than substance. One needed only to possess a critical mind and access to a functioning newspaper to know this. To sit back and watch Colin Powell sell his soul before the United Nations. To see the Chimp smirk this country into an illegal war. (By the way, if you haven’t done so already, you really should, just as a good citizen, read The Constitution In Crisis, John Conyers’ minority report on the fraud that has been foisted upon the American public.)
Like some of you, I sat disengaged as I watched those brave, embedded journalists play to the nationalism of the crowd, broadcasting their way across Iraq above flag waving graphics. It was surreal bullshit. And I did nothing for a time, seething from my couch as I watched the slaughter. Sometimes my anger would explode in a tirade at the local pub. And angry men watching FOX News above the bar would shout me down. Because Bush was serving turkey in Baghdad. All was right for the red, white and blue.
I learned after the fact, from a North Dakota Democrat, that there are many ways of non-violent resistance. Such as writing a book. So in the caustic atmosphere surrounding the U.S. conquest of Iraq, where it was difficult to speak out in public without coming to blows, I decided to write a novel to express my anger. My initial anti-war plot was shot down by my editor-in-chief. I liked it, but she convinced me it had already been done by John Steinbeck in “East of Eden.” So I settled on a different anti-war book. An anti-war on terror diatribe that soaked in the atmosphere of the nation. And it was good.
I had some down time after the book was completed. So I started writing on blogs. It was a cool place to blow off steam. My first hit diary at dKos lampooned the President. Man was it hard to find material to make fun of this most dignified creature. But I managed. And a little later, I found a frog pond to hang-out at and started talking to people about the issues of the day. All things considered, I cannot think of another period in my life when I was as well informed as the period that I spent here with the good folks at the Booman Tribune.
In August, Cindy Sheehan went to Crawford. And a couple of Boo Tribbers went to visit. And I started to get the idea that this blog thing was a great connector of people. A way to get off the couch. To start speaking out again. I got charged up and went to a local vigil in support of Cindy. And got connected to my local anti-war movement. They are a committed bunch who I’ve grown to respect over the months. And we’re doing our best to raise awareness and stop the war right here in our community.
In September, I went to Washington, D.C. I protested with some bloggers from the pond. And got charged-up to fight for peace. Came home and started organizing. Got my first taste of it by helping to organize a rally to mark the 2,000 solider’s death in Iraq. And since then, I’ve been planning a big rally to mark the 3rd anniversary of the war. Which brings us up to date.
When I first started in on the actual anti-war activism, I was a little taken aback by some of my fellow peace people. In the early days, I thought some of them were activism junkies. You know these people. They’ve got so many bumper stickers that they have to put “mosaic” down on their registration form where it asks for the color of their car. And when they open up their trunk, it is filled with protest signs, just in case an impromptu demonstration breaks out.
Well. I am now that junkie. I haven’t caved to the bumper stickers. Yet. But I will tell you that my five year-old had to squeeze into the back seat yesterday to avoid the anti-war signs that we have painted in anticipation of the great big anti-war demonstration. You see, the signs won’t all fit in my trunk anymore. Some of them have to go in the back seat. And my daughter. She is a trooper. So it is okay.
We’ve gone big in Lansing. We sent a representative to a statewide peace conference a number of weeks ago. And there was no over-arching state plan for a protest as we enter the fourth year of the war. So we went big ourselves. A week-long peace festival, if you will. You have to dream big. It of course risks great failure, planning an event like this. But when you have gone Quixote, failure is not an option. (Editor’s note: The author of this diary claims no resemblance to the fictional character of Don Quixote. In terms of visuals, you would do better to envision an Anglo-Saxon version of Sancho Panza. Better yet, just envision world peace, and trust me that the author now has the heart of Don Quixote.)
