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writing for godot

An Open Letter to MoveOn.org “Without A Leader, We Lose…”

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Written by James and Jean Anton   
Monday, 04 April 2011 10:28


Without a leader, we lose.
America’s list of losses in just two short years of war is impressive.

In just two short years: Social Security is being drained to stimulate the economy (in the form of Obama’s “payroll tax holiday”); Billionaires retain their tax breaks and many continue to pay no taxes at all while reaping billions of dollars in profit; the cost of health care continues to rise much faster than inflation; millions of Americans have no health care coverage at all; too-big-to-fail has replaced actually doing something to change anything. Obama is planning to subsidize the building of 39 new nuclear reactors in the United States, despite the ongoing tragedy of Fukushima. In July, BP is about to resume deep water drilling off the Gulf Coast. Big banks and Wall Street continue to make fortunes for themselves while playing dirty pool with the rest of us. On top of this we have gone from losing wars on two fronts to fighting losing wars on five.
And greedy corporate leaders stand proud in the Oval Office itself, calling the shots.

What should MoveOn.org do?

Our latest battle - the battle we have so passionately taken on against the new world order – was/is the fight for the right of unions to collectively bargain. We have lost this battle in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio and in many other states. There is a slight glimmer of hope… A federal judge, with a conscience, has delayed the pain for a short time, but the outcome is painfully obvious. The new world order will go as far as necessary to secure their victory. The Supreme Court is a close friend in a very high place.
They are at this moment greedily eyeing Postal workers so they can strip them of their pensions and lower their salaries.

The greediest people in America like the Koch brothers and the de facto leader of the Republican Party, Karl Rove, will have their way with the regular guy.

They have managed to turn the clock back on U.S. history to the time when children didn’t go to school but worked in factories, to when there was no minimum wage, to when worker safety was of no concern, and to when there were no pensions or medical benefits whatsoever.
In other words, the new world order has won the battle to return the United States to the dark days of industrial feudalism.

Horrible indeed.

MoveOn.org’s reaction has been/is noble.
Despite all odds, we continue to organize demonstrations all over the country. But there is something different about these recent efforts. A sense of gloom.
There is despair.
It’s like a high school team that keeps on losing. We can cheer it on, but we need a win.

Why are we losing so badly? After all, we are on the heels, in 2008, of landslide victories in the White House, the Senate, and the House.
The answer can be seen in Obama’s reaction to our latest fight. He has declared that he will “stay on the sidelines.” Whether he realizes it or not, staying on the sidelines, which is his proclivity, enables the lunatic fringe.
It disables movements like MoveOn.org.

We should make it clear that this is unacceptable. We should demand that Obama take a side, come what may.
We need David to kill Goliath, not to stay safely on the sidelines while Goliath does the unthinkable.

We must not forget that some things are worth fighting for. And if a leader doesn’t agree with us about the worthiness of the fight, we have to call him on it.

We have to get over our fear that criticizing Obama will result in victory for the new world order. That criticizing him means that Newt Gingrich or Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin or the likes gets elected two year from now.

That argument is bogus.

The battle is raging NOW, and we are losing.
If the Republicans keep on scoring victories at the rate they are doing, because our leader decides to stay on the sidelines, it won’t matter who is elected in 2012. We are losing.
It is so bogus that Karl Rove might have planted that idea himself.

Staying on the sidelines may keep Obama from getting hurt, but it sets America up for disaster. Obama’s reelection concerns, two years before the election, should not be our concern. He may lose anyway.

Unless Obama decides to fight, we are doomed not only to two more years of spectacular loss but to four more years of catastrophe.

MoveOn.org can make a difference.

We can take the fight to Obama. We can launch an email campaign, a telephone campaign, or even a demonstration at the very gates of the Oval office. We can demand that Obama get off the sideline and fight, come-what-may, for the well being of the great majority of American citizens, despite his concerns for reelection.

Let’s do it.

James and Jean Anton's latest book "The God Thing" will soon be published by Lightyears Publications.


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