Saturday was a remarkable and inspiring day as more than eleven large demonstrations for peace were held throughout the United States. Pictured above is the rally in Los Angeles, where I marched with tens and thousands of people brought together by a common desire to participate and have their voices heard.
People of all ages, from all walks of life, of different ethnicities, religions and nationalities all joining together in solidarity to passionately express their anti-war sentiments and to call for an immediate end to the violence in Iraq. Muslims walked arm in arm with Jews, with Latinos and African-Americans, Native American’s, Christians and Atheists. Today, there were no differences between us. We were all Americans, we all wanted an end to the violence in the Middle East, we all wanted to bring the troops home.
The mood in the streets was both patriotic and optimistic as everyone in the crowd seemed to understand the tremendous power that “we the people” have when collectively we arise in protest. The stone canyons of downtown Los Angeles reverberated with our determination and dedication to the cause of peace and there was a clear message that was sent to politicians of both parties and to their corporate masters. “We will not be denied. We will be heard”.
There was a symbolic “die in” where everyone lay on the ground in silence, hundreds of American flags, peace slogans, inspired song and verse, the rhythm of thousands of footsteps and sometimes, the pumping of fists angrily into the air. It was both intensely dynamic and serenely peaceful at the same time and I am sure the universe heard us loud and clear.
Riveting all of us were impassioned speeches, by patriots like Ron Kovic who authored the classic anti-war standard, “Born On The 4th Of July”. He spoke as eloquently from his wheelchair about the cost of war as any human being could, as Ron was paralyzed forty years ago from the chest down by a North Vietnamese bullet. Ron embodies a strength of spirit and character that is incredibly inspiring to all who hear him and I noticed tears streaming down the face of a young girl next to me as she listened to his words.
Also making inspired pleas for peace were Mike Farrell, Martin Sheen and Mark Ruffalo as well as a myriad of other dedicated activists, all brought together by The Answer Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Many organizations were represented including Codepink, Free Palestine Alliance, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Korean Americans for Peace, LA Area Iraq Moratorium, Muslim Student Association, National Lawyers Guild, National Council of Arab Americans, Office of the Americas, Palestinian American Women's Association. There were many, many more.
But the real show stoppers were the families of active US military personnel who took the stage near the end of the rally, with tears flowing freely and hugs being given all-around. Clutching pictures of family members who are in Iraq now, or who died there, these unbelievably courageous and generous human beings shared their collective grief with a genuine smile for all of us and in memory of their loved ones. There were not many dry eyes in the crowd of thousands and for that poignant moment in time . . . we were all family.
Peace.
I was at the Chicago rally, and the march went past my home. The police presence was quite unusual for the level of plainclothes and police "intelligence" vehicles on the scene.
You can read my post about it at my site (see above).