This Is What Democracy REALLY Looks Like!!
John Kerry is not the same as George W. Bush.
From education, to health care, to military spending, the Bush administration is a problem for America. Public schools are under-funded by $6.8 billion dollars.1 Health care and Medicare programs for ordinary working people are suffering.2 And while the Bush budget for veterans currently falls $2.6 million short,3 the war in Iraq, based on false information and non-existant "weapons of mass destruction," has cost Worcester over $59,000,000.4 We cannot allow Bush and his friends to hold power for four more years.
But, is Kerry vs. Bush really the choice we want?
Whether Republicans or Democrats are in power, major corporations, "free" trade interests and the religious right increasingly control election politics. Many citizens are left feeling that they have little choice on Election Day, beyond a vote for the lesser of two evils. After the elections are over, power is transferred between candidates, and the decisions that affect our lives are taken out of our hands.
In this two-party system, officials can conveniently ignore the voices of millions against unemployment until election time.10 million global citizens who stood up against war in Iraq, from working folks to peace protesters to soldier's families, were effectively swept aside for the sake of the Bush administration's neo-conservative agenda.5 And let's not forget Election Day 2000, when 97,000 votes cast by people of color were not counted.6
Democracy can't happen when our voices aren't respected and our needs aren't met.
Getting George W. Bush and his neo-conservative administration out of power is certainly a first step in reclaiming our lives and dignity. And while we recognize the ballot box as one place we can make change, stopping at Anything But Bush politics won't get us much further than the elections on November 2nd. Neither John Kerry and the Democrats, nor any other elected official, is going to hand us our democracy back.
But right here in Worcester, ordinary people working together can make democracy real.
What is real democracy? It means a world in which ordinary people have direct control over the decisions that affect their lives, rather than ceding this power to officials who are up for re-election every four years. A world in which the most important political choices get made through grassroots participation. In which the outcry of the people is more than just a one-time media event. Democracy means that the voices of the people crying out for change demand immediate response- and it means that We The People can take action to affect those changes as we see fit.
Democracy can't be given by a party or a person. It can only be created by all of us, ordinary people at the grassroots.
Take action... because We Are What Democracy REALLY Looks Like!
Email us to find out what WoGAN events are coming up and get involved!
