Getting the message out

UFPJ and CODEPINK activists in Rep. George Miller's office, Martinez, Calif.
Love the back of their BOW$H signage!

Mulling over what I will say to the activists marching in Portland, Maine this Sunday at the conclusion of the Veterans for Peace 25th anniversary convention. Bring Our War $$ Home is a campaign that started last January on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the statehouse in Augusta. It was supposed to last only three months (until Tax Day) but has spread like wildfire.

Evidence: these recent photos (above) from northern California where the message visited the office of Rep. George Miller, and southern California (below) where it appeared in a caravan by members of CODEPINK, VFP and allies from the federal building to a V.A. facility where they met with veterans. Here's some of their report back:

People... yelled, honked and thanked us, it was a wonderful greeting. We returned to the buildings near the entrance and spent some time with a gathering of the Vets. They were warm and welcoming... Cars were honking non-stop as we slowly moved through traffic . ...there was applause for blocks.

CODEPINK is often criticized for just trying to be the center of attention. I think people miss the point about getting the message out in a society saturated by mainstream media disinformation. It's a communication strategy.

The slogan "Bring Our War $$ Home" is another strategy. It's a succinct statement of what people can do in the face of a deteriorating economy, and refutes the enormous lie that we must depend on "defense" contracts for jobs and prosperity. The average U.S. citizen does not question this falsehood, and quakes each time a military base closes or a contract for building WMDs ends.

"Bring" is a positive verb, an action we can take to improve quality of life.

"Our War $$" is a noun with two modifiers; we're not asking to leave Iraq in ruins and neglect to rebuild the infrastructure we destroyed. We just want our tax revenue to stop funding destruction halfway around the planet.

"Home" is the best word in the slogan. "Home" is where the grandmothers have nurtured the human race for millions of years. It can be temporary or last a lifetime. It is mobile. It's where we are fed. It's where the heart is.

Thanks to Tighe Barry for painting the vehicles for the LA parade. More photos here.