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Jim Hightower
Jim HightowerThe Rebellion
By Jim Hightower
Mar 11, 2003 --THE PEOPLE of America are revolting – in the very best sense of that term! America's media and political leaders also are revolting, but in the very ugliest sense of that term, for they are mostly ignoring the people's revolt.
All across our great country, there is a massive outpouring of heartfelt, outraged opposition to George W's Iraq Attack. Tens of thousands of people have joined street rallies, candlelight vigils, marches on Congressional offices, protests at Bush fund-raisers, visits to Dick Cheney's house, and other demonstrations – not only in DC, San Francisco, and other expected places, but also in places like Tulsa and New Smyrna, Phoenix and Dearborn, Roswell and Rochester.
This rebellion includes grandmothers who've never protested, Gulf War and Vietnam vets, church folks, corporate executives ... even Republicans! In addition to street actions, Congress is deluged with letters, email, faxes, and phone calls against the pell mell rush into Iraq. Robert Byrd, the usually hawkish senator from West Virginia who led the opposition to Bush's war resolution, says he got 20,000 calls and 50,000 emails in one week, urging him to keep up the fight. "They are my heroes," he said of these grassroots rebels, adding that "the American people seem to have a better understanding of the Constitution than those who are elected to represent them."
Yet, if you watch television news and listen to the pundits, you'd think you're alone in America if you don't go along with Bush's B.S. The mass media establishment has been a perpetual war drum, mostly ignoring the spreading prairie fire of opposition. But have heart, we're stronger than you think. Even in Congress, 23 senators and 133 house members voted NO on the war resolution, including 90 percent of African-American members, 80 percent of Latinos, 60 percent of house Democrats, and 59 percent of the women in Congress.
That's a solid base for sanity, and we've only begun to fight. So keep agitating!
Reader Comments
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| Chris Barker | Aug 19, 2003 | Auburn, WA | |
| Hmm. Tens of thousands of people joined in street rallies. Even if it were 10 ětens of thousandsî thatís only about 0.04% of the population. 70,000 people contacted Senator Byrd. Thatís quite a lot of calls and emails, but nowhere near a consensus. Noisy, but not decisive. I have seen Mr. Hightower refer to Senator Byrd as a moderate and even a conservative. Senator Byrd is none of those, except perhaps to the far radical left. And he certainly is not hawkish. And what a comical interpretation of the Congressional vote on going to war. 23 senators voted against it? 133 house member voted against it? I hope he know that represents, for those bodies, a landslide vote. I hope he remembers that many people who are against the Bush war were in favor of the same war under Clinton. ()()()()() Iím sorry, I donít quite understand this essay. There are people who are against the war. And this meansÖ.. what? | |||
