On a sunny and chilly day in New York I headed out to Central Park to
attend the “Not in Our Name’ rally,
and to take the ‘Not in Our Name’ pledge. Even though by now
I know better than not to drive to the city,
I did so anyway. After a 20-minute ride, I spent 45 minutes sightseeing
in the Upper East Side. After I
criss-crossed the town in the 90’s and 80’s, I found a parking spot
on the corner of East 72nd and Madison
Avenue. With a 27-block walk ahead of me, I realized that on
top of standing up against the war, I am
getting a work out of a lifetime.
Needless to say I got to the rally after 1pm start time, and apparently
missed a speech by my President,
Martin Sheen. I was amazed, surprised and happy to see the amount
of people at this event. Thousands
upon thousands of people filled the East Meadow. They were sitting
down, and standing up, on foot, bikes,
rollers blade and wheel chairs. There were old and young, upper
class, and hippies, black, white, Jewish,
Asian, and Arabic. In turbans, and in yamakas, gay and straight.
To borrow a quote from BartCop,
it was John Ashcroft’s worse nightmare. The best part of it all…not
one Republican in sight!
Now granted there were representatives of groups that offered
an alternative to the Republicans and Democrats.
You had your Greens, and Independents, and Socialists. My favorite
was the Revolution Communist Party.
A member of that group offered me a pamphlet. When I saw what
party it is, I gave it back and said ‘No, Thanks.’
He wanted me to read it, and I said that I’ve tried this thing, it
just doesn’t work. I then had to explain to him that
I lived in Russia, etc. But one thing that united all these people,
and their organizations, was their belief against
the war, and their dislike (and that’s putting it mildly) towards Bush
and Co.
Signs were big at this rally. They were all over the place.
Little kids had signs that said “No War!”, old ladies
had signs that said, “Take the Toys Away from Junior!” There
were signs that read “No Blood for Oil”,
“Don’t Get Bushed into a War”, “Not In Our Name” (the general theme
of the rally). My favorite sign was
a bit long, but right on the mark. “What’s the difference between
Saddam and Bush? Saddam wasn’t elected
by his people, but Bush…oh, never mind. Saddam does things without
regard to the international community, but Bush….eehh, moving on.
Saddam has no problem putting lives of his people in jeopardy, but Bush….oh,
forget it!”
And then there were speeches. Of the notables I caught Susan
Sarandon and Tim Robbins. They both spoke eloquently and had great
points. Tim Robbins pointed out how conveniently the Enrons, WorldComms
and Arthur Andersons no longer make headline news. How we rely on
oil so much that this administration is willing to sacrifice American lives
for it. Susan Sarandon urged everyone to call, write, email their
congressmen. She pointed out a few vocal opponents of the war who
need our support. People like Senator Byrd, Wellstone, and Biden.
Attorney Lynne Stewart made a great speech. There were speeches from
representatives of various faiths, Christians, Jewish, and Muslim.
A young woman who’s cousin died on 9/11 spoke and said that her and her
family don’t want this war to be fought in the name of their perished relative,
or in the name of 2,800 others.
Then at 3:00 p.m. everyone who has gathered at the park at that
point recited the pledge. It was led by a group of youths from all
over the country, and there was something eerie and mesmerizing hearing
thousands of people recite these words:
The Pledge of Resistance
We believe that as people living in the United States it is our
responsibility to resists
The injustices done by our government in our names.
Not in our name will you wage endless war.
There can be no more deaths, no more transfusions of blood for
oil.
Not in our name will you invade countries, bomb civilians, kill
more children
Letting history take its course over the grave of the nameless.
Not in our name will you erode the very freedoms you have claimed to fight for.
Not by our hands will we supply weapons and funding
For the annihilation of families on foreign soil.
Not by our mouths will we let fear silence us.
Not by our hearts will we allow whole peoples or countries to be deemed evil.
Not by our will and Not in our name.
We pledge Resistance.
We pledge alliance with those who have come under attack
For voicing opposition to the war or for their religion or ethnicity.
We pledge to make common cause with the people of the world
To bring about justice, freedom and peace.
Another world is possible, and we pledge to make it real!
Surprisingly enough I saw coverage of this rally on the local
news later that night, and in the local morning news.
I don’t know if what we did yesterday will achieve anything.
But it was an unforgettable experience. It re-assured
me that there are many other people that believe in the same
things, who are not happy with the way things are,
and who are trying to do something.