Coffee Party founders Annabel Park and Eric Byler weigh in on Glenn Beck’s rally tomorrow (which DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen calls “blatantly political”), on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic “I have a dream” speech.
Martin Luther King’s march was called the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” While so many of us are immensely distracted by Mr. Beck and other wedge issues of the day, Rome burns. If we continue to follow Pied Pipers who want to see our country fight itself rather than come together to solve our problems, what problems can we expect to solve? We are headed for a deep economic depression if We the People fail to show our leaders that we want solutions not distractions. To do that we must lead by example.
In short: Glenn Beck’s rally is a corporate-sponsored ragtime show. An unfortunate distraction in tough times when we should be pulling together.
Over the past decade, millions of Amerians have been shoved into poverty, with no safety nets and no healthcare. And what are we doing about it? We are dividing and arguing over race. That is Dr. King’s dream gone wrong. That is the American dream gone wrong.
The game that Mr. Beck plays is so obvious, isn’t it? He prances and dances around the line of what is responsible, what is inappropriate, and, yes, even what may be “racist.” His hope is that the entire nation will notice, that some will condemn him, and others will defend him. If so, he becomes the center of attention, his ratings go up, and his devout followers are thrilled to have another reason to be angry at the rest of the country. I don’t see any winners in this game other than Mr. Beck and his corporate sponsors.
That about sums it up. Except for one thing: if you want to get involved with a productive, constructive movement of your fellow citizens trying to make this country a better place for all of us, check out the video, “Coffee Vote 2010: a Call for Active Citizenship”, embedded above. Thanks.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
