Power To The People

In my younger days, I lived in San Francisco.  The Vietnam war was at it's height, and small and large (some massive) protests and rallies against the war were happening daily.  Hippies from the Haight-Ashbury, moms pushing strollers, truck drivers, store clerks, and more marched in protest parades down San Francisco's downtown main drag, Market Street.  Because of the war protests, free speech protests (which started at the University of California in Berkley, across the bay), and other causes, a single phrase begin to make the rounds, until it was universally used in almost any and all protest efforts. That phrase was "Power To The People."

Like most topical phrases or rallying cries, it was heard less and less as the years went by.  Today, although seldom heard, the sentiment and intent of that phrase is echoing around the world, as people from such diverse places as Egypt and Wisconsin are realizing the best way to fight oppression is with an outpouring of the masses to demand what is right and just.  Hosni Mubarak is gone, driven from his autocratic power by thousands and thousands of Egyptians demanding freedom, democracy, and a say in their own destiny.  First came Tunisia, then Egypt, and now, as I write this, demonstrations are taking place in Four or five other Middle Eastern countries, with Libya now being the center of these protests.

As we all know, democracy cannot be achieved overnight, with the mere flip of a switch.  Tunisia, Egypt, and any other country that has overthrown it's rulers (or soon will), face years of adjustments and some hard decisions before full democracy is attained.  The United States is a democracy, and yet we are still making adjustments to own on form of government.  Still, the process has clearly started in two countries and the seeds of change burn brightly in still other Middle Eastern countries.

Protests occur in all kinds of situations.  While the dufas of a governor, Scott Walker, in Wisconsin is not having the state police fire rubber bullets, tear gas or live ammunition at the mass of protesters in and around the capitol building in Madison, he is, never the less, assaulting the rights of a large segment of  Wisconsin's populace.  He is trying to destroy the union bargaining power of public employees, a right they have fought for and held for fifty years.  He says it's to combat a shortfall in the state budget.  Don't you believe that for a second.  Yes, like many states, Wisconsin must take steps to shore up their state coffers, but there are many other cuts or taxes that could accomplish this without a broadside attack on unions.  Walker's actions should be called what they are....union busting.  Strangely, Walker will not stop the police and firemen in the state from further collective bargaining efforts.  It seems the Police and Firemen associations in the state were the only union organizations to endorse Walker.  Gee, what a coincidence.

Governor Walker of Wisconsin is a Republican, and that pretty much says it all.  The Republicans are first and foremost a legislative force for big business, and not the average citizen.  They hate labor unions, universal health care, environmental protection, Social Security, Medicare and any other form of citizen protection that might reduce the profits of big business, or regulations that might make these companies tow the line and act responsibly.  Before long we will see other Republican governors try this same slime ball tactic to get rid of or reduce the bargaining power of unions in their states.  As I said, the Republican Party does not represent the average man or woman in this country.

We can stand silently by and let this happen, or with our dollars, voices, and votes we can fight the Republicans at every turn.  Their wish seems to be to take us back to the turn of the century, where if you were poor, too bad and tough luck.  If you became ill from the toxic pollution from industry, too bad.  If you didn't receive a fair wage for a day's work, too bad.  If your child needed medical care that you couldn't afford, too bad.  The list of what they want to undo goes on and on.  They want to remove most of the citizen safeguards that have painstakingly been put in place over decades.  They want to redefine the meaning of a free society.  Whether or not they succeed, is really up to us, as only one thing stands in their way....and that is the will of the people.  Once again, it's time for the people of this nation to stand up and be counted.  Let us not forget that the first three words of our constitution are We, The People!