Admittedly I’m about as old as dirt. And I’m so old school that I’m probably one room. But that fact gives me what you might call the long perspective, so if you have a minute, stay awhile and res yoself... we need to talk.
I know that many of you are a disappointed in "the one". After all, it’s been almost two years and everything isn’t fixed yet. Still have Gitmo and DADT, still no immigration reform or climate change legislation. And even the major accomplishments are less than you imagined. So... you feel disappointed and even betrayed. Get a grip and get back to work.
When I saw you become excited and committed in 2007, and get really engaged in the campaign, I proudly told all my friends about how proud I was of you. A new generation of activists, committed to making things better for everyone. A new band of folks committed to caring and sharing and loving their country.... but even more importantly, a new cadre of workers. Folks willing to sacrifice sweat and toil to bring about change. I was so proud of you! I hadn’t seen your like in a few decades. You made my heart burst with pride. And I saw in you the reflection of those we lost along the way, back in the day.
But within months of your triumph... the election of your guy, you began to grumble a bit. Then came the health care fight, the stimulus fight, the finance regulation fight and all of the right-wing push back and you began to lose heart. You began to complain and urge and beat up on some of the folks who weren’t as militant or as "progressive" as you are. They pissed you off and you weren’t going to take it! I get it. You want more faster. Good for you! Now take a chill pill and get a hold of yourself.
I love your intensity, but you need to reflect a bit on the mountain you’re trying to climb, and the leaders who are trying to guide you up the slippery slopes. This country you love, this America that you want to improve, has never changed easily. And the more rapid the change, the more costly has been the price.
Stop and think a moment about the recent movements that made your America possible. As the song goes... "I was there when they crucified our Lord."
It took ten years and major societal upheaval to get from the Brown v. Board of Ed. Decision to the Civil Rights Acts. Ten Years! And they were years of the National Guard escorting little kids to school, riots in the streets and death. Far too many of the activists that made that change possible paid for it with their lives. Goodman, Chaney and Swarner may just be names to you, but they were just three of the many who met violent deaths in the dark of night when the world was turned away. And after all the deaths and a decade of hard work and sacrifice, the journey to social equality had just begun.
Back in the day... when Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leader, he wasn’t the "hero" of the national holiday. He was reviled, hated and yes – hunted. The folks on the left thought him weak and accommodating, the folks on the right thought he was a communist bent on destroying the country, and everywhere folks were afraid of his work. But there were those who overcame their fears and walked with him. There were those who urged him forward and those who plead for him to be more moderate. And on the left and the right guns were drawn, anger flared.
It wasn’t much different for the anti-war, or the modern feminist movements. They pushed for change and paid the price. Many were imprisoned and beaten. Many lost jobs and homes and loved ones. And it still took decades to get even part of the change they were seeking.
And all along the way, the price was paid in blood.
So while you may be disappointed and disheartened, you need to understand, you are not the first, or the most courageous, or the most eager to build the America you seek. You are one in a long line of patriots, activists, militants and "real Americans" who made the commitment you made to fight for progressive change.
And never forget that America can extract payment, in blood. The fears of harm befalling the first African American president are based in a bloody history. In my lifetime... JFK, MLK Jr., RFK, Malcom, Huey and Bobby, Kent State, Jackson State, the list goes on and on. And the prisons (and hospitals) saw the draft resisters and feminists, the labor leaders and ecologists.
Change is possible, even probable, but it isn’t quick, or complete. Change is a struggle, won in increments, not by presidents but by people. President Johnson may have signed the Civil Rights bill, but it was the struggle and blood of the people that made it possible. Nixon may have signed the Medicare bill, but it was the struggle and sacrifice of people that made it possible. And the leaders did more that organize and politic, they literally put their lives on the line. Because change is a challenge to every individual who is embedded in the way things are. And we are still a society divided and armed to the teeth. And there are still those who believe that the way to resist change is to kill anyone who is for it.
You know, or should know, that the fears for the physical safety of the president are not illusory. You also know that one of the jobs of a leader is to lead the way, but not to go alone. As was said often in the campaign... You are the change you’ve been waiting for. So... don’t get discouraged or disheartened. The road is steep, the way is rocky and there are setbacks and falls, but the way is forward and we’ve got to carry on.
If the president can risk death to move forward, inch-by-inch, and still carry on, who are we to complain and quit. It's time to renew commitment, time to down that energy drink (or whatever) and get back on the streets. Time to become the change you want to see.
As the man said... "These are the times..."