There seems to be a march every weekend in Washington; and the Women’s March,
the March for Science, the Climate March are just a few.
The marches all have a stated purpose – demand for women’s rights, more
objectivity and less politics in scientific research, and immediate action on
climate change – and while they may be well intentioned, their objectives are
far too vague and diffuse to have any impact on policy.
The Women’s March, is a potpourri of progressive demands. Every issue from
equal pay to abortion rights, to sexual abuse, male patriarchy, transgender
acceptance, and the capitalist system which is fundamentally oligarchic and
oppressive to women was represented on the Mall.
Political activists of the Sixties know that while they support populist
demands for equal access and civil rights, such inchoate marches have more to do
with self-image, a show of collective solidarity, and a genial camaraderie than
any real, concerted and coordinated effort to affect governance.
The ‘68 March on Washington had one and only one purpose – civil rights. It
was the most defining, momentous, and significant event of the movement which
had begun with Rosa Parks, sit-ins, and the signing of the Civil Rights Act. No
one could ignore the plight of black Americans after Martin Luther King spoke at
the Lincoln Memorial.
Anti-Vietnam War protesters brought the war to Washington, and Nixon was
bedeviled. Although he stubbornly hardened his stance, dismissed the protesters
as renegade, anti-Americans, he paid attention; and most observers have
concluded that the demonstrations, marches, and protests helped to end the war
if only indirectly.
Word of the protests reached the troops on the ground whose morale, never
good, further deteriorated when they realized that the country was not behind
their bloody effort. Most grunts knew that the press releases published by the
Army were idealistic, fabricated, devious attempts to keep resources flowing;
and Ho Chi Minh and General Giap knew exactly how to capitalize on this
demoralization. The Tet Offensive while a questionable military victory, was
clearly a victorious political one.
The leaders of both the civil rights and anti-war protests understood their
power. They had specific objectives – both direct and indirect – in mind, and
never wavered from them.
Of course demographics played a significant role in the success of
demonstrations in the Sixties. The post-war population bulge was at its
greatest during the decades – there were more 18-25 year olds in the country
than any time in history. Youthful idealism, strength in numbers, and just
causes combined to produce a self-appointed cadre of political street activists.
Perhaps most importantly, the Baby Boomer generation, raised in
post-war plenty and according to the permissive principles of Dr. Spock, had
been inadvertently encouraged to react against the social and political
conservatism of their parents. This generation was brought up to feel entitled
and independent. Little did Mom and Dad realize what they were doing.
None of these enabling factors exist today. There is no generational
solidarity, no common cause, no unified purpose.
Of course young people are as progressive and idealistic as they always have
been; but decades of liberal identity politics of diversity and inclusivity have
made true political cohesion impossible. What might have been a powerful
alliance of white liberals and black activists was never meant to be. Black
identity, legitimacy, and solidarity was exclusive, not inclusive.
While most young people embrace the liberal environmental agenda and are in
lockstep concerning the survival of the planet, they are neither politically
savvy enough to focus their protests nor united in cause to have any impact.
The environmental movement has long been so divided among sub-causes – global
warming, industrial pollution, deforestation, coal-fracking-nuclear energy, and
species protection – that overall impact has been lost.
Real activism requires both political and philosophical commitment and
savvy lobbying. In the case of environmentalism, the desks of
Congressional Representatives are piled high with requests and demands from
hundreds of cause-specific groups. Environmental fatigue sets in, and the pile
is simply moved.
Current causes have no immediacy. There are no thousands of coffins of dead
American soldiers arriving at Andrews Air Force Base. No black people being
beaten or attacked by dogs. Global warming is remote, distant, and by no means
the Armageddon envisaged by some. For the time being, it means less brutal
winters in Minnesota, a longer growing season and lower farm prices, and easy
sailing through the Arctic Passage.
Women have never been more successful, now outnumbering men in law and
medical school, increasing in numbers in media, academia, and industry.
Although feminists still insist on protecting women from the depredation of men,
most women are strong, confident, and quite able to take care of themselves.
The election of Donald Trump has given common cause to progressives – perhaps
the unifying enemy they have hoped for. In the electoral campaign they vilified
him as homophobic, misogynist, racist, and xenophobic – all vague,
passionately-felt, impossible to validate, but too melodramatic for any real
resonance. Now they go after his tax returns, his coziness with Russia, his
supposed dismemberment of the social safety net, and his persistent oligarchical
bent. All to little or no avail. The White House, Congress, and the Supreme
Court are no solidly conservative.
A friend who was an organizer of one of the Washington marchers when asked
what he hoped to accomplish, said, “Media coverage”. The more the public is
exposed to progressive principles, the greater the chance for progressive
reform.
Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth. Progressives who see
televised images of Washington marchers will feel even more solidarity and
commitment. Conservatives, on the other hand, will only be hardened in their
opposition to what they see as liberal cant and interventionism. The images of
marchers, random signs, and violent encounters will only drive them further from
the causes marchers intend to promote.
So, what’s the point? Why march? Why bother?
The answer is in collective progressive solidarity. It matters little
whether protests and marches will have any impact. The point is sharing in a
common, philosophical, universal movement.
When the manifestos of progressive movements are parsed, disaggregated, and
trimmed down to the basics, anti-capitalism will be found at the foundation.
There would be no environmental or civil rights issues if national government
were more liberal, more attuned to social justice and equality, and more
inclusive. It is capitalist acquisitiveness and greed behind the oppression of
minorities and women; at the root of environmental destruction; and the very
cause of the decline of a once great nation.
Protesters then can indeed march under one flag – anti-capitalism. All
sectorial and identity differences can be forgotten or at worst subsumed under
this one banner. While perhaps not singing the Internationale,
marchers can express moral rectitude, social justice, and personal pride.
This all accords marchers a certain generosity. They are serious about their
causes if undirected and vague. Other observers have characterized marches as
purely psycho-social phenomenon, feel-good enterprises of community, belonging,
and personal purpose.
Whatever the motivation, marches have an unintended consequence – march
fatigue. Few members of Congress, let alone the White House or the rest of us,
pay any attention to the doings on the Mall. We are simply tired – let alone
sick and tired – of the same old, same old.
Everybody marches in America – Bay-to-Breakers, St. Patrick’s and Columbus
Day, Fourth of July, and every possible combination and permutation of protest,
patriotism, and pure fun. This is a good thing.
Just don’t take them seriously.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Rally ‘Round The Flag, Boys–Marches, The Need For Purpose, Camaraderie, And Belonging
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