We couldn’t get seats on the UAW buses in Allentown going down to the Oct 2, 2010

One Nation rally in Washington so Barry and I drove down alone. At the first rest stop in
Delaware we were happy to at least 20 buses in the parking lot filled with people on their
way to the rally. We got there at about 12: 15 but had trouble finding a parking space and
then a bathroom so we didn’t actually get near the rally site until about 1:00.

It was a beautiful day. There were crowds of people walking both toward and away from
the rally site. They crowds were thick enough that we got off the grass and walked in the
street as far as we could. I tried to take pictures of peoples T-shirts so I could see which
unions were represented and where they had come from. Some were from Michigan,
some from Tennessee, others I couldn’t tell. The unions with the biggest presence seemed
to be SEIU, CWA, UAW, IBEW, and NEA. The NAACP also had a large presence
which included student chapters from various colleges and older people from community
groups. I saw a few U-Cubed T-shirts and a group of men with bright green “Boycott Del
Monte” T-shirts that I think, from what I found on You Tube were longshoreman.

This was not like an anti-war rally. A lot of people brought chairs and were sitting in
them listening to the speakers who ranged from VIP’s to talk show host Ed Schultz, to
college students about to graduate who are up to their ears in debt from their loans. The
speeches emphasized the military budget, outsourcing jobs, the importance of education,
and the need for government intervention in developing real, decent paying jobs. The best
speakers emphasized the power of the people. One woman said experts built the Titanic,
Noah built the ark. Especially among the black speakers there were a lot of references to
god and of course the name of the rally, one nation.

It was great to see such a huge, multinational crowd. You certainly don’t see that at anti-
war rallies where the crowd is overwhelmingly white. It was great to see the diversity in
age as well and of course it was great to see such a gathering of working people and
union members who are not well represented in the anti-war movement. The socialist and
pacifist anti-war left were also represented in the crowd and at the literature tables that
were set up away from the rally site. We talked with two brothers, Laird and Robin
Monahan who are walking across the country to amend the Constitution to abolish
corporate personhood. Their organization is MoveToAmend.org
http://movetoamend.org/learn-more. We signed a petition to “Stop the silent bailout to
the banks, fight for a 2 year national moratorium to halt all foreclosures and evictions,”
The leaflet states that “...when your home is foreclosed, the government pays off the bank
for the full value of the inflated loan, evicts you…and then selves off the home to some
investor for half the loan amount or less.” http://www.moratorium-mi.org/About.shtml
We got leaflets from the American Friends Service Committee about why military bases
have to close and where our tax dollars go. http://afsc.org/our-work We got information
on joining the NAACP and from spiritual progressives
http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/. We bought a video about the Israeli occupation of
Palestine http://www.occupation101.com/ and a book by Phyllis Bennis, Understanding
the Palestinian Israeli Conflict. http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?
list=type&type=52
We got some leaflets on the recent FBI raids against political activists in the US.
http://www.iacenter.org/actions/fbiraids-flounders903010/#vid

All of this was good.

What isn’t good is the One Nation concept. We are not and have never been one nation.
The history of the United States of America is a bloody history of the haves against the
have nots. Ignoring class society, trying to shame the rich, rationally argue with them or
their representatives in government and industry or beg them for jobs or income until we
can get jobs is not only not going to work, but is confusing to people and a waste of time
that we don’t have. Here’s a quote from Robert Heinlein: “Never try to teach a pig to
sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” The capitalist class is the enemy of
working people everywhere. It will never morph into “good capitalism” no matter how
green or socially responsible it pretends to be.

What isn’t good about the One Nation concept is its call for “keeping it made in
America.” As I recall the UAW “Buy American” campaign during which members who
drove foreign cars were not even allowed in the parking lots did nothing more than urge
people to put money in the pockets of American capitalists instead of foreign ones. The
automakers took the money and ran to Mexico to make their cars. The company is not
your partner, a concept most unions seem to have forgotten if they were ever aware of it
in the first place.

What isn’t good about the One Nation concept is that it is nationalistic. The US has
funded oppressive military regimes all over the world. Human rights workers, including
union organizers have been tortured and murdered in these countries where American
corporations like Coca Cola, ExxonMobil and more make billions of dollars. Ignoring the
repression and murder of fellow workers all around the world while making nice with the
people who oppress us all is not going to work to our advantage and it does not promote
what we need: International understanding and solidarity with workers all over the
world.http://www.witnessforpeace.org/downloads/Col_Multinationals_factsheet.pdf

The US labor movement has a history of reaction that it needs to deal with before it can
become a real force for change. I don’t know if that’s possible. The labor movement as a
whole is nationalistic, racist, misogynistic and anti-communist-nationally and
internationally. http://www.laboreducator.org/darkpast2.htm

I think virtually every VIP speaker ended with the phrase, “God Bless America” a totally
defensive act to prove they are just as American as the “tea party.” I am no longer
religious but if I was I don’t know how or why I would ask god to bless America as
opposed to everything and everyone on the planet.

Although the crowd was good and much larger than what the rightwing videographers are
posting on You Tube, the whole event showed the weakness of the labor movement.
Until they shed their nationalism and anti-communism they will never be a force for
change.
I also think that there should have been a march not just a rally. The people attending a
rally are passively listening to “experts” making speeches. If there had been a march the
impact of the number of people who attended marching by union with their fellow
workers from all parts of the country it would have made an impact not only on those
who are comparing this with the tea party event, but also on the people who came. Can
you imagine them watching the news or video’s at home after the march and seeing the
long, long line of people snaking through the streets of Washington? We have power.
Just look at all the money and resources that have been spent over the years trying to
subvert and destroy democratic movements. But we only have power when we act
together for the good of all.