Take Your Daughter to the Revolution Day

Allison over at The Fencepost recently protested against the circus coming to town (caged animals and whatnot) and lamented the effectiveness of public protests these days. Case in point: all those worldwide protests that occurred during the buildup to the Iraq War didn't do a heck of a lot of good, did they?

The government and the police forces of the U.S. have done a thorough job of sanitizing and neutering the once-powerful force of public protest by, among other moves, creating the "free speech zone", a secure area where protesters can wave their signs, shout their slogans, and even do a cage dance if the mood strikes them. The movement gets to make its statement, and the right to peaceful Assembly is being honored, but when it's kept so far away from those who need to hear the message the most, it's pretty much radical masturbation. You're doing it just to do it, but no one else is getting anything good from it.

That's why I tip my hat to the the thousands upon thousands of Mexican immigrants (legal and illegal) who are planning a huge work stoppage and mass public protest on May 1st. They plan to take a day off of work to clog the streets of America's largest cities to get as many people as possible to notice them and to hear their concerns.

Many businesses are closing down for the day or are allowing their workers to participate in the protest without penalty, which is wonderful, and allows a very necessary component of this protest to happen: The Day Without a Mexican.

It's one thing to see a lot of Mexican immigrants waving flags and banners and demanding recognition in the streets of Los Angeles and Chicago, but it's another thing when it's your neighbors, people you work with, or students you teach.

I think the American people need to see those empty desks or absent workers in order to see the "illegals" as they truly are: members of our society who deserve to have their voices heard.

A great change is coming our way, and the face and the idea of What America Is is about to be put to the test once again. And it's exciting, and scary, and wonderful all at the same time. This is one of those rare opportunities for the President and for Congress to do the right thing and to remember what our country is really all about: the granting of the greatest number of freedoms to the greatest number of people. Time and again people forget that and start thinking that "America" is this rock-solid Anglo-Christian bedrock that shouldn't be messed around with, lest our "values" become corrupted.

So I hope that next Monday, on May Day, on Loyalty Day, the streets fill with students and gardeners and teachers and lawyers and secretaries and factory workers and farmers, that the streets fill with Americans and those that wish to be Americans. And I hope that the Powers that Be don't fall prey to election-year scare tactics and realize that they have the ability to do the greatest good for a great number of people.