The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee and Chesapeake
Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL
CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES. The DVDs will be shown at Homewood Friends
Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, usually on the First
Friday. After the 5 PM Black Lives Matter vigil, there will be a potluck
dinner. At 7:15 PM, from January through March, a DVD will be shown with a
discussion to follow. There is no charge, and refreshments will be
available. This series is named DOCUMENTARIES TO BOLSTER OUR RESOLVE IN THE TIME OF DONALD TRUMP.
On Mar. 3 see SHADOWS OF LIBERTY [United Kingdom, 2012], directed
by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, which examines the impact of corporate
media and concentration of media ownership on journalism and the
news. It is based on the book “The Media Monopoly” by Ben
Bagdikian. The film’s title is borrowed from a Thomas Paine quote: "When
men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the
horizon." The film portrays mainstream media, as controlled by fewer and
larger conglomerates that exercise extraordinary political, social and economic
power. Enjoy interviews with Amy Goodman, Julian Assange, Chris Hedges, Daniel
Ellsberg and others. Call 410-323-1607 or email
mobuszewski [at] verizon.net for further information.
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Breaking
Through Power: It’s Easier Than We Think
Almost 1,000 constituents were gathered inside the Brighton High
School auditorium, many booing and shouting, "Do your job!" at Rep.
Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who is chair of the House Oversight
Committee, as he
claimed that presidents are exempt from conflict of interest laws. (Photo: AP)
Back in Congress following February recess’s raucous town
meetings, Republicans are shuddering. Instead of nearly empty auditoriums,
where legislators’ staff often outnumber voters in attendance, meetings were
packed with citizens determined to block the “take away” agenda of the Trump
Republicans.
It takes provocation for people to show up for face-to-face
confrontations with their Senators or Representatives. So when out of touch
politicians in safe electoral districts are seen attempting to take away
people’s health insurance, social security benefits or other protections—watch
out! As the New York Times reported: “In the reddest of
districts and the smallest of towns, a movement without name has hurtled ahead
of expectations.”
Among these smug Republicans, who escaped because they had not
scheduled any town meetings, the response is dismissive, alleging the
protestors were professional, paid disrupters. This charge only made the
people—many of whom were attending their first political town meeting—angrier.
In western New York, Susan and Tom Meara, both in their sixties, held a sign up
for Republican Congressman Tom Reed to see. It read: “I am not being paid to be
here, but you are, Mr. Reed.”
Once again history repeats itself. As I describe in my recent
book, Breaking Through Power: It’s Easier Than We Think, it takes
one percent or less of the people to be politically conscious and engaged to
change conditions or policies, so long as they represent a majority opinion. My
estimate is that, apart from the huge demonstrations on January 21, 2017—the
day after Donald Trump’s Inauguration—less than 200,000 people, showing up at
Congressional town meetings or demonstrations, have changed the political
atmosphere among 535 members of your Congress. It just took
one week of a few riled up voters expressing the “enough is enough” fury of
many more voters who for now are still a part of the “silent majority”.
Listen to the easily re-elected Republican Senator from Iowa,
Charles E. Grassley. After one spirited town-hall-style meeting, he said:
“There’s more of a consensus among Republicans now that you got to be more
cautious what you’re going to do.” You betcha!
Already the braggadocio about repealing Obamacare is turning to
worried caution in the GOP, including President Trump. Too many people are
coming forward as witnesses to being saved by insurance for health care they
could not otherwise have received or afforded. With all its limitations, its
deductibles, co-pays, exclusions, big corporate premium hikes and the maddening
narrow networks, there are still millions of Americans not ready to give it up.
After passing bills to repeal Obamacare over sixty times in the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives during President Obama’s two
terms in office, here is Republican Congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama telling a
local radio station, “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to repeal
Obamacare, because these folks who support Obamacare are very active. They’re
putting pressure on congressmen…”
Every action prompts a reaction. Members of Congress, who do not
like to face real people in real auditoriums, between elections, are responding
by refusing to meet with those they represent or insisting on telephone “town
meetings”. Well, the response by the voters should be to announce their own town
meetings with their own demands and reforms, at a publically
convenient location. This can be done formally with a Summons by the people
presented directly to their Senators and Representatives to appear, listen and
respond to instructions from their sovereign constituents.
A formal Summons is included in my new book, Breaking
Through Power. Voters can fill in the blanks with their own deeply-felt
issues and keep adding signatures day after day.
Of course, this resurgence is just at the beginning of its
realizable impacts. There are two more Congressional recesses – before the full
month of August recess. Citizens need to expand and refine what they want from
Congress, keep the focus very personally on each Senator or Representative, and
strive to build a left/right alliance on as many contemporary redirections as
possible. (See my book Unstoppable: The Emerging Left/Right Alliance to
Dismantle the Corporate State, that lists 24 areas of convergence.)
To better inform those politicians sent to Washington, citizens
should tap the expertise of blue-collar and white-collar professionals alike in
their communities. Remember, there is a vast reservoir of “we the people” who
could join the efforts to press for a government of, by and for the people.
We are a country that has far more problems than it deserves and
far more solutions than it applies. This is due heavily to the control of the
many by the few, which creates a democracy gap filled by a plutocracy.
With President Trump displaying a revealing ignorance toward the
role of governing, now is the time for the people to stand up and shape the
future of their families and communities. We must demonstrate stamina and hold
accountable those in power until they faithfully serve the interests of the
people, and not a handful of corporate paymasters.
They must tell our lawmakers they are not going away, and that
they will keep coming back with more and more of our fellow citizens, ever more
informed and determined to achieve the good life with justice, peace, health
and opportunities. It’s in our hands.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 3.0 License
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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