This is an updated appeal in support of fellow progressives arrested for protesting against Guantanamo Bay. Please help, Kossacks!
Do you recall the famous encounter between Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson more than 150 years ago? The year was 1846, and Thoreau had been imprisoned in a cell in Concord, Massachusetts for refusing to pay a poll tax that offended his conscience. Concerned for his friend and perplexed by this act of civil disobedience, Emerson came to the jail to visit Thoreau. He didn't hold back his incredulity for long, asking, "Henry, what are you doing in there?"
To this, Thoreau responded with a question of his own, one that we should all ask ourselves today: "What are you doing out there?"
Time and again I ask this question of myself -- and cannot help but feel shame. There is an American detention camp actively offending the ideals of my country -- where the guilty and the innocent have been deprived of due process and subjected to torture -- and I have done little to nothing to shut it down.
But other Americans have. Other Americans have risked their jobs and their livelihoods to put an end to our national shame. And now they need our help.
Maybe you read about them back in May:
Thirty-four people were convicted yesterday of misdemeanor charges stemming from a demonstration at the Supreme Court in January in which they decried conditions at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [...]
During the trial, many of the 21 men and 13 women wore orange jumpsuits to show solidarity with Guantanamo detainees. When the defendants spoke, they gave their name and then the name, age and a brief biography of someone they described as a Guantanamo detainee. Many wore a tag bearing the name of a detainee. [...]
The defendants represented themselves at trial, and their closing arguments drew emotional responses from each other and from supporters in the courtroom. Several wiped away tears as two defendants spoke on behalf of the group, citing the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and others.
When the ruling came down, twelve protesters were given jail sentences. The rest were given suspended jail sentences and one of year probation -- and assessed court fees.
These fees total $1,700. Witness Against Torture, the grassroots group that organized the protest, has raised $1,200 to offset this amount already. But $500 remains to be raised, and I hope the dKos community, in solidarity, will consider kicking in a few dollars this afternoon to support these patriots here, at the Witness Against Torture website. My wife and I made a contribution last week. Please join us.
There are certainly individuals incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay who wish our country harm. But there are innocent people there as well, and they have languished in facilities funded by our tax dollars for far too long. And there has been progress, however slow, in righting this wrong. We welcome the Supreme Court ruling that has restored the right of habeas corpus to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
But this ruling did not come out of nowhere. If not for those who have demanded that we not look away from the tragedy unfolding 90 miles off our shores, risking arrest and imprisonment to do so, I doubt justice would have prevailed in this case. So please honor them -- as they honor us with their principles and activism.
Please donate whatever you can. If you can't donate, please recommend this diary to keep it visible. And keep in mind the words of Thoreau:
It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.