The Choice is Clear: Give Up or Get Up

Sick, angry, depressed, hopeless – these are the words I am reading on our progressive message boards and websites. OK – we all know there was massive fraud and disenfranchisement. We also know that some larger-than-we-would-like portion of our population suffers from a robust case of Sadomasochistic Sheeple Syndrome – a mental disorder that is made all the worse because it is not merely bad, it is incomprehensible.

But despite the fact that many of us are disappointed – perhaps, devastated – the choice before us is clear: give up or get up.

Just last week, Johns Hopkins reported 100,000 Iraqis have died as a result of Bush’s twenty-first century Crusade. That is a staggering number of people who no longer have any choices at all. They can no longer get up, so we must.

Immediately after September 11, John AshKKKroft began rounding up and detaining Middle Eastern immigrants – we have no idea how many; they have no idea how long they will be detained. Many have not been charged with anything, but we know, based on the tales of detainees that have been released, that many of them are innocent. These detained – and frequently tortured – immigrants can no longer get up, so we must.

In our own country, class warfare has been openly declared by this administration upon the poor, the disabled and the people of various ethnic groups. This class warfare had been waged for centuries – beginning with the oppression of indigenous people – but it has been exacerbated by the theocratic aspirations of the Bushistas and their followers. These marginalized groups have been fighting valiantly, and it is about to get a whole lot worse for them – for their sake we must get up.

Eleven states just passed gay marriage bans, and yet our Congress will not acknowledge that hate crime legislation is necessary. The door is now wide open for the red states to trample on the civil rights of gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals – this despite the fact that the conservative world-view is supposed to embrace the idea that you can’t legislate morality and instead, lifestyle choices should be a matter of personal decision and accountability. The hypocrisy is stunning, yet for the sake of this vulnerable population, we must get up.

The environment, the deficit, the kind of world we want to leave to our children is at risk. Future generations stand to inherit a decimated planet, staggering debt, un-breathable air and undrinkable water. They have no choice in the matter – they will get what we leave them just by virtue of the position they occupy on the insensate space-time continuum. They can’t fight battles that should have been won in the past, so for their sake, we must get up.

And if we at all value the things that the Founding Fathers fought and died for, that progressive icons in recent history like Martin Luther King fought and died for, then for the sake of these long dead generations, we must get up.

I urge you to put your grieving aside for today – a revolution does not have an agenda that accommodates malaise. If your town has a local peace vigil, please go there this weekend – even if you have never attended one before – you will be welcomed with open arms. Look up the nearest homeless outreach program today and go down and volunteer. Find out when the next meeting of Amnesty International takes place, or the next Critical Mass Bike Ride, or the next Food Not Bombs event, or the next town hall forum on environmental toxins. If your elected “representatives” won’t heed your letters, perhaps it is time for some direct action. Connect with people who can facilitate that, or act autonomously – it doesn’t matter which path you take as long as you travel it head held high and undeterred by fascist bullies.

There is a film that is passed around in progressive circles called “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Well, it will not happen while we are lying down and trying to recover either.

This weekend, today, and every day, put your fears and grief behind you and renew your love affair with peace and social justice.  Participate…not just with words, but with action and courage. There are millions of world citizens who can no longer get up - some because they are tired, some because they are hurting, some because they are dead. Giving up is not an option.

See you in the streets!

Carol Schiffler
November 4, 2004

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