Editor’s note: This commentary is by Joseph Gainza, the founder of Vermont Action for Peace and the producer and host of “Gathering Peace” on WGDR and WGDH. He lives in Marshfield.
The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution begins with the ringing declaration: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” High ideals surely. The problem is that what the framers meant by “the people” was people like them: white, male, owners of property. Everyone else was left out, without any rights of citizens, many as slaves, written into the Constitution as three-fifths of a person.
The great history of this country has been the ongoing expansion of who constitutes “The People.” Former slaves, workers, women, latinex people, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, immigrants from every land have organized and struggled mightily to be included as The People. They were in turn ignored, ridiculed, beaten, thrown in jail, many were killed, and then they won.
The work is far from over, but all these people, over the long decades of struggle, have bent the arc of history toward justice. Significantly, this was mainly accomplished nonviolently. We must stand on their shoulders putting our muscle into the effort to make this nation finally live up to its lofty ideals.
Some might say they are not political; they do not like to get involved. I say, it is not possible to not be political; staying quiet means supporting the status quo. That is a political stance.
Politics is about power, who has it, who uses it for what purposes. Power is fluid, it ebbs and flows as different people and institutions acquire it and lose it. There are many forms of power. Political power is one form and people usually think of it in that way. There is also economic power, the personal power of a charismatic person, the power of an idea, the power of social movements, the power of a persuasive argument, the power of symbols, or celebrity power, the power of the vote, the power of love. When you persuade someone to do something or stop them from doing something, you have exercised a degree of power over them. Power can be used for good or evil. Keeping quiet means consenting to the present power relationships.
Too many in this country feel they have no power. And there are powerful people and institutions which work hard to make citizens feel powerless. Voter suppression is just one particularly onerous method which is in the news right now. Yet, it is true that most individual citizens, acting alone cannot usually make significant changes. Without much wealth or positions of power as managers or owners of big business enterprises, or holding electoral office, the average person has little political power. The answer, when someone asks “what can I do as an individual?” is don’t be an individual. All the progress made in this country to broaden our democracy was made by people joining together to achieve a common goal. As cultural anthropologist Margaret Meade famously said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
The history of the U.S. has been that our democracy has been literally built by the blood sweat and tears of millions of average citizens who refused to believe that only wealthy white men should have access to power.
There has always been resistance to this expansion of democracy. The forces of reaction have come primarily from those who dominate our society and economy, who are flush with the wealth created by working people of all backgrounds and conditions. They have never rested and are never content until they appropriate all that wealth and the power which it buys. And today they occupy the highest seats of power in this nation.
Donald Trump, his sycophant minions, the billionaires who support him, and those who are enthralled by his glitz and believe his lies, are only the latest iteration of this attempt to reverse the hard fought victories of the people of this country. But now we the people are putting them on notice. We the people say NO!
We will not allow our movement for true democracy to be halted or turned back. We will not allow these forces of reaction to impose a fascist state in America. Trump’s reckless and violent actions to divide, suppress and control has unleashed the greatest force he will ever encounter. We the people are joining together all our nonviolent movements of resistance, we will stop fascism in it tracks, as our forebears did in the 20th century, and with a vision of justice, peace and a restored earth, we will triumph. And we will vote.
The final words which the great nonviolent civil rights leader John Lewis left us will be our guide: “So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.”
