Living for Change: If Not Now, When?
From the archive...
[Editor's note: The following essay by Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015) was first published by Common Dreams on August 23, 2010. With the passing of Boggs announced on Monday, we share in the mourning of those who knew her best and the untold number of people who were influenced and inspired by her life dedicated tosocial justice and a better world. Read more of Boggs' writings for CD here and visit the Boggs Center for more information about her extraordinary life and work.]
I won't be marching with Jesse Jackson in the March called by the UAW and the NAACP to commemorate the August 28, 1963 March on Washington.
That's not only because at 95 my marching days are over.
As early as 1963, Malcolm X called the "I Have a Dream" March a "Farce on Washington" because John Lewis had been forced to delete from his speech any references to Revolution and Power by the MOW's "Big 6" organizers: A. Philip Randolph, Dr. King/SCLC, Roy Wilkins/ NAACP, James Farmer/CORE, Whitney Young/Urban League, and John Lewis/SNCC.
Marchers were also instructed to carry only official signs and allowed to sing only one song 'We shall overcome.'
Malcolm never put lipstick on a pig. Malcolm thought outside the box. If he were alive NOW, he would be telling us that we should no longer be marching. We should no longer be protesting. We should no longer be dreaming. We should no longer be encouraging democratic illusions.
... When millions of Americans do not have meaningful work,
... When as a result of our obsession with economic growth, wildfires in Russia burn dangerously close to nuclear plants and millions drown from floods and mudslides in Pakistan, China and Iowa,
... When Congress decides to cut back food stamps for the poor and hungry in order to provide paychecks for public employees because trillions are being thrown away on unwinnable wars in the Middle East and military bases around the world,
... When our cities are dying because corporations are exporting jobs oversea to make bigger profits,
... When our prison population is the highest in the world because our schools structured in the factory age have become pipelines to prison,It is time to stop dreaming and protesting.
Instead in every community and city we should be discussing how to make the "Radical Revolution of Values" not only against Racism but against Materialism and Militarism that Dr. King called for in his 1967 anti-Vietnam war speech.
King's call for this "Radical Revolution" came only four years after his 1963 "I have a Dream" speech. But in those few years, youth in Watts, California and other cities had risen in Rebellion. In Chicago King and anti-racist marchers had experienced the raw ugliness of Northern racism. The genocidal war in Vietnam had exposed our country as the world's worst purveyor of violence and on the wrong side of the world revolution.
That is why in 1967 King decided that the time had come to warn the American people that unless we make a Radical Revolution in Values, we face spiritual death.
In 2010, 42 years later, we are experiencing massive physical and spiritual death.
Why are we still marching and dreaming?
Why are we not making a "radical revolution in values"?
Why are we still obsessed with economic growth?
Why are we still allowing corporations to deprive us of jobs by replacing human beings on the line with robots and by exporting jobs overseas to make greater profits?
Why are we still accepting the dictatorship of technology and of corporations?
The time has come to
...slow down global warming by building sustainable local economies and by living more simply.
...reject the dictatorship of technology so that it is no longer normal and natural to replace human beings with robots.
...stop corporations from exporting jobs overseas.
...end factory-type schooling and start engaging schoolchildren in local community rebuilding.
Let's start thinking outside the box!
If not now... when?
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
[Editor's note: The following essay by Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015) was first published by Common Dreams on August 23, 2010. With the passing of Boggs announced on Monday, we share in the mourning of those who knew her best and the untold number of people who were influenced and inspired by her life dedicated tosocial justice and a better world. Read more of Boggs' writings for CD here and visit the Boggs Center for more information about her extraordinary life and work.]
I won't be marching with Jesse Jackson in the March called by the UAW and the NAACP to commemorate the August 28, 1963 March on Washington.
That's not only because at 95 my marching days are over.
As early as 1963, Malcolm X called the "I Have a Dream" March a "Farce on Washington" because John Lewis had been forced to delete from his speech any references to Revolution and Power by the MOW's "Big 6" organizers: A. Philip Randolph, Dr. King/SCLC, Roy Wilkins/ NAACP, James Farmer/CORE, Whitney Young/Urban League, and John Lewis/SNCC.
Marchers were also instructed to carry only official signs and allowed to sing only one song 'We shall overcome.'
Malcolm never put lipstick on a pig. Malcolm thought outside the box. If he were alive NOW, he would be telling us that we should no longer be marching. We should no longer be protesting. We should no longer be dreaming. We should no longer be encouraging democratic illusions.
... When millions of Americans do not have meaningful work,
... When as a result of our obsession with economic growth, wildfires in Russia burn dangerously close to nuclear plants and millions drown from floods and mudslides in Pakistan, China and Iowa,
... When Congress decides to cut back food stamps for the poor and hungry in order to provide paychecks for public employees because trillions are being thrown away on unwinnable wars in the Middle East and military bases around the world,
... When our cities are dying because corporations are exporting jobs oversea to make bigger profits,
... When our prison population is the highest in the world because our schools structured in the factory age have become pipelines to prison,It is time to stop dreaming and protesting.
