We really do feel like we are in the trenches.
D.C. is incredible: the women who have come here to end this war are awesome; the actions we are doing are creative, thoughtful, and challenging not just the warmongers but also the complacency of most of us citizens of this democracy.
I urge you once again to seriously consider coming to D.C. Here every day we are able to influence so many and varied individuals and groups. Not only do we have our legislative branch with congress people, committee hearings, aides & staff; not only do we have the executive branch with bush & cheney, etc.; not only do we have the supreme court (how amazingly thrilling just to stand in front of that building. And then to have the opportunity to speak with the 4 anti-women’s-rights young women, facing the court building, who have willingly silenced themselves by putting red duct tape over their mouths & written ‘lies’ on it)!
We also have every branch of the military here; and every rank - the dress uniformed ones, the old ones whose uniform slurp over slumped shoulders, the young scared ones with wild eyes and no hair.
We have school children visiting by the droves – the little ones, the ones getting ready to soon be approached by recruiters, and the ones already in danger of being recruited. Then there are massive groups of every kind of interest group you can think of – Christians, Red Cross, Telecommunications, Veterans, Nurses, Haircutters – you name it, they are here visiting D.C. or lobbying in D.C.
Then there are the tourists who come from every state in the union, and many, many countries around the world; shoulder to shoulder with the regular folks, the folks that live & eat in D.C., drive the cabs & buses, the ones that clean up after the tourists and fill the jails so the rest of us can feel & be safe w/all our things.
Every day we take the myriad of opportunities to engage with these people: every day we get to talk with men in green dress uniform, so many badges on their chest you wonder how they can walk upright; and the men dressed so scantily but uniformly - green shorts, green t-shirt - rushing by; men waiting for elevators, eating lunch, or milling around in hallways – we get to talk with them, attempt to hand them flyers, urge them to help us end this war & bring our troops home; demand they never kill another human being in our name; place the GI rights hotline number in their memories.
Every day we get to target several Senators and Representatives: we get to talk with staff & aides; we get to leave little (yet another petroleum product) toy green soldiers with a bright pink label extended from their rifles that say ‘bring me home now!’ in auspicious corners of their offices, desks, hallways; every day we get to disrupt hearings so these mostly white males know that they are NOT the only ones who get to speak, theirs are not the only words spoken.
But it is the children, the young people, that are perhaps my favorite target group. I love telling them to beware of the military, recruiters are NOT their friend, they are in danger of being recruited into an illegal, unjust war (not that I believe there could be a legal, just war).
It is always the kids of color who are so spontaneously right-on, on the same page, making a fist & hitting their chest over their hearts & then flashing a side-ways peace symbol & a frontways smile; some of the white children are also for peace. It is always the white children who claim to support the war, call us names, claim they WANT to go to war, WANT to kill, War is good, etc. We've taught them young.
Come to D.C., take the chance, stand & work for peace - you will be able to throw away your depression meds, you will be able to smile & have hope fill your heart as you step on that long line towards peace - all in one day!
You will be able to greet street workers standing for peace; you will be able to hug Iranians so worried about war yet so able to reach out in love & unity; you will be able to connect with bus & cab drivers, and yes, even the police, as they all tell us in their own way, we are on your side, we hear you, we are with you.
Come to D.C. People in Iraq need you. Our soldiers need you. We need you. Peace, Sam
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