For sometimes when I am feeling as big as the land
With the velvet hill in the small of my back
And my hands are playing the sand
And my feet are swimming in all of the waters
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan, according to man
Well sometimes when I am feeling so grand
And I become the world
And the world becomes a man
And my song becomes a part of the river
I cry out to keep me just the way I am
According to plan
According to man, according to plan
According to man, according to plan
Oh there's a chance peace will come
In your life, please buy one
Oh there's a chance peace will come
In your life, please buy one
-- "Peace Will Come" words and music by Melanie*
From the despair in the months following the November 2004 elections, to the glimmer of activity in March as protests against the war were held all over the United States, through the summer of protest that saw both Camp Casey (in both Crawford versions as well as throughout the United States) and the DC blowout in September, carried on to the World Can't Wait assemblies of November 2005, we saw hope, democracy and a refusal to march over the cliff in lock-step with the Bully Boy.
This energy was fueled by the nation's greatest resource, people power. Not by big name D.C. politicians. In fact, as The Nation noted in their November 8, 2004 editorial entitled "John Kerry for President," as the election entered the final stages, Kerry was still pushing the "win" in Iraq theme. Like the nation, Kerry has woken up (but still needs to splash some cold water on his face to wake up fully). A brave handful of politicians (for instance Barbara Lee and John Conyers) have spoken out against the war for some time. But they've been marginalized by the mainstream media the same way the people were.
In 2005, the numbers opposed to the war grew so large that even the mainstream media had to finally start noting the option of withdrawal (which they, generally speaking, did so by mocking).
Know what? It doesn't matter.
They didn't lead the people to this view. They didn't popularize it or even really report it. What's been accomplished has been accomplished by the people. Only after we all began calling out the Bully Boy did the mainstream press find the strength to start covering issues (some that they had sat on -- and even then, they first met with Bully Boy before "breaking" the news).
For 2006, the stakes are higher and we must continue to press the adminstration (and the Congress). If the mainstream media trails behind us (by several months) great, but 2005 proved that with or without them, the people will act.
Cindy Sheehan and the summer of protest altered the landscape. At the start of 2005, Bully Boy could falsely claim a "mandate" and the mainstream media would run with it. We doubt, we could be wrong, that even the most dedicated stenographer in the press pool would be so willing to take down that sort of dictation today.
2005 was the year Bully Boy finally exposed to many, as Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts above notes, as the liar who lied us into war.
That's a change that you took part in, one you made come about. People power did that. And it can do much more. So today, find some time to reflect on the immense changes in the way 2005 began and the way it ended. Take some pride in that and prepare for the battles of 2006 because there will be many. Take comfort in the fact that we are now a river, an ocean, and our numbers are only going to increase.
[This editorial was written by The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim; Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude; Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man; C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review; Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills); Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix; Mike of Mikey Likes It!; Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz; and Wally of The Daily Jot. *AND* we recommend Beautiful People: The Greatest Hits of Melanie for those interested in hearing "Peace Will Come (According to Plan)."]