Instead in every community and city we should be discussing how to make the "Radical Revolution of Values" not only against Racism but against Materialism and Militarism that Dr. King called for in his 1967 anti-Vietnam war speech.
King's call for this "Radical Revolution" came only four years after his 1963 "I have a Dream" speech. But in those few years, youth in Watts, California and other cities had risen in Rebellion. In Chicago King and anti-racist marchers had experienced the raw ugliness of Northern racism. The genocidal war in Vietnam had exposed our country as the world's worst purveyor of violence and on the wrong side of the world revolution.
That is why in 1967 King decided that the time had come to warn the American people that unless we make a Radical Revolution in Values, we face spiritual death.
In 2010, 42 years later, we are experiencing massive physical and spiritual death.
Why are we still marching and dreaming?
Why are we not making a "radical revolution in values"?
Why are we still obsessed with economic growth?
Why are we still allowing corporations to deprive us of jobs by replacing human beings on the line with robots and by exporting jobs overseas to make greater profits?
Why are we still accepting the dictatorship of technology and of corporations?
The time has come to
...slow down global warming by building sustainable local economies and by living more simply.
...reject the dictatorship of technology so that it is no longer normal and natural to replace human beings with robots.
...stop corporations from exporting jobs overseas.
...end factory-type schooling and start engaging schoolchildren in local community rebuilding.
Let's start thinking outside the box!
If not now... when?
[Editor's note: The following essay by Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015) was first published by Common Dreams on August 23, 2010. With the passing of Boggs announced on Monday, we share in the mourning of those who knew her best and the untold number of people who were influenced and inspired by her life dedicated tosocial justice and a better world. Read more of Boggs' writings for CD here and visit the Boggs Center for more information about her extraordinary life and work.]
I won't be marching with Jesse Jackson in the March called by the UAW and the NAACP to commemorate the August 28, 1963 March on Washington.
That's not only because at 95 my marching days are over.
As early as 1963, Malcolm X called the "I Have a Dream" March a "Farce on Washington" because John Lewis had been forced to delete from his speech any references to Revolution and Power by the MOW's "Big 6" organizers: A. Philip Randolph, Dr. King/SCLC, Roy Wilkins/ NAACP, James Farmer/CORE, Whitney Young/Urban League, and John Lewis/SNCC.
Marchers were also instructed to carry only official signs and allowed to sing only one song 'We shall overcome.'
Malcolm never put lipstick on a pig. Malcolm thought outside the box. If he were alive NOW, he would be telling us that we should no longer be marching. We should no longer be protesting. We should no longer be dreaming. We should no longer be encouraging democratic illusions.
... When millions of Americans do not have meaningful work,
... When as a result of our obsession with economic growth, wildfires in Russia burn dangerously close to nuclear plants and millions drown from floods and mudslides in Pakistan, China and Iowa,
... When Congress decides to cut back food stamps for the poor and hungry in order to provide paychecks for public employees because trillions are being thrown away on unwinnable wars in the Middle East and military bases around the world,
... When our cities are dying because corporations are exporting jobs oversea to make bigger profits,
... When our prison population is the highest in the world because our schools structured in the factory age have become pipelines to prison,It is time to stop dreaming and protesting.
Instead in every community and city we should be discussing how to make the "Radical Revolution of Values" not only against Racism but against Materialism and Militarism that Dr. King called for in his 1967 anti-Vietnam war speech.
King's call for this "Radical Revolution" came only four years after his 1963 "I have a Dream" speech. But in those few years, youth in Watts, California and other cities had risen in Rebellion. In Chicago King and anti-racist marchers had experienced the raw ugliness of Northern racism. The genocidal war in Vietnam had exposed our country as the world's worst purveyor of violence and on the wrong side of the world revolution.
That is why in 1967 King decided that the time had come to warn the American people that unless we make a Radical Revolution in Values, we face spiritual death.
In 2010, 42 years later, we are experiencing massive physical and spiritual death.
Why are we still marching and dreaming?
Why are we not making a "radical revolution in values"?
Why are we still obsessed with economic growth?
Why are we still allowing corporations to deprive us of jobs by replacing human beings on the line with robots and by exporting jobs overseas to make greater profits?
Why are we still accepting the dictatorship of technology and of corporations?
The time has come to
...slow down global warming by building sustainable local economies and by living more simply.
...reject the dictatorship of technology so that it is no longer normal and natural to replace human beings with robots.
...stop corporations from exporting jobs overseas.
...end factory-type schooling and start engaging schoolchildren in local community rebuilding.
Let's start thinking outside the box!
If not now... when?