50 years ago The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom focused America’s attention on what it meant to be American in the 1960s. It was a time for change—a time for action. A time to make Martin Luther King’s dreams come true. (We’re not there yet, but we’re closer.)
Here’s my dream today. Let’s do it again.
Let’s do it in honor of all the people who have given their lives for our basic rights as Americans. Let’s turn Memorial Day, 2014 into the day America explodes the Washington logjam. Let’s take America back from the special interest groups.
Poll after poll shows us that the majority of Americans agree on the need for important changes:
•We agree on sensible, but not overwhelming gun restrictions.
•We agree on the reasonable expansion of well-thought-out paths to immigration.
•We agree on equal civil rights and equal marriage rights.
•We agree on basic health care for all Americans.
•We agree on sensible energy conservation plans.
•We agree on the need for investments in new job programs.
•We agree on the need to continuously improve our schools.
•We agree on the importance of scientific research.
•We agree that like the rest of us, rich corporations and individuals should pay fair taxes and not have unfair influence.
•We agree that we should have both freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
•We agree that all our veterans should have the care and the jobs they need.
•We agree that there should be one new national holiday in honor of America’s caregivers—the people who take care of the sick, the young, the old and the disabled.
*We agree that there’s too much violence, too much war, too much poverty and too much hunger.
Let’s demand those changes. Let’s not let the extremists on either side slow us down.
Next Memorial Day—Monday, May 26, 2014—let’s march on the 20 biggest metropolitan areas in America. Let’s set up a stage in each of those cities. Let’s choose one citizen speaker and one singer—no politicians, no lobbyists– for each of those stages to deliver a powerful endorsement of our shared American dream. Let’s send those performances around the world.
50 years ago, Martin Luther King, Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez set the world on fire with their messages, their music and their passion. Their March on Washington will be an inspiration for our March for America.
Let’s not wait for the politicians. Let’s demand common sense change now.
One footnote. The topic we’ll leave for another day is the abortion issue. We’ll admit that we’re not yet ready to come to agreement on this one.
