[Iowa-dx] Mona Shaw writes a blog

[Green PartyRon]

>From :  prodemocracyadvocacy <prodemocracyadvocacy@yahoo.com>
Reply-To :  IowaCityCitizensCommitteeCommunityOrganization@yahoogroups.com
Sent :  Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:54 PM
To :  IowaCityCitizensCommitteeCommunityOrganization@yahoogroups.com
Subject :  [IowaCityCitizensCommitteeCommunityOrganization] RE:
  Mona Shaw's My P-C Blog "If You Have A Bell" In Press-Citizen

Mona Shaw writes a blog which Iowa City Press-Citizen publishes online
as a regular feature called My P-C.

I want to reproduce it here for your pleasure and enlightenment, which
includes a comment from me that I posted:

Witness from the Fence
By Mona Shaw
Observing human behavior at life's barriers.

If You Have a Bell...
Posted by Mona Shaw on July 25, 2007, at 7:20 AM.

For four years, a group of sturdy souls have held a peace vigil every
Friday from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. on the Clinton and Washington
streets corner of the Pentacrest in Iowa City. The size of the
group is usually about a dozen, but has risen to as many as 100 on
occasions like the week that Bush announced the surge last spring.

There are those, like myself, who join the group intermittently as
our schedules allow. There are a few who've been there almost
every week. It's one of those things that you can find excuses for
not doing, but you're always glad when you do. Sometimes
people sing.  Sometimes they chant. Sometimes they play a drum
or another musical instrument. The reactions of those passing by
vary. A few will yell criticisms like, "Get a job, hippies," but more
honk their approval or flash an uplifted peace sign out a car
window. Most do nothing at all.

For four years this vigil has taken place without incident. That
changed on Friday, July 13, when an Iowa City police officer
appeared, said that there had been complaints that the group
was a nuisance, and asked if the group had a permit. It was
suggested that if the group continued to meet that people
needed to stand quietly and not draw attention to itself.

The group did not have a permit (and the constitutionality of
requiring one is questionable), but it has one now that allows
the group to gather at their regular time and place provided no
one complains about noise. As news of the police visit traveled
throughout the peace community, the warning was clearly
heard and had an impact. Last Friday (the 20th), the usual size
of the group grew to more than fifty. Some who had never
thought before to do so brought a drum or a bell. Chants
were much louder and much heartier than they had ever been
before. Police cars drove by a number of times, but did
nothing until an officer walked up promptly at 5:45 p.m. to
make sure the group was leaving.

It may be that some in our community just don't understand
the purpose of the vigil. It intends to draw attention to itself.
It would be pointless otherwise. The group is there because
they are dedicated Americans who believe they have a
constitutional right to assemble and warn their fellow citizens
of a great and deadly alarm.  They believe our military is killing
people for no reason.  They believe others need to be told
about this. They care.

Groups like this one are gathering all over the United States
all the time, and they've made and continue to make an
important difference. Public opinion regarding the war has
flipped in the past four years from having a 70% approval
rating to about that percentage disapproving of the war. It's
a real shame that Congress isn't listening to the people yet,
but that just means the people need to cry louder not less.

Even if nothing had changed because of their efforts, these
groups really are what being an American citizen is about.
Despite our President's continued efforts to nullify it, we still
have a Constitution. That Constitution is one thing in which
all of us should still take pride. Unlike our executive branch
of government, we the people need to keep our vow to
uphold, protect, and defend that Constitution.  And,
frankly, this war isn't going to end until a lot more of us are
in the street. As the timeless chant says, and it's still true,
"There ain't no power like the power of the people."

So when you can, you might want to take a half hour out
of your life to join the vigil. You'll find that you'll feel good
that you did. Bring something you can drum or ring if you
want. It's our country. Let's act like it.

If I had a bell, I'd ring it in the morning.
I'd ring it in the evening, all over this land.
I'd ring out justice. I'd ring out a warning.
I'd ring out the love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.

Comments:
Posted by LbrisFdels
on Jul 25, 2007, at 7:02 PM

Well, actually, the drummer Matt, and Jamie accompanying
him, were the ones who had the permit, and Dave Goodner
also claimed to have city permits for drums and noisemakers.
I don't know about the guy with the thin wide drum.
There was a caveat to that, as I heard insufficiently as they
talked with the officer, but I cannot vouch for what that
caveat is, but the officer left after Dave and Matt talked
with the officer.

Part of the caveat is that demonstrators are LIMITED IN
THEIR FREE SPEECH to less than an hour, and I do not
know where this comes from, which is why our cries for a
full hour (many of us want to do it for an hour and a half)
have been inconsequential.

Personally, I am opposed to anyone obtaining a permit to
practice free public speech on a public sidewalk. The
problem is, this fascist anti-Democracy (I always spell it
<respectfully> with a capital "D") pro-commercially-controlled
nation makes protecting such a "right" be nearly impossible,
because the government and legal system are not the
least bit advocates to natizen rights under our Constitution;
our government has said many times, it is the responsibility
of the natizen to take a violation of rights to court and sue
the perpetrator, which costs hundreds <of thousands>
and sometimes millions of dollars, and not the responsibility
of the government to protect and be an advocate for the
natizen's rights. That places the advantage into the hands
of the rights-violators. And isn't that typical of our country?
That is why I am an advocate, an activist, and a protestor.

One thing I have disliked about the vigil is that people
gaggle in groups rather than spreading out so people can
see the signs, and too many demonstrators do not show
the signs so they can be read. It seems like some
demonstrators show up just to show, not to make an
impact.

And yes, there are those brainwashed fascist flag-waving
communists in our brainwashed closed-minded society who
wear military-style hats and treat us as if it is  WE  who are
the unpatriotic miscreants. JUST WHAT DOES "ILLEGAL TO
START WAR" IN INTERNATIONAL LAWS OUR NATION
HELPED TO CREATE AFTER WORLD WAR 2 PRESENT SUCH
A DIFFICULT UNDERSTANDING IN OUR NATION'S
FLAG-WAVERS ????????????  WE'VE KILLED 750,000
IRAQI CIVILIANS BY JUST BEING THERE ! ! ! ! That is a
violation of the Geneva Convention which says IT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONQUERING MILITARY TO
PROVIDE SAFETY AND PROTECTION TO THE CIVILIAN
POPULATION. We never have done that. That is two war
crimes against our nation.

Libris Fidelis
founder Pro-Democracy Advocacy Personal Organization,
filed by affidavit with the Recorder of Johnson County
DemocracyDefender@hotmail.com

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