So here is the line-up:
Spring for Peace – March for Accountability
Community Peace Protest
Sunday, March 19, 2006
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Five locations throughout greater Lansing, Michigan: public sidewalks near the Meridian Mall (corner of Grand River & Marsh), the Eastwood Towne Center (corner of Lake Lansing & Preyde), the Lansing Mall (corner of Saginaw & Elmwood), in South Lansing (near Cedar & Edgewood), and in East Lansing (gather at MSU’s Beaumont Tower and march to Grand River & Abbott).Confronting the Myths
Sunday, March 19, 2006
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
At the MSU Museum, on West Circle Drive across from the MSU Library. Presentations by a diverse set of speakers with firsthand experiences in Iraq, followed by a film.Picket for Peace
Monday, March 20, 2006 through Friday, March 24, 2006
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily
At U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers’ office, 1327 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, Michigan. A week-long picket of pro-war Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI-08), asking that he support legislation ending the war and banning torture, and that he join in Congressional efforts to hold the administration accountable. The picket kicks-off with a rally at Rogers’ office at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, March 20, 2006. Mini-rallies daily on the lunch hour.Picket for Peace: After Hours
Lecture by John Perkins, “Confessions of an Economic Hitman”
Monday, March 20, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Dart Auditorium at Lansing Community College. This lecture is not connected with the local peace movement in any way. Just good karma that he is coming at this time. So go. And enjoy.Picket for Peace: After Hours
“The Power of Nightmares”
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Magdalena’s Tea House, 2006 East Michigan Ave., Lansing, Michigan. Viewing of the BBC documentary, “The Power of Nightmares,” a critical examination of the “War on Terror.”Picket for Peace: After Hours
Wrap-up Dinner Celebration
Friday, March 24, 2006
6:30 p.m.
Magdalena’s Tea House, 2006 East Michigan Ave., Lansing, Michigan. Free pizza to celebrate our efforts.
I don’t know what to expect. Before the war proper, our local anti-war rally drew a few thousand. As the war has gone on, the rallies have drawn a few hundred. Sometimes a few dozen. With the third anniversary event breaking into five groups, and with the week-long event starting early and lasting through the work day, I’m honestly not expecting that much. I’m hoping that people will get the word. And I hope they will be energized, as I was once. Energized to fight against their tax dollars paying to slaughter children. Energized to hold their government accountable for the lies that have been told. Energized to stop the sacrifice of our sons and daughters for some misguided imperial dream. Energized that the tide is turning, and that they might now believe that their own small voice might come out. Off the couch. To join with other small voices. To create a giant roar that can no longer be ignored.
I’ve got fifteen minutes on local FM radio to hype the event. Wednesday, March 15, 2006 from 7:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Impact Radio in East Lansing on FM-88.9. You may be able to stream it. And I’ve been interviewed and photographed by the campus paper. They say they’re going to provide some ink. But who knows how far the word will spread.
I was told as a young soldier that you have to lead by example. That troops are more likely to charge the hill if you charge first. I signed-up for every minute of the Picket for Peace. Barring some calamity, I’m going to be there, on the line, for every minute of it. In fact, I’ll be at every event. I’m going to the Meridian Mall for the Community Peace Protest. It is the first time, to my knowledge, that anti-war protests are coming to my sleepy suburban shopping district. People truly need to wake-up. And while we are getting some groups to sign-up to march with us, there are some gaps on the schedule. Times in the week-long event when I may be marching alone in the Picket for Peace. And there is nothing that makes me feel more quixotic than marching alone.
Which leads me to this. If you are out there reading. And you are an old friend with nowhere to protest yourself. Or you are someone on the couch who has always felt this way, but hasn’t found a way to get involved. Or you are anyone. From anywhere. Who wants to stop this war. I’m calling on you to come out. Come visit me on some day(s) from Sunday, March 19, 2006 through Friday, March 24, 2006. Come and be quixotic with me. The tide has turned. You should hear the honking support these days, in the post-Dubai ports era. The military facade of the war president has fallen away. There is just a fool behind the curtain for all to see. He needs a push. But ending the war is within our reach. There are four Bills in Congress by my last count, that would help stop the war. And the Republicans have already broken ranks. And another lesson I recall from my days as a soldier. When the enemy breaks ranks and runs, it is easier to finish them off on the spot, than to wait and let them re-group.
I figure I could finance a place to stay for eight of you. I’m talking a cheap place to stay. A regular flop-house. Four to a room. But you’ll be warm and dry at night. And your days will be full. And I won’t be alone on the line. Not for one minute. I’ve gone Quixote. I’ve got the signs in the trunk to prove it. Won’t you come and take one up like a lance, and tilt it in the direction of the powers that be? (For NSA purposes, these protests are all non-violent. All references to soldiers, lances, windmill tilting and other tactics are purely metaphoric. We’re marching around asking Congress to stop the war. The worst you might expect is someone like Damnit Janet to yell “suit up or shut up” at a passing war-monger, at which time she or someone like her will be counseled by a local Quaker in the true meaning of non-violence.)
And by the way. Happy birthday to the Booman Tribune. The home of accidental activists on the Internet since 2005.
