The following is being read at Oct. 5 rallies around the country:
A day we’ve all been waiting for is happening. We are standing up together, all over the country, determined to carry forward a great movement to drive out the Bush Regime. This movement is made up of many people of many different viewpoints and backgrounds---all uniting to accomplish something that must be done. This audacious and historic venture is born of urgent necessity. “The Bush Regime is setting out to radically remake society very quickly, in a fascist way, and for generations to come. We must act now; the future is in the balance.”
In just the past year we have seen:
Government spying--bolted into law;
Alito & Roberts - installed in the Supreme Court;
The Patriot Act passed - again;
Theocratic anti-abortion and anti-gay laws - spreading intolerance;
War in Iraq--more murderous;
War on Lebanon - approved and fueled;
War on Iran - in preparation;
Cuba, Venezuela and other countries in their sights;
Torture - legalized.
The act passed last week stripped the fundamental right of habeas corpus for 14,000 detainees in secret prisons around the world and to anyone anywhere that the president accuses of being an enemy combatant - all without any real opposition in the halls of power.
This is how fascism happens here, with an orderly transfer of power to the executive branch, to a president and administration claiming war time powers - in a war promised to last generations; to a president who lied about Iraq and is now laying plans for a catastrophic war with Iran; to a president who believes he is on a mission from God.
This is indeed a defining moment. It is not too late to stop this fascist trajectory. But if it goes unopposed by the people of this country, it could be too late. The darkness of this regime descending on the country and the world will succeed in silencing dissent, critical thought, science, the ideals of equality and even the way people think of basic human decency.
Millions of people deeply disturbed by this have been looking for a vehicle to express their outrage. Today in more than 200 cities – 90 of them in 26 states that went for Bush in 2004-- people are finding their courage in this vehicle. We are punching a hole in the political atmosphere of silence and fear that has people going along with a fascist program. And we are opening the way for the kind of resistance we need to stop and reverse the direction this government is taking this society and the world.
Acting in this way, we join with and give support and heart to people all over the globe who so urgently need and want this regime to be stopped. We have to look at ourselves through their eyes – how is the rest of the world seeing us. We have to reckon with how the people of the Middle East, whose countries have been turned to rubble, are seeing us. To be silent when your country is waging endless war, legalizing torture, and taking step after step towards consolidating a police state to "make us safe" is just not conscionable. But when we are out here as we are today, we are demonstrating to the world that there is a difference between the people and the government of George Bush.
Having taken this historic step, we must promise to take this forward to make resistance to all this a reality, now. We must go forward--transforming the anguish, outrage and frustration millions of us feel into truly effective, positive and massive political mobilization. We must stay on the offensive with our opposition to the WHOLE direction of things, and to this regime---including through the immediate period before and after the mid-term elections.
We must not stop, we must go forward. No matter who is elected, we ourselves, the people, by our OWN active initiative, have to now set entirely different political terms than the ones presently accepted as “realistic”.
We must not stop.
It is time to change the terms of discourse. It is not acceptable, at a time when the Supreme Court is getting ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, for the opposition to be saying that the right of a woman to control her own body is expendable.
It is not right for the terms of debate on war in Iraq to be “No exit till victory v. sending more troops”. It’s totally unacceptable that in a civilized country there would even be a debate about torture - or that the opposition is only how to regulate and legalize it.
We must not stop. There is time but there is very little time. We have to change the political landscape so everyone has to respond to what hundreds of thousands of people are now actively on a mission to accomplish: to drive out this criminal regime and to repudiate, to reject, to put beyond the pale the whole immoral and unjust program of this regime.
We have taken a gigantic step today - now we have important plans to make, including over the next days and weeks. So, as you end this day, know that this is not one of those demonstrations you march and go back home to the same old same old. What do you do when there is warning of a tsunami coming your way? You make plans for emergency mobilization. And we are going to do just that.
In one week, we are calling for MASS MEETINGS – where thousands across the country must come to be part of summing up what we have accomplished and be part of planning how to go forward, rapidly expanding our capacity. We’ll discuss “how do you drive an illegitimate regime from power?” We have very important plans for what the next ambitious and necessary steps this movement should make.
In the meantime we must not lose an ounce of momentum - immediately getting other people to join us. To keep the profile and message of World Can’t Wait pulsing through the political atmosphere over the next 6 weeks. We are calling on people to:
1) Be out in the streets - be out in the public square. Wear orange. Wear orange armbands. Decorate yourself and the city with orange Emergency crime tape to symbolize those being disappeared and tortured in our name. Pick a busy area in your city and be there at the same time and day for the next 6 weeks, creating a culture of resistance in song and theater, holding speak-outs on the “Your Government” indictments, making exhibits and showing films. We’ll be ready to respond to an October, or November surprise by the Bush Regime.
2) Today is a gigantic step forward in starting the society-wide debate needed for people in their millions to act even more powerfully. So we are calling today for STATE OF EMERGENCY TEACH-INS to take place before the end of October that can carry out emergency education on each of the “Your Government” indictments found in our Call. We are out to wake people up to what is going on, in their name. We will make the case that this regime is guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
So go home with something orange and wear it the rest of the month. Come to the meeting next week and plan to bring your courage and your imagination, bring your resources and your political connections because together we will plan our next steps needed to drive out this Regime before 2008.
Because Bush, because Cheney, because Rumsfeld, because Rice, because Gonzales must all be driven out, they must leave the White House politically repudiated and thoroughly discredited as the war criminals that they are. Anything short of that is unacceptable to the world, to our children, to the future.
THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN - WHICH ONE WE GET IT UP TO US
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The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime
866 973 4463
