It is the dawn of Day Three of Camp Democracy. As the sun dries out the soggy grass from Day One, more and more folks arrive to help save this country.
Where are you?
This is a true a call to arms as you may ever hear. But by arms, I do not mean weapons. I mean your own arms, the arms that lift and carry, that are raised in solidarity, that reach across to hug a returning veteran in need of comfort, that grab a falling comrade.
The arms you need to bring to Washington are for writing and recording, for researching and expounding, for expressing outrage and for demanding change.
Today is Immigrants Rights Day. Tomorrow is Labor Wants Peace Day. Saturday and Sunday we have workshops with Mike Stark on Giving It To The Right Wing, Carlos Arredondo on Dads On Fire, Stephen Zunes, Rob Kall, Swami Beyondadanda, a three-hour workshop on writing political songs, Ray McGovern and Karen Kwiatowski on Whistleblowing 101, Glen Ford, Larry Beinhart, the film "Why We Fight", Joel Bleifuss and Harvey Wasserman on the election, the Billionaires for Bush, and much more.
Monday, September 11 2006, is the 100th anniversary of Gandhi's nonviolence movement as well as the obvious. We have decided that it is a day of honoring peace and the urges within us all to find solutions other than violence.
We open with a workshop on video activism, followed by a blogging workshop with Liza from Culture Kitchen. Sheldon Rampton, author of The Best War Ever and Larry C. Johnson will speak, followed by the environmentalist and prophet Lester Brown. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma, will speak. A concert of songs in memoriam will be followed by a workshop with Ellen Ratner on getting the media to listen.
But the day will end with a full experience of personal engagement with making peace. A movement choir in front of the Capitol (led by Marylee Hardenbergh, who just led a movement choir along the Mississippi River--the ENTIRE Mississippi River!) will be followed by Guerilla Poets and drumming, and then the new documentary on Gandhi, 100 Years of Nonviolence. Watch the trailer here:
http://www.nyc-dop.com/...
And that is just the beginning. YOU are needed.
Come. Bring your arms.