The recent death of Corazon Aquino reminds me of the the incredible optimism, courage and tenacity she showed during the "people power" revolution in the Philippines in 1986. It was not a new strategy. Indeed, the mobilization of thousands, if not millions, in public demonstrations has been the only way that powerful, entrenched forces have yielded, however reluctantly, to the will of the people. Think Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Iran in the past few weeks. People in the streets. People being bloodied by hostile opposition. That is the way that movements happen. And I defy you to think of an instance in which a movement was born WITHOUT such a public demonstration of people power.
We are now facing a critical moment in the life of our nation. We voted for change. And I think that many of us hoped and believed that the decisive nature of that vote would set in motion a process leading to -- at the very least -- a more just and equitable framework for health care in this country. We hoped and believed that finally, finally we could join the community of developed nations with a health care system that advanced the health and welfare of ordinary people over the welfare of corporations.
But that hope rests on the assumption that a vote for such a policy is the end, not the beginning of the struggle, or that real, substantive change can be won on the cheap -- by watching Jon Stewart or by tapping away on our keyboards. Right now the angry opposition is going old school with shouting matches at town hall meetings and with funny hats on street corners. Like it or not -- and manufactured or not -- such tactics demonstrate viscerally a sense of engagement and, not incidentally, attract the attention of our ever-more-shallow media.
My question is simple and straight-forward. Where is the march on Washington? If this is the defining moment, shouldn't every progressive interest group, every citizens' group, ever concerned individual, every caring religious organization and every person without health care be planning at trip to the D.C. mall to make our voices heard? If there is someone already behind this, I'm the first one on board. If not, why not?