Illegitimi non carborundum

What Is There To Do?
We’ve marched, we’ve protested, we’ve volunteered, and we’ve been arrested.
We’ve supported civil rights, women’s rights, abortion rights, gay rights,
immigrants’ rights, and the rights of oppressed peoples everywhere. We’ve
recycled, cut down on our carbon footprint, and supported environmental causes.
We’ve protested wars from Vietnam to Iraq, protested government intrusion into
our lives and secret surveillance, protested the use of torture, and worked for the
revolution that we hoped would change our country and the world. We grew up
watching the Army-McCarthy hearings; started protesting in Washington in the
1960s; voted for Kennedy, thinking that a politician could make a difference (how
wrong could you be); voted for Dick Gregory in protest; and then not again until
Gore vs Bush. Now we will vote against McCain & Palin, instead of for Obama,
still trying to live by our ideals. Did we accomplish anything? Did we make a
difference? According to Chomsky:
The movement against the war in Vietnam had long lasting, I hope
permanent, effects in raising the general level of insight and
understanding among the general public….Despite the intense efforts
undertaken in the 1970s to reverse this general cultural progress and
enlightenment, much of it remains….The accomplishments, which
were very real, can be credited largely to young people, most of them
nameless and forgotten, who devoted themselves to organizing,
education, civil disobedience and resistance.
Just like Dr. King, we had a dream. We believed that these bloodsuckers could
be stopped, that the military industrial complex could be stopped, that the rights
of all ordinary people could take precedence over the rights of the wealthy. And
we still have this dream. Maybe it won’t happen in our lifetime, or in our kids’
lifetimes, but, for the earth to continue, we must keep the dream alive. It’s like
pushing a giant rock wheel up a mountain. It takes lots of hands over lots of time.
So, join us in doing what you know is right. It’s now your time to lead the way.
Illegitimi non carborundum
Submitted by two of the nameless dreamers