A Meaningless March:
On Saturday I took my daily walk to the streets of Chicago. I guess I walked about 3 miles. This time my walk had a title. It was billed as a protest march against the War in Iraq. It is said 10,000 people marched. That's a nice number. Before the U.S. invaded Iraq I had marched in a similar march against the impending War. Back then 80% favored the War and now I guess about 80% oppose the War. The two marches could not have been more different. In the first march it was unplanned----a march suddenly broke out from a late weekday afternoon rally in downtown Chicago. The rally itself, to me, was just a lot of noise---speakers ranting against the impending War to a crowd already against going into Iraq. The only aspect of it interesting to me was the diverse composition of the crowd---every ethnicity, every religion, every economic status, every age group and all pretty much gentle minded, fair minded, genuine live and let live kind of citizens, not the kind of citizens interested in any kind of American empire building or with any particular interest in traveling to all sorts of distant points across the globe to blow up people by the hundreds of thousands for varied sorts of concocted or exploitive reasons involving politics, economics or religion.
Bored with the speeches and annoyed by the blaring noise I had decided to leave the rally, but it was not easy since police on horseback had ringed the square. Myself and a few others were asking the police to let us out and they grudgingly made a small break between all the horses for us to leave. The police were quite hostile to the whole thing since, like I said, back then 80% of Americans favored the War and those of us opposed were considered unpatriotic, wimps, or just too dumb to understand the immediate danger our country faced. Anyway, when the gap opened for a few of us to leave, all of a sudden some people with a banner and some drums surged through the gap and the restless crowd surged out into the street like stampeded cattle. The march had begun and idiot me was like in the second row. I'm kind of old to get conked over the head, aside from any innate cowardice, so I quickly faded further back. It was now late afternoon rush hour and the police were scrambling, uncertain what to do. A lot of the people on the crowded rush hour sidewalks started cheering and joining in, most of the trapped cars were giving us all thumbs up---but some of them maybe for fear their car would be attacked otherwise. The police were hesitant. They wanted to attack, after all their job is to be in control, but it was downtown rush hour and and the rush hour bystanders were hardly hostile and the original marchers and the public were hopelessly intermingled and heading down two different streets. The word came down to the police to just contain them on the street, don't attack unless any of the marchers start damaging anything---buildings, cars, whatever. But that never happened at all, these were essentially nonviolent people marching to stop violence against others. Some how the chant began among the marchers to go to Michigan Ave. After we got to Michigan Avenue I could hear the police radios blaring out for the police to keep the marchers on Michigan Ave. Most of the police were getting real angry, probably about the same percentage split as in the country as a whole, 80/20. The 20% smiled and cautioned "stay orderly". The 80% glared, anxious to get the call to make some arrests. The marchers from the two different streets had converged on to Michigan Ave and then the chant arose to go to Lake Shore Drive. By now the number of marchers had probably tripled because so many of the rush hour public were joining in. It was a genuine people's protest absent any violence.
When the marchers neared my train station I decided to drop out since I had no idea where the whole thing was headed. When my train got me back to the suburbs, a couple of hours later, the radio said the march was still going on and the marchers now were up on Chicago Ave. What happened next is certainly no surprise. It was 10PM and the marchers were all still charged up because a lot of new people kept joining the march. I don't know that it would ever have ended with the perpetual addition of new marchers. The police had to end it and it was late enough that bystanders were now minimal. Thus the newest marchers suddenly found themselves the target of police anger when the order came in to make arrests. The police finally got the order to put a stop to the march. Most of the original 'troublemakers', like myself, had gone home. Of course it could have been handled differently but human nature is such that you are really pitting feelings against feelings and the better angels of human nature never surface in these situations. "I said you aren't going anywhere" and conk, just like that you don't, and like a sack of grain get tossed in the paddy wagon. The march was over. Of course when the arrested get to court the Judge throws out most of the arrests because he realizes these are not the criminal type people he usually sees before him. Their only crime was marching, they didn't damage anything or attack anyone, etc. The police feel nothing but frustration---told to end the march, they did and now some Judge leaves the impression they are the bad guys. Probably most police don't feel very appreciated by the public. Always two sides to most genuine problems.
But this latest Saturday march was a total farce. Totally meaningless, regardless of the numbers. 10,000 people assemble at some park and march down this big street for three miles to Daley Plaza for speeches. It is Saturday afternoon, hardly anyone on the sidewalks at such a time. The police lead the march, they line both sides of the street the entire three miles, and behind the marchers are police cars loaded with police. The marchers are yelling slogans like "Get out of Iraq, Get out Now" etc. Who are they yelling to? Themselves? I didn't bother saying a word. At least I was getting my walk in. When they get to the Plaza the speeches begin. How stupid. A lot of yelling to encourage people who already want the U.S. out of Iraq to be against America in Iraq. Also, this march seemed just an act of going through the motions. It wasted the time of the marchers, the police, and cost the city a lot of money. But of course, when it comes to war, money these days is no limit.
War is different now than in the past. It used to be one country's army against another. Some country would be trying to invade another or some such variation. If the United States went to the aid of an invaded country it was because Congress declared war and then everyone sacrificed in the effort. Young people got drafted, those at home were hit with footing the bill and doing without this or that. If the war was illegitimate, like the Vietnam War, the public genuinely protested and not with meaningless marches. But those days are gone. The government now assembles a volunteer army. These are paid professional career soldiers and their career choice, despite the risks, is military action. Military engagement is their job, just like making cars is General Motor's job. Protest marches are now useless. No one is forcing our sons and daughters to participate in a war. The draft doesn't exist. Only if the career military personnel rebel will the government give pause. We are now in the position of expecting some industry to police itself. It won't happen. The military/industrial complex is now our biggest industry. It is no longer a war time industry comprised mostly of draftees. It is a permanent, ever growing, insatiable economic engine which keeps employment levels up, and supports our biggest manufacturing sector---weaponry. The greatest amount of our national budget is all about weapons, and foreign bases, and paid mercenary soldiers all over the globe. We now consider the words of the founding fathers of this country nonsense----"avoid foreign entanglements". Every prosperous civilization has fallen into the same trap---empire building, policing the world, economic exploitation of other countries and foreign workers, while at home the disparity of wealth between the rich and poor grows greater and greater. The empire then collapses for overreaching in it's attempt to control other countries, while allowing the rich of it's own citizens to monopolize more and more of the nation's wealth. We are now totally over stretched with our foreign entanglements and the top 2% of our citizens now own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined and it is still growing. Most all prosperous civilizations collapse from within. I get the feeling we have met the enemy and it is us. Worse, the energy to reverse what Eisenhower warned us against, is pretty much spent---these distant slaughters have become ongoing with, for now, little impact on our daily lives-----and while 80% may oppose the principle of such empire building, an activity which is rapidly making the US the #1 world enemy/tyrant------in a metropolitan area of millions, only 10,000 are agitated enough to march a few miles on a nice autumn weekend day. And next time even fewer will march, including myself. The common universal feeling rampant across an ever increasingly crowded planet is one of powerlessness. But what the hell, old curmudgeons like me always mumble about how things are going sour. I am good at that-----mumble, mumble, mumble. Maybe that is why I like Terrell---the perceived injustices he acts on may not be exactly globally important, but he knows fairness, draws a line in the sand, and comes out standing after all the powerful forces aligned against him have taken their best shot. I can understand why so many teammates urge him not to let anybody change him.
