Thursday, September 08, 2005
The very American art of protest
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Colleen Redman
Redman is a writer and poet living in Floyd.
"Some folks feel protesting is wrong, that you should mind your own business. But when the biggest earth mover in the world shows up at your gate, you suddenly realize that industry regulation is your business." -- Author and poet George Ella Lyons, talking about strip mining in coal fields of Kentucky.
If a family member were perpetrating domestic violence, I hope I would confront him, seek help, and maybe even call the police or 911 if necessary. I wouldn't expect to be labeled anti-family for doing so. I wouldn't expect my actions to be perceived as disloyal toward the perpetrator and especially not toward other family members.
Abuse of power thrives in silence, and silence is often obtained through fear. Name-calling is one of the easiest ways to instill fear and stifle dissent. It can temporarily stop debate -- debate that might be uncomfortable, but could also lead to understanding and change. But it doesn't stop problems.
In fact, without a constructive forum for dissent, resentments go underground, where they are fueled and can then cause existing problems to be magnified.
Our country was founded on protest and revolt against governmental abuse of power. Yet today, when Americans protest controversial government policies, they are frequently labeled as un-American or unpatriotic. In an April 2003 commentary "Rediscovering Patriotism," that was published by The Roanoke Times and commondreams.org, I wrote: "I believe a patriot is one that is an active and informed participant of his or her government, one who is passionate about upholding the ideals its country stands for, not just in word but in deed. This could mean going to war to defend your country, but it also could mean guarding against the overstepping of your country, such as when it initiates offensive wars against weaker nations."
Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who camped out near President Bush's Texas ranch, is demanding that the president answer her questions. She has become the unlikely lightening rod for so many who have grave concerns about the war in Iraq and believe it to be an elective war of aggression that was misrepresented to the public and then rushed into without proper postwar planning. While Sheehan's vigil is supported by many, others are angry and trying to discredit her.
I have no doubt that Sheehan cares deeply about the troops in Iraq and all the lives that have been lost there.
I believe her actions are a result of following her conscience.
If there is any common ground between her supporters and detractors, I think it lies somewhere in the likelihood that the majority on both sides of the issue come from a place of caring about others. They just express it in different ways.
I'm amazed and encouraged that one ordinary woman has a better chance of holding President Bush accountable for the war in Iraq than the nearly half of a million protesters who marched on Washington D.C. in 2003 in an attempt to stop a war they believed didn't have to happen.
