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In October, 1969, millions of Americans from all walks of life took part in one of the largest and most dramatic events in the history of the country; one that not only shifted American foreign policy but also served to reshape and redefine the social culture of our great republic.
I propose that we, who saved our nation from the conservatives bent on our nation's destruction 35 years ago, join together once more in a new effort to wrest control of our collective destiny from the gangster thugs who once again threaten democracy and freedom, both here and abroad. I propose a new Moratorium be observed.
This Moratorium should not focus only on the immoral and wasteful war in Iraq where so many of our youth are being sacrificed, but it should be on a wider scale: aimed directly at the efforts by this Administration and the religious zealots behind it who have bent all their will and effort at undoing the great social progress that was engineered during the 1960s and 1970s.
They mean to destroy that progress by vilifying us and our efforts. They mean to supplant our influence by counting on our waning influence in American society. They mean to remain as our generation dies out. I propose that we re-invigorate the movement we began with a New Counterculture and re-inculcate in today's youth a healthful mistrust of authority and love of freedom, both of which the lords of Conservatism are working hard to erode and destroy.
By way of a history lesson, the Moratorium on October 15, 1969, was one of the most successful movements of its kind that the world has ever known. On that date, more Americans protested against their government than had ever done so before - or since. The event required nine months of planning, involved what would now be millions of dollars in expense, and involved traditional rallies and marches, vigils and other observances. Many of these were endorsed by public figures.
If this new Moratorium takes place, I respectfully suggest that it be done through grassroots efforts and not by those organizations which created the anti-war demonstrations leading up to the present Iraq war. Those organizations are associated with militant fringe groups and enabled a valid criticism that their agenda was motivated more by hatred of all things American. We should wish NO such distractions for this new effort.
It should be clear from the outset that this is an American internal movement, aimed at restoring the American ideas of freedom and liberty that the Right is so bent on destroying.
In many ways, the present efforts to undermine our Constitution and our liberties are a direct outgrowth to the success of the first Moratorium and the social change which grew from it. Conservatives have spent the past decades regrouping and reforming and now have come back to attack American values with a vengeance never before seen in the history of civilization.
We who fought for the academic, political and personal freedoms enjoyed by so many for so long owe our renewed service to secure those freedoms for a new generation and for all generations to come. But we cannot do it alone; we require the help of this generation - those of you who are younger than we and who look to this board and others like it for inspiration in your own efforts to stop the gangsterism that pervades throughout our government.
Although this board is a great place to gripe and complain about our current status and influence, it is also a great tool to organize and develop countermeasures. The war for freedom, begun so many years ago, is at its darkest hour and it is time to STRIKE back through coordinated, effective ACTION. Words alone will not save our nation - only by taking our cause to the streets and among the people can we secure for ourselves and our posterity the blessings of FREEDOM.
Let us initiate the Moratorium of 2005.
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