[Reader-list] Speech by Tom Hayden about state of democracy

[Rana Dasgupta]

This Is What History Feels Like
by Tom Hayden 

This is the text of a speech given by Tom Hayden in
Los Angeles on March 15.


(Former California State Senator Tom Hayden, the
Nation Institute's Carey McWilliams Fellow, has played
an active role in American politics and history for
over three decades. Described as "the conscience of
the Senate", he is author of more than 175
Congressional measures and eleven books, including
Irish Hunger and his autobiography, Reunion. He is the
editor of The Zapatista Reader (Nation Books).) 


Repeat after me: This is what democracy looks like! 

Repeat after me: This is what history feels like! 

A movement the think tanks thought unthinkable. 

A movement that corporations cannot brand. 

That the entertainers cannot distract. 

And the politicians cannot avoid. 

Empire versus democracy is the choice. What's left of
the empire meets tomorrow in the isolated Azores while
democracy meets in the streets. Think of it--the
pretenders to empire cannot meet on the European
continent. Only an island protects them from the
humiliating opposition of millions of citizens of
Europe. 

George Bush is more isolated than we realize. Six
recent surveys show that support for his re-election
is below 50 percent, and this month for the first time
a national poll shows him trailing a Democratic
alternative by 48-44 percent. In case you don't know
that, it appeared on page 29 of the LA Times just one
week ago. 

The nature of the state itself is at stake as these
three unpopular leaders make their plans: Is the state
really democratic, accountable to the people who elect
its politicians, or has it been hijacked by permanent
special interests and turned into a facade that really
belongs to the corporate and military masters of
globalization? Not textbook theories, but our actions
in the days ahead, will answer that question. 

The Bush Administration has provoked this global
reaction by its belligerent bullying of the UN
Security Council, as if its members could be pushed
around like Florida election officials or intimidated
like the Dixie Chicks. 

And now, by its overreach, it risks its fall. 

But long before this day, the movement was already
stirring in the cracks and crevices of the world. 

A movement that was expressing the dignity of No and
the joy of Yes. 

No to fundamentalism and yes to human rights. 

No to slavery and sweatshops, yes to the living wage. 

No to war and yes to the Mideast peace process. 

No to pollution and yes to renewable energy. 

No to WTO, IMF, World Bank and Halliburton, and yes to
another world is possible. 

No to Code Yellow, yes to Code Pink. 

We're gathering again today to say, "Mr. Bush, what is
it about NO you don't understand??? 

"Mr. Bush, is this what you mean by a faith-based
initiative? 

"Mr. Bush, if you don't listen to our no, if you keep
bashing the Europeans, if you keep joking about French
fries, your white bread is gonna be French toast." 

We will know soon enough if democracy is powerful
enough to stop this war. While we hope for peace we
must now prepare for war. 

We must be prepared for a long confrontation. As
yesterday's statement by Mr. Bush reveals, this
conflict is not only about Iraq, it is about the whole
Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The occupation of Iraq will mean prolonged conflict,
casualties, tens of thousands of troops and will cost
in the billions. 

The economic consequences of fighting an open-ended
war with an open checkbook means billions lost for
healthcare, education and investment in our inner
cities. 

The empire's plan is bold: winning the war, rewriting
the map of the Middle East, killing Osama bin Laden
and coming home with flags flying to push the
Republican agenda on tax cuts, healthcare and Social
Security. Bush's fundamentalist coalition of Christian
evangelicals and Jewish neoconservatives seems to
anticipate the second term as the Second Coming. 

Our movement must be bolder: we must multiply our
voices and numbers, empower people like never before,
engage in creative civil disobedience, link the war to
its effects at home and create a political climate
that threatens George Bush with a one-term presidency
like his father. 

We must turn our exuberance into the hard work of
outreach. We must respect our differences. Everyone
has a role to play. Our goal must be to reach a
majority. We must hold our unity as precious and
deflate the forces who will discredit our views,
attack our patriotism and sow divisions in our ranks. 

In a time of war, we must send a message to our
servicemen and women: 

We want you safely home. Our conflict is with our
government's policy, not with you. We ask you to
remember that thousands of Gulf War and Vietnam vets
were exposed to uranium tailings and Agent Orange by
governments that lied to them. We don't know about
others, but we will be fighting for your educational
benefits, healthcare and veterans' rights upon your
return home. 

In a time of war, we must send a message to our media:


You need to take seriously the maxim that in war,
truth is the first casualty and patriotism turns
easily to prejudice. Your loyalty should be to the
truth, not to the Murdochs or Molochs or moguls that
monopolize and sensationalize what we see and hear.
You may be embedded with our troops, but you must not
be in bed with the White House and Pentagon. 

In a time of war, we must send a message to our
political class: 

Where have you been hiding? Why has there been no
debate on the floors of Congress while the dogs of war
are barking? Has politics become all checks and no
balances? 

There has never been a greater political climate for
peace candidates. The gap between rank-and-file
Democrats and party leaders has never been greater in
this generation. Among Democrats three weeks ago, the
numbers were 79 percent to 18 percent against taking
military action soon, and for giving UN weapons
inspectors more time. It was 63 percent to 30 percent
among Democrats against a war that would inflict
substantial American or Iraqi civilian casualties. We
must encourage those few precious voices that are
emerging and tell the Democratic Party that we want
profiles in courage, not compromise. 

We must encourage those few precious voices that are
emerging among the candidates, for their message can
reach millions. But building this movement, like
building peace, is too important to be left to
politicians. 

This movement has already forced George Bush to go to
the United Nations; this movement has delayed the
march to war; this movement has made it possible for
leaders around the world to stand up against American
pressure. This movement has burst onto the stage of
history. If we continue building this movement, a
politics of peace will follow. 


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