"Do you really believe you are making a difference today?" asked the reporter. You can detect the cynicism in his voice, as if directed towards our convictions presuming that his single shot exposed the foolishness of our endeavors with relative ease. Revealing us as fringe optimists, Don Quixote attacking the windmills and romanticizing the by-gone days of Chivalry!
"Is that a fair question?" we shot back. Another way of asking "whose mind are you fucking with?" Annoyed by the vast misrepresentation of such a remark. Flaunting ourselves for the sheer image . . . that awful romanticizing of radicality, which shouts in misdirected zeal and anger for the sake of. Or perhaps painting us as a bunch of naive optimists who will singlehandedly end all war and suffering on this planet by singing "Imagine" or "Koombaya" on a Manhattan street!
"Did you get any pointers from the President's speech writer?" Remember those God awful statements that lulled the many into believing that victory in Iraq will take a short time. That the masses who see the war machine on their soil will naturally fall in love with our packaged democracy. In similar mindset, as if the effectiveness of a grassroots movements can be judged by a single moment on the street. As if its pragmatic value can be assessed by a few meetings on the street and the fact that the war isn't over, we are all wasting our times.
Most of us are aware of the nature of the forces around us. And the need for a constructive movement of dissent, that expresses itself in a multiplicity of ways, maintained for the long hall. So in answer to the reporter's question, we can answer "no," if his question is asking us if we think the current administration will see our march and suddenly see the fucking light! We are aware that the opposition is real, and we are always sobered by the possibility that we could lose the fight. Perhaps we are more aware of this then those who perceive us from the outside.
But if perceived in a growing movement of dissent in this country, where the determination of common folk to move to the very end at the risk of losing battles, then the question is different. Beyond quick fix utilitarian results, is the bottom line of conviction. This is where the we fix our attention to. We believe that the war is the worst decision made by this administration, and we will oppose it. Though we may look quite foolish to some, we are willing to endure the critique, to express that conviction unapologetically.
