March 6, 2011 Expressions from Ellen
Ellen Finkelstein
First we were all Tunisians. Then a poster read “Walk like an Egyptian.” Suddenly, we’re all from Wisconsin. Inspirational, remarkable change being wrought by working people, raising their voices and becoming actors in their own lives and in history.
In Egypt we saw the linkage of new modes of communication (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) with the mobilization of millions of people to effect change. Did you know that among the community of young Egyptian bloggers, one of them had been promoting nonviolent civil disobedience by distributing a translated comic book about Martin Luther King that was developed by FOR in the late 1950s?
In Wisconsin, tens of thousands of teachers, students, workers, and others are demanding that Gov. Scott Walker not slash the benefits of state employees and take away their collective bargaining rights. The reason given for this slashing of workers’ rights is the budget crisis: “There’s no money.”
But that’s just not true. It’s where the money goes that’s the problem. The budget crisis could be solved if we ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and reclaimed that money to fund human needs. WWFOR’s Bring Our Billion$ Home campaign is raising public awareness of the growing spending disparities and mobilizing people to work for change.
We have opportunities every day to talk with people about how the budget cuts are impacting their lives and about the waste of military spending. Take it on – pledge to talk to 5 of your friends and neighbors; write a letter to the editor; blog about it. And be out there, standing with and for people who are raising their voices – both here and throughout the Middle East.
Tags: expressions from ellen
- Leave a comment
- Posted under 2011 March/April (Vol. 31 No. 2)
