Monday, Monday
May 14, 2013 - by
Americans have a fine tradition of demonstrating, protesting, sitting-in and getting arrested when their government does something they don’t like. And we always have a great debate about whether the tactics help or hurt.
Do they? Look at what we’ve seen over the years: suffragettes, civil rights, anti-Vietnam, gay rights. And the Tea Party, whose protests took a different form but were the same loud and visible outpouring of discontent.
In the end, their causes all won – or at least their protests presaged later success at the ballot box or in public policy.
So don’t dismiss the Moral Mondays that seem to be gathering steam in Raleigh.
No, they won’t affect the Republican majority. The protests may, instead, just spur the legislature on to even more draconian actions.
And, no, demonstrating and getting arrested may not suit everyone’s personal preferences. (“I just don’t look good in an orange jumpsuit,” said one sympathizer. Not every young person needs or wants an arrest on their record, no matter how well-intended.)
But the tactics get attention. Like front-page, evening news attention. They get people wondering what the fuss is about. They bring a tighter focus on what the legislature is doing.
Most of all, they tell us where the passion is in today’s politics. And passion often is a prelude to progress.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Republicans
Monday, Monday
May 14, 2013/
Americans have a fine tradition of demonstrating, protesting, sitting-in and getting arrested when their government does something they don’t like. And we always have a great debate about whether the tactics help or hurt.
Do they? Look at what we’ve seen over the years: suffragettes, civil rights, anti-Vietnam, gay rights. And the Tea Party, whose protests took a different form but were the same loud and visible outpouring of discontent.
In the end, their causes all won – or at least their protests presaged later success at the ballot box or in public policy.
So don’t dismiss the Moral Mondays that seem to be gathering steam in Raleigh.
No, they won’t affect the Republican majority. The protests may, instead, just spur the legislature on to even more draconian actions.
And, no, demonstrating and getting arrested may not suit everyone’s personal preferences. (“I just don’t look good in an orange jumpsuit,” said one sympathizer. Not every young person needs or wants an arrest on their record, no matter how well-intended.)
But the tactics get attention. Like front-page, evening news attention. They get people wondering what the fuss is about. They bring a tighter focus on what the legislature is doing.
Most of all, they tell us where the passion is in today’s politics. And passion often is a prelude to progress.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Republicans