Qudsiyah, 31: "I am here because the war is wrong and until those of us who believe that say it and repeat it enough, we will never be able to end it. There are issues here that matter to who we are and how we see ourselves and to what sort of country we live in. We must not give our consent to an illegal occupation and we must not stop speaking just because we aren't an issue to the big media companies. This is grass roots activisim and it is having an effect and it will continue to have an effect. And with or without big media, we will get the message out. That's what today's all about, getting the message out that we are opposed to the war and saying, 'We have spoken and we did not get tossed into jail despite the Patriot Act, so you can speak to." Creating a zone where people realize that there are others like them and that free speech is something you must utilize because a Ted Koppel or a Cokie Roberts or a Brian Williams will not speak for you because it is not in their interests to do so. So you must speak for yourself. And independent media is the key to that and it has been the only way to get the word out. I learned of this protest not from big media but from a web site and as online news coverage and information becomes the only thing speaking to those of us not holding an elected office, big media will continue to wither. It has made itself useless. I trust few people in the news media these days because they are so full of excuses and mea culpas that never result in any change in their coverage. Words are useless when they are meaningless. That is why blogs and magazines and Democracy Now! are the last resources for the people who want reality. I read Harper's, The Progressive and In These Times. I know that the people there are working to put things in perspective and to get the truth out. I share those magazines and Amy Goodman's Exception to the Rulers with my friends. One by one, we are building an area of truth and it sickens me that we have to do that because big media has failed the people in this country."
That's from The Third Estate Sunday Review's 'At the rallies, we ask, "Why Are You Here?"'article featuring the voices of eighty-one people who attended rallies this weekend. [Disclosure, I helped with that article.]
Again, these are eighty-one voices. If you went to a rally, you may find someone citing the same reason you had for attending. If you didn't attend, you might get an insight into the thinking of some who did.
There was no attempt to pretty up the quotes or smooth them out or edit them even. The replies noted in the article are the replies in full. If someone spoke for several sentences, their response to the question "Why are you here?" was noted in full. If someone had a thought and didn't finish it, we didn't attempt to do so. These are their voices as they spoke. And if you're wondering where you can find coverage and have checked out Democracy Now!, then it's time to check out other resources and I'd recommend The Third Estate Sunday Review article.
[E-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.]
