“They want us to be silent, but we are not silent today,” a peace activist shouted among the uproarious crowd that gathered for the One Nation rally in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 2, 2010. Thousands of people marched from Freedom Plaza toward the Lincoln Memorial, chanting peace slogans and making their discontentment known through the streets of D.C.
This leftist congregation was formed in response to the Republican Tea Party convention held in Washington several weeks ago. Liberal groups from across the country came to support the rally and show that we are “One Nation Working Together: For Jobs, For Justice, For Education, For All.” The rally promoted President Barack Obama’s vision to create a unified country, so that together, the public can put America back to work, get more students in schools and work towards a society that is not fueled by war and hate.
“We live in a world where 44 million people are in poverty today in this country,” peace activist David Wilson said on the stage at Freedom Plaza before the march. “Where youth of color are criminalized and pushed into prisons, where this war in Afghanistan’s going on for nine years, where this war in Iraq continues for seven years, and it’s killed over a million Iraqis, and they want to talk to peace activists about terrorism? It’s outrageous!”
Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, had similar sentiments.
“Defend the poor and the fatherless,” Bhargava said. “Do justice to the ‘flicted and the needy. Working people deserve a working chance. We will not remain silent, when 44 million Americans, one in seven are living below the poverty line. We will not remain silent when 26 percent of African Americans now live below the poverty line.”
A running theme throughout the rally was breaking the silence of the injustices in our society and how we can change them together. Peace activist Steven Garcia looked to the future in a manner reminiscent of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Imagine what it would feel like to envision and then create the worlds we most deeply want,” Garcia said. “Imagine what humanity would be capable of if we all could come together as one, focus on possibilities rather than our differences and acknowledge our interconnection with each other and all life on this one beautiful planet. This is a mark of true sanity responsibly working together to create what’s good for all. As power of one, we have a dream that today is just the beginning of a journey towards true sanity, with job opportunities, justice, and education for all.”
Education was a hot topic for many of the students in attendance. Drew Sherlock, president of Students for a Democratic Society at George Washington University, said that he feels for those struggling with tuition hikes.
“I go to a really expensive, prestigious private school and … we’re taught not to think we’re in the same struggle [as public school students] but we really are,” Sherlock said. “Whether it’s debt from rising tuition in private schools or it’s debt from rising tuition in public schools or if it’s privatization and corporatization of education, rather than being much more of a human experience – that’s the same struggle and we’re all young people; it’s all our future.”
George Washington sophomore Brittany Suarez agreed that all students are in this together.
“I really believe that we should be supporting each other’s struggles even if we’re not in the same exact situation right now,” she said. “I hope this rally motivates people to go out and vote in November.”
As Suarez anticipates, attendees will rally again on Nov. 2 with their ballots in the voting booths, hoping to retain Democratic seats in Congress. Liberals are sure that if we work together and support President Barack Obama’s vision for America, we will be able to move forward as one nation.
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