We went out to front of the church. THere were about 50 people already outside, a steady stream of more people were walking out of the church, and there were two guys pounding on big drums, strung over their shoulders. Rich and I asked them to start walking-- believing that they could get the march started. I ran back in, up the stairs to the main area of the church. About half the seats, which had been filled to standing room only, were now empty. I called out-- the speaker still hadn't started yet-- "the march has started." More people got up. Other people were speaking out too, by that point.
Rich and I started walking. The march was under way. The drummers were doing a great job. We caught up with our friends after a few blocks, crossed the bridge, went another few blocks, to the church where the jr. priest had blown us off, and where most people had parked their cars.
I caught up with Al, one of the organizers of the event-- not the one running things at the church, but one of the leaders of the peace movement. He was frustrated. Things hadn't gone as planned. The planning had nice-- a half hour to 45 minutes to talks, guitar, poetry to lead of the march, then 30-45 minutes of talks after the march, at the Catholic Church. Between the half hour delay, the failure of the MC to control speakers going overtime and the decision to add all the end of march entertainment, the plans had gone far awry-- by no fault of Al, who I respect greatly. We ended up at the Catholic church, 360+ people-- a great number for our community-- energized from marching and chanting, and ... nothing.. People just went to their cars and went home. It was a shame that the plans to cap the march didn't happen.
Leadership matters. Organization matters. The various peace coalitions did a decent job putting together the march. The problem with the sound system was probably unavoidable, though I don't understand why the church didn't have a sound system, or, if not, why the talks could be given without a sound system, which was apparently good enough for regular church services. My guess is that some of the speakers and performers needed the amplification-- frail poet, acoustic guitar...
The situation at the end of the march-- the Catholic CHurch that wasnt'- apparently, that was no-one's fault except the pastor who didn't leave word that he'd approved things, and since it was a last minute arrangement,well, stuff like that happens.
That leaves us with leadership. It was a bad choice to give the moderator job to someone who had zero energy, zero, passion, who read from (hid behind) a clipboard. She probably did a great job organizing. But besides being the wrong person to MC the pre-march events, she was a worse leader.
It's very rare that so many people in our suburban area show up for an action. It's a real opportunity. Choosing to use frail, elderly poets and readers was poor leadership, poor decision making. Deciding that the interests of a handful of speakers and performers come before the 360 people who showed up to march, just concluding that two people should be the ones to decide opposed the whole idea of grassroots activism.
When leaders don't get it that a march is about visibility, that you march to send a message, they fail to do their job. If a march is just for the sake of the marchers, then it is marchsturbating, not marching.
The last speaker to go on, before the march finally began, spoke about unity. We do need unity, but unity is built by strong leaders who make good decisions.
In a microcosm, up here in the boonies of Bucks County Pa, we saw what is happening in Washington, where the democrats in congress are dancing with trees, not seeing the big picture of what is happening in the forest, which is burning.
We were able to kick start the march and take it away from two people who decided what the 360 people needed to do, without consulting them.
We the people need to do the same thing with the war in Iraq. We are witnessing a congress we elected with a powerfully strong message diddling with bogus, non-binding legislation, weakening already weak bills, delaying and delaying.
There has to be a way that the majority of Americans who want the US out of the war can do it. We did it at the church in Lambertville, NJ. It's a bigger challenge to do it with congress-- but they're also demonstrating poor leadership. We CAN do it. We may have to get VERY creative. We may have to put pressure where it hurts, on businesses, on the economy... but it can be done.
Word has it that Moveon.org is toadying for the democrats again, sending out a poll set up to get an answer that supports the weak, lame, Democratic plan to maybe end the war in 2008. It's pretty clear that moveon.org won't solve the problem.
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