CPWI Reflection

Many of you know that last week I was in Washington DC participating in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq. It was quite an experience. In a way I feel that I cheated myself out of fully participating in the worship/march/protest by occupying myself with taking pictures. I was officially under the charge of McCormick to catch the event (and McCormick people) participating in it and that kept me busy.... I think that is another post.

This was my first protest. For the longest time I was ambivalent about protesting in general. I can see how it appears to be futile and fruitless. One of the first things my parents said to me after I got back was "We're still at war, it didn't work!" (Let the reader understand that my parents were supportive of my participation, or at least didnt condemn it) And they are right, it didnt work. As a matter of fact the car I was riding in had heard on NPR on the way in that President Bush was at Camp David this weekend. During the protest I also learned that he is commonly gone when major protests are planned. I guess we can feel good about that, we had caught someone's attention. Us or the ANSWER protest planned for the next day.

So then what is the point. I can see the value in protesting as part of the democratic process. I think many of us in the US take the nature of democracy for granted. Or at least forget to factor human laziness into it. In our representative democracy our elected officials are expected to vote and propose legislation that is in line with the will of the american people (or in our best interests...that is a whole other discussion). they are further expected to know via popular telepathy what the will of their constituency is. This is the sticky point, they cant know what we
are thinking unless we tell them. I find it rediculous to expect politicians to actively go find out what is best for their people when they have people with a lot of money behind them (lobbyists)
telling them what they should do. It is simply easier to take the information you are presented with rather than go do the hard work yourself (or pay a staffer to do it). Whatever we would like to believe elected people are not the morally superior people we want to think they are, they are normal people who have messed up lives like you and I. Into all this you also have to factor in potential gifts and bribery from interest groups and multiply it by the ridiculously low number of citizens who vote on a regular basis.

Within this system I see a protest movement simply as popular lobbying. We were taking our concerns direct to the government (in CPWI's case, we took them to God then to the government) in the best way we could. We didnt have large numbers of dollars behind us but we did have the time and talent of a lot of people. We can't give gifts to elected officials so we made a big noise to be noticed. Even if the movement voice is not heard it is voiced! One can only do so much to make sure one is heard, our primary responsibility (as people of privilege with a voice) is to use it and to speak.

As I say this I have to reiterate that this was my first protest. I have not used my voice responsibly. I have never called a congress- person's office or sent a personal letter. I have signed onto group emails that are made easy for me. I think I may have sent a custom message through one of those things... maybe, once. more and more I am feeling my place in the world: young adult, european american, middle class, male, computer savy. I have a responsibility to those who others in each of those demographics have screwed over to use my voice for their advancement and betterment.

CPWI was not the start of that for me but I think it was an important milestone. A biggish step. I think I will need to continue reflecting on what this means and what to do with it; Peace work, Christ's call to non-violence and real community, the middle class freedom to protest, how to live responsibly in privilege, and on and on and on...