This weekend, not thousands, but hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters walked through the streets of American cities. In Dallas alone, an estimated
half a million marched peacefully and waved flags. American flags.
We should be ashamed.
We shouldn't be ashamed because some of these people are here in violation of US immigration law. Nor should we be ashamed because some have waved the flags of their countries of origin.
We should be ashamed because these immigrants are willing to do what we are not -- risk their jobs, their homes, their freedom, and even their lives in pursuit of justice. These immigrants are demonstrating to us all what it means to be a forceful, fully active part of a democracy. They're showing us that brave people can still try to take their fate into their own hands and wrest it away from those in power.
So many of us have sat by, grumbling our way through one illegal act after another. We've watched our rights being eroded, seen our congress plunged into an unprecedented level of corporate-sponsored corruption, and witnessed our president lie and hide the truth in order to push the nation into war. How many of us have been willing to act? Yes, there were marches before the war, and dwindling numbers have appeared at intervals since. But given the circumstances, we should not be talking about a few hundred people gathered in the streets, we should be talking about millions besieging Washington, demanding a change. We should be talking no less than a revolution through civil disobedience.
Equally embarrassing, these immigrants and their organizers are doing our jobs for us. Energizing African-Americans to join them in marching for civil rights.
In Birmingham, Ala., demonstrators marched along the same streets where civil rights activists clashed with police during the 1960s and rallied at a park where a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. stands as a reminder of the fight for equal rights and the violence that once plagued the city.
"We've got to get back in touch with the Statue of Liberty," said The Rev. Lawton Higgs, a United Methodist pastor and activist. "We've got to get back in touch with the civil rights movement, because that's what this is about."
What's missing from this story? Any hint that Democratic Party leaders were involved. That's not to say that local Democrats haven't been out front. Many democrats on a state and local level have been deeply involved with the rallies, and union organizers have played a key role. However, national democratic leaders and organizations are missing a tremendous opportunity.
We can't wait until the country has made up its mind on this issue. We have to support these immigrants now, while polls and opinions are still in flux. Support them now, while there is still a risk that such support could damage our party's chances in the fall. Support them now, while it still counts.
Around the country, organizers of these rallies aren't just talking about immigration reform. They're talking about health care. They're talking about job conditions. They're talking about helping out working class families.
Hey, isn't there a political party that claims to be concerned about these things?
The Democratic Party has been so focused on the Republican miscues in Washington that we've missed the most important social movement of the last quarter century. Certainly, it's enormously satisfying to see all the chicken hawk's follies coming home to roost, and to watch the daily unfolding of scandal. Only while we've been waiting for the next blunder from Bush, our base has been marching without us.
Senator Kerry, want to show some real bravery? Don't write another plan for Iraq. Don't even write another compromise version of the immigration bill. Get in front of the next rally and tell them that you're behind them 100%. Governor Dean? You, too. And you, Congresswoman Pelosi, and you, Senator Reid. And all you candidates already thinking about Iowa, you should be thinking about Texas and California first. Here's your "Two Americas," John Edwards. Come get it.
You want to lead the Democrats in 2008? Then show leadership in 2006 by defying polls and conventional wisdom. Embrace these people and their movement. Don't wait for it to be "safe" or "good politics." Do it now, because you know what? Justice and bravery are always good politics.
Tell them you will not support stiffening penalties on immigrants, you won't support witch hunts to grab immigrant children from schools, and you will support plans that improve the standards for all working people. Tell them you will work to see that there are significant increases in the number of workers allowed into the United States each year. Don't dicker over some "guest worker" program, throw out the current quota limitations and start talking about how a million more people can become American citizens each year.
Most of all, promise you won't conflate immigration issues with national security, as everyone from the "Minutemen" to Bush to some Democrats have done. The immigrants are well aware that it was not people coming to America seeking jobs and a better life who flew those planes on 9/11, and they're deeply insulted that everyone -- including Democrats -- talks as if they're potential terrorists. Stop it.
And as an initial show of support, Democrats should sign on to the effort to turn May 1 into a day when the nation is forced to acknowledge the immigrant issue. Don't go to work that day. Don't go to school. Don't send your kids to school. Don't buy anything. Don't sell anything.
For that day at least, show that you are willing to put not just your words or your dollars on the line, but your own comfort, your own time, maybe even your own job.
Update [2006-4-11 11:56:1 by Devilstower]:
I've clearly been unfair to a number of our party leaders, who have been participating in this movement more than I knew. My being unaware of these activities was no reason for me to malign them in this diary. I sincerely apologize and send my thanks and admiration for their efforts.
Now, let's all go do the same.