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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2003)
Reclaim the Dream End the 40 years of dispair. buy sell trade BY CAROL HORNE fashion that pays to be me. B ack in the 1950s, a political movement began that we see today reach- ing its ultimate goals. Part of this movement was the creation of the CIA. Since its inception, the CIA has had, in one or more of its top three positions, a leader from either a major banking institution or the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is possible that the CIA, in the guise of protecting national securi- ty, was actually established to protect American eco- nomic interests throughout the world. The current administration is so brazen that these covert motives are becoming obvious. Multi-national corporations and the U.S. oil industry have become the sole world super-power. Another movement began at about the same time, focused on civil rights and the inclusion into our democracy of the disenfranchised. Relieving pover- ty and creation of social services became the dream. One could feel the coun- try moving forward, and then came the assassinations — John Kennedy, then Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In just five short years, from 1963 to 1968, this movement lost its most powerful leaders. The shock threw it into a despair from which our generation has never really recovered. Later, as the Vietnam War waged on, we marched and protested, only to go home and watch TV and see the death and destruction continue. The grieving grew and no new leader would step up to bring us back together. 131 E. 5th Ave (between Oak & Pearl) 687-2805 BUFFALOEXCHANGE . COM H ere we are today. As the other movement has continued to reach for its goals, we have spent 40 years in grief and shock. Our inaction has resulted in the eminent destruction of our democracy, the loss of our civil rights and the imprisonment of foreign-born citizens. It has been long enough. It’s time for the baby boomer generation to reclaim its dreams. It’s time for us to move out of our cozy, middle class comfort zone and remember who we were meant to be. Our movement didn’t die. It rested, it healed. And we have a battle ahead for which we have been preparing for 50 years. There are many ways to re-immerse oneself into the passion of social jus- tice and the exhilaration of having a say in the world in which we live. With the “Big Brother” eyes of the USA PARTIOT Act lurking around every corner, the five open seats on our own Human Rights Commission could put you on the frontline in protecting civil liberties. (Contact the City Manager’s office at 682- 5017 to receive an application.) The obscene priorities that are running the country have also gripped our state, as our Legislature cuts funding from programs that assist the most vul- nerable among us. Take the short drive up to Salem. Join in on already organ- ized protests or drop in to speak with your representatives. Tell them what you think. If these budget cuts have broken your heart, as they have broken mine, adopt an affected organization and make a commitment to send a check every month for a year. Give until you feel it. Remind yourself what it’s like to do without. Look into being a war tax resister. There are thousands of people around the country who redirect a portion of their federal taxes to social service organizations. If Congress won’t perform its duty and stop the insanity of the Bush administration by choking off its money, then we must. You can contact the Military Tax Resistance of Lane County for more information (342-1953 and 342-2914). O ne thing I remember from the 1960s and ‘70s is that we were less afraid to get into trouble. OK, a lot has changed since then. We have homes we can lose, and the police seem less tolerant of old fashioned civil disobedience. But, remember what’s at stake. When Daniel Berrigan, a man who waged peace for more than 50 years, was sent to jail one more time, a friend asked, “What are you doing in there?” Berrigan responded, “What are you doing out there?” Those who would deprive our grandchildren of the future promised them in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights had better beware. Our movement has awakened. The revolution we sang about has arrived. Today, we have a choice. We can either, throw off the mourners’ black and become active mem- bers of our democracy once again, or we can sit back, complacent, watching our freedoms dwindle as our stock portfolios grow. Which choice will you make? Which choice can you live with? THE THEKIVA BOOKSELLERS, BOOKSELL- ERS, • GROCERS GROCERS & WINE & WINE • MERCHANTS Organic Produce, Natural and International Foods Homeopathic and Herbal Remedies • Dried Fruits, Nuts and Bulk Foods • Imported and Domestic Wine and Beer • Deli with Over 150 Cheeses, Sliced or Cut to Order • V itamins and Body Care Products Carol Horne of Eugene writes and directs educational videos. She says her current goal is to make her FBI file at least two inches thick. MON-SAT 10-5 10-5 MON-SAT 9-8 9-8 • SUN • SUN 125 W. 342- 125 W. 11th 11th Ave, Ave, DOWNTOWN DOWNTOWN EUGENE EUGENE • • 342-8666 AUGUST 7, 2003 